Like its Greek siblings, Epicurianism and Cynicism, the modern use of “Stoic” is a warped and distorted echo of the original idea. Today, we tend to imagine the Stoic as a phlegmatic, stolid, Clint Eastwood character, made of terracotta as much as flesh. When we examine Stoicism’s ideas, we might see why this happened…

The “big 3” classical stoics were Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius (in chronological order), and whilst they vary in many respects, they all have at their core what is today known as the ‘Stoic Fork’.

Stoicism starts with the basic principle that nothing about the universe, or what we might call 'objective reality’ is either good/bad or valuable/valueless in itself. We, as the subject, MAKE this reality good or bad. We make value judgements, and we choose how we respond. As Shakespeare’s Hamlet says: “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”.

Two examples: a movie is simply a collection of sounds and sights thrown at you in a darkened room. It is you the subject who then says “God, that was crap!” as you walk to the car.

Or, you are given a promotion at work. You place value on extra money, and so you celebrate and party. In both cases there was a 'fact’ that happened to you, and in both cases you painted these 'facts’ either good or bad.

The Fork comes from this. Given the world is impartial, indifferent and valueless, we as subjects have only two things within our power: our behaviour and our thoughts. Everything else, including other people’s Forks, are beyond our power.

Stoics believe that in accepting this, we give up the suffering and pain that comes from trying to change what cannot be changed, and we can focus on those things that we can change. The Stoic Fork is a call to recognise our own limitations, and, with that comes both a freedom and a calming resignation. You might not be able to change the fact your friend was rude to you, but you can change how think and feel about that. “He made me angry” is very different to “I’m letting him make me angry”.

As Victor Frankl (who surived Auschwitz) said: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”. This recognition of the Fork is Stoicism through and through.

In many respects Stoic thoughts are found later in Existentialism (e.g. the ideas of Bad Faith) as well being a core tenant of Buddhism and its Western variation in Schopenhauer (who thought life was a suffering of constant desire).

Most relevant today, perhaps, is the huge influence it has had on modern forms of psychotherapy and especially the hugely efficacious Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). CBT invites people to consider the cycle of trigger - judgement - thought - action. We then focus on and manage those areas we can (especially the last two).

The Stoic Fork in action, more than 2000 years later.