​The Centre for the Study and Application of Stoicism (CSAS) is a multidisciplinary research centre based at Royal Holloway, University of London, with external members around the world. It brings together academics in Philosophy, Classics, Psychology, and Business, all concerned with the study of ancient Stoicism and how it might be put into practice today. Our work falls into three interrelated areas. 

1. Understand

Misconceptions about Stoicism continue to abound. In English the word ‘stoic’ is often taken to refer to emotional suppression, cold detachment and isolation. Psychological studies have shown that such attitudes can be damaging. The ancient philosophy of Stoicism was, however, quite different and we want to understand it on its own terms with close reference to the ancient sources, examining both its strengths and weaknesses. At present we run a biennial workshop devoted to the study of ancient Stoicism, bringing together specialists from Classics and Philosophy. 

2. Test

If colloquial ‘stoicism’ can be damaging, what about ancient Stoicism? Building on over a decade of data gathered from Stoic Week by the organisation Modern Stoicism, we want to test Stoic ideas and principles to see if they might benefit people in a variety of contexts. A handful of peer review studies have already appeared and we shall build on those, developing a credible evidence base for the efficacy of Stoicism in a variety of contexts. 

3. Apply

The next step is to support the application of Stoic ideas in a a range of contexts, from schools, business, prisons to medical training and student wellbeing. We have supported Stoic training programmes in UK prisons, hosted business students from other institutions, and spoken to groups of global business leaders. In all these activities we collaborate closely with the Aurelius Foundation.