Orlando Stoics

TBD

Every Sunday, a new lecture. Meeting starts 9:00AM with friendly conversation, then a dialogue at 9:15AM and a Q&A discussion follows.

DESCRIPTION
This week, we turn our attention to two prophetic thinkers of the technological age. Jacques Ellul and Jean Baudrillard ideas feel more relevant than ever in the era of generative AI.

Ellul, writing in the mid-20th century, examined how technique, the relentless pursuit of efficiency, reshapes not only society but also the way we speak and think. He saw language as the first casualty of technological propaganda, transformed from a vehicle of truth into a tool of conformity and control. In Ellul’s view, when speech becomes subordinated to systems of production and automation, words lose their power to reveal reality and instead begin to reproduce ideology.

Baudrillard, following in this trajectory, pushed the critique even further. In his theory of simulacra and hyperreality, he argued that language and images no longer represent reality—they replace it. For Baudrillard, we live among signs that refer only to other signs, a hall of mirrors where meaning dissolves into endless reproduction. In the age of AI-generated text and imagery, his insight feels prophetic: what happens when communication itself becomes simulation?

Together, Ellul and Baudrillard offer a sobering reflection on the fate of language in the technological age. We hope you’ll join Plato’s Cave and the Orlando Stoics for this thought-provoking discussion on media, meaning, and the hyperreal world we now inhabit.

This is our monthly talk with a scholar in Modern Stoicism or another branch of philosophy.
This month, we welcome Christopher Gill, who is Emeritus Professor of Ancient Thought at University at Exeter, and he has authored multiple books on ancient philosophy.
Joe Bullock will interview him, and we will have time for Q&A from the audience.

TIME

This week, we’ll continue our exploration of Silicon Valley Stoicism—the modern trend of reducing Stoic philosophy to productivity hacks or stress-management tools—and contrast it with the ancient Stoic focus on virtue, natural law, and the common good. We’ll also review Nellie Bowles’ New York Times article, “Why Is Silicon Valley So Obsessed With the Virtue of Suffering?”

In addition, we’ll examine Massimo Pigliucci and Donald Robertson’s thoughtful responses to Bowles’ critique. Both authors clarify that Stoicism is not about self-inflicted suffering, endurance for fame, or emotional suppression. Rather, Stoicism teaches that wealth and comfort are “preferred indifferents,” and that true freedom lies in aligning one’s will with reason and nature. The ancient Stoics—from Zeno, a shipwrecked merchant, to Epictetus, a former slave—embodied this principle, showing that virtue and service to humanity, not power or notoriety, define the good life.

Questions to Think About
Together, we’ll discuss Stoicism as a philosophy of life and contrast it with Silicon Valley’s instrumental approach to Stoic ideas.

Can Stoicism be meaningfully practiced in entrepreneurial or high-stress environments without losing its moral center?

How do the Stoic virtues of courage, justice, temperance, and wisdom guide us in the modern pursuit of innovation and success?

Reading Material