Does Happiness Write Blank Pages? On Stoicism and Artistic Creativity

This is a compact book that addresses an interesting but neglected question and does so with admirable precision. It examines the apparent conflict between the images of the tormented poet and the tranquil sage. It offers a critical discussion of some key ideas in Stoicism and an analysis of artistic creativity that draws on a wide range of examples, from high art to popular culture. It shows the ways in which the Romantic image of creative genius is at odds with the Stoic ideal of rational contentment, while also pointing to other models of artistic practice that might be more fitting for someone trying to combine Stoicism with artistic practice.

Dr John Sellars

Wolfson College, Oxford, UK

Piotr Stankiewicz’s "Does Happiness Write Blank Pages? On Stoicism and Artistic Creativity" is concerned not with whether Stoics are intellectually capable of creating art—they are—but with whether they would feel motivated to do so. In this impressive work, he examines a wide variety of motives and concludes that some but not all are compatible with Stoicism. He goes on to argue that this in turn means that Stoicism would not be compatible with what he characterizes as the Romantic model of artistic creativity.

Dr. William B. Irvine

Wright State University

The author’s ideas are engaging. His arguments are well supported by texts from both ancient Stoics and a wide range of artists and authors.

William O. Stephens

Professor of Philosophy, President of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, Beta Chapter of Nebraska, Creighton University