Official Review: Neostoicism 2.0 by Robert Woolston

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 05 Sep 2017, 04:05

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Neostoicism 2.0" by Robert Woolston.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Neostoicism 2.0: Stoicism, Christianity and Personal Empowerment for the 21st Century is a very interesting and informative book written by Robert Woolston.

The book is divided into eight chapters including the Preface, Introduction, Concluding Remarks and the Epilogue. It discusses four major topics: Ancient Greek Stoicism, Christian Theology, Neostoicism 1.0 and Neostoicism 2.0. Each topic is divided into subtopics. The book begins with Cynicism which develops into Stoicism then Neostoicism and ultimately Neostoicism 2.0, which the author claims to be applicable in our daily lives in the 21st century.

Neostoicism 2.0 is the combination of Ancient Stoicism and Christianity and is founded on the theme of courage and fearlessness. To be fearless and courageous, one must apply Stoicism in the form of mental and emotional self-control. That means to confront fear directly in whatever form it takes and overcome its effects in a rational and level-headed manner because only then can one exhibit the higher virtues including faith, hope and true love.

This book is, first and foremost, very informative especially for someone, like me, who is not aware of this particular philosophy. Thankfully, the author levels with even the least informed readers that though he maintains his book to be scholarly written it is still understandable. Moreover, his introduction of historical figures is anecdotal thus making this very interesting for a philosophy book.

However, I find the book, with all the historical data, too general. Probably due to the length of the book which is relatively short, the author seems to focus on terminologies and definition and explanation of those terminologies but not in the application of the philosophy. Even the inclusion of a couple of case studies for exemplification seems to be inadequate to stress the importance and advantages of Neostocism 2.0. The philosophy of Neostoicism 2.0, itself, seems to be too good to be true, if the reader would only base on this book, because of the generality of the explanations. It would definitely help if the author includes step by step instructions on how to use Neostoicism 2.0 not just as a philosophy but as a way of life. Case by case examples, like at home, at school, at the workplace, etc., would also be very helpful. As is, the readers are left wanting for more, which can be a good thing if the author will be publishing another book about the same subject in the future.

In addition, the entire book is teeming with noticeable errors, mostly typographical (Aurielius for Aurelius and Rhetoic for Rhetoric) misspelled words (disasterous instead of disastrous, arguging instead of arguing and optomism instead of optimism) and missing words (when one is able achieve). Apparently, this book will benefit from another round of editing.

I, therefore, rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It is very interesting and informative. It is also well researched and well-referenced. I enjoyed reading it. Consequently, I want to read more on this topic. I recommend it to theology students and other readers who are simply interested in religion and philosophy.

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Neostoicism 2.0
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geoffrey ngoima · Post by **geoffrey ngoima** » 06 Sep 2017, 07:38

I am not aware of the particular philosophy too, it looks interesting.
Thank you for the wonderful review, I know reading thru it must have taken a little bit of yourself

Post by **kandscreeley** » 06 Sep 2017, 07:43

I don't think this is one I would enjoy, but I always appreciate your reviews. Thanks!

Quinto · Post by **Quinto** » 09 Sep 2017, 00:09

Interesting philosophical ideas that needs to be expounded on. This is a book I would like to read. Thanks for an enjoyable review.

Sysybombaya · Post by **Sysybombaya** » 10 Sep 2017, 04:32

Interesting story.

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 16 Sep 2017, 03:26

geoffrey ngoima wrote:I am not aware of the particular philosophy too, it looks interesting.
Thank you for the wonderful review, I know reading thru it must have taken a little bit of yourself

Thank you. I learned a lot from this book

-- 16 Sep 2017, 03:27 --