When I look out of my window I can see the flatiron building featured on the cover. Why is it featured here? I will come to it in a minute. But first a question. 

Which is the most Stoic city in the world? 

Athens, the birthplace of Stoicism? Rome, which gave us almost all surviving works of ancient Stoicism? Or some big city like San Francisco or London? 

There could be many answers (or no answer) to this question. It would depend on how we measure the ‘Stoicness’ of a city. Yet, some of the facts I came across recently make me wonder if Toronto is the most Stoic city in the world. 

Toronto? You mean that city in Canada to which no one gives a second thought? 

Yes, my friends, it is. If you are a Torontonian, I’m sure you’d be even more surprised. 

It is not just that Toronto is in Canada which has the largest number of Stoic Fellowship groups per capita in the world. There is a lot more to it than that. 

• By far the largest Stoic Fellowship group is in Toronto—around 1100 members and growing. (Stoic Fellowship groups are groups of people who regularly meet in pubs, cafes, and lecture halls to discuss Stoicism. There are some 50 such groups around the world.) 
• By far the largest Stoic Facebook group has around 50,000 members. The moderator of this group, Donald Roberson calls (or will be calling) Toronto home. 
• The largest gathering ever of Stoics in history by some reckoning was at the Stoicon 2017 held in Toronto. 
• Probably the first and the only Stoic magazine in the world—THE STOIC– is published from Toronto. 
• The University of Toronto has a community called Stoicism U of T whose purpose is to enable students to learn about philosophy—in particular, Stoicism 

And I am not even counting the macho version of Stoicism attributed to Jordan Peterson, who also lives in Toronto. 

Does it make any difference which is the most Stoic city in the world? Probably not. 

Can we be sure that Toronto is the most Stoic in the world? No we cannot. You can come up with different criteria and name a different city as the most Stoic. 

Even so, I am intrigued by the thought that the city I call home could be the most Stoic in the world. Yet I am also aware of the absurdity of being proud about it, or even excited about it. I can hear Epictetus mocking me with his admonition. 

We could understand if your horse bragged about its beauty. But, don’t you see, that when you brag about your horse’s beauty, you are taking credit for the horse’s traits?... If you analyze your impressions according to nature [meaning using reason], you will not be puffed with pride unless there is reason for you to be. 

Quite so. I am not the city I live in. Taking credit for my city being the most Stoic is taking credit for the traits of the city, something that is not truly mine. 

So think of this as just a curiosity, an entry in the game of trivial pursuits. At the very least, I hope you like the image of the flatiron building on the cover in arguably the most Stoic city in the world! 

And, if you think some other city better qualifies as being the most Stoic, let us know which one and why you think so. 

Trivial pursuits are always fun. 

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Dr. Chuck Chakrapani Editor-in-Chief

 

 

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