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In the beginning, there was Surak - "The greatest of all who ever lived on our planet, Captain," according to Spock, "The father of all we became."
In Star Trek lore, Surak was a philosopher-scientist who created the philosophy of reason that ultimately set his people on a less violent and more serene path. It happened around Earth's 4th century, or roughly 2,000 years before the latter Trek era.
The thing is... Back on Earth, they'd already gotten there - a full 700 years earlier. It was more than 300 years BCE when a Greek philosopher named Zeno began to conceive a very similar course to the one Surak would construct. It was built on reason, as Surak's would be, and it called for a reflective, contemplative mastery of emotion. It recognized the connectedness of the universe, and emphasized strict self-governance and responsibility. Its end goal: the perpetual cultivation of wisdom, and the endless pursuit of peace.
Sounds pretty Vulcan, doesn't it?
The study of Stoicism, then, is in essence the study of what it means to be a Vulcan - logical, contemplative, peaceful, with emotions well managed. That's a worthy pursuit; hopefully, this introductory book will offer some useful information and insights for those who might undertake it.
