Check out Associate Professor Tracy Llanera’s newest piece, “Everything doesn’t happen for a reason: The myth of modern stoicism.” You can check out the piece on IAI’s website for free.

Below is an excerpt of the article:

When I was younger, hearing “everything happens for a reason” while lying face-down in the muck made me uncomfortable. Now, it sets me off. The reason is simple: the idea that every little thing is set in stone is a morally misguided philosophy. It suggests that all kinds of pain and suffering are unavoidable, that the injustices and cruelties plaguing our short lives are not only inescapable but in some ludicrous way even deserved, and that there’s nothing we can do differently as human beings to change our fate. These are the loaded claims behind “it’s meant to be” and “it is what it is,” colloquialisms of fatalist, unreflective stoicism tendered by well-meaning souls.

Congratulations, Tracy!

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