Stoic Meditations

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524. The path to virtue is not as steep as some may think Jan 13, 2020

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“But the way by which we are asked to climb is steep and uneven.” What then? Can heights be reached by a level path? Yet they are not so sheer and precipitous as some think.

523. The joke's on the thief Jan 10, 2020

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Nobody wants to do what is bad for them. So when the thief steals, he is under the wrong impression about what is and is not good for him. We should therefore pity him, and help him understand, if possible.

522. The importance of logic Jan 09, 2020

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A student asks Epictetus whether we should really bother to learn logic. "Would you like me to provide you with an argument?" Yes. "How would you know if my argument is a good one, if you don't understand logic?" QED.

521. Humanity's problems stem from ignorance Jan 08, 2020

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According to Epictetus, the root of our problems is that we don't know, or refuse to acknowledge, how the world works. As opposed as to how we wished it worked.

520. Practice, practice, practice Jan 07, 2020

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If someone gets the habit of writing ungrammatically, their art is bound to be destroyed and perish. In the same way the person of honor keeps their character by honest acts and loses it by dishonest.

519. Don't behave like a sheep or a wild beast Jan 06, 2020

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What sets aside human beings from the rest of the animal world is our ability to reason and our propensity to be pro-social. So let's reason well, and be helpful to fellow humans.

518. The power of using impressions Jan 02, 2020

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Since plants do not even have the power of perception, ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are not applicable to them. Evidently, ‘good’ and ‘bad’ presume the power of using impressions.

517. What if you were sent to Gyara? Dec 30, 2019

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The island of Gyara was the exile place of choice for troublesome people during the Roman Empire. How would you handle being sent into exile?

516. The wonder and curse of consciousness Dec 27, 2019

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Because we’re the only animals who not only die but are conscious of it even while it happens, we are beset by anxiety.

515. Microcosm and macrocosm Dec 26, 2019

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Because what is a human being? Part of a community – the community of gods and men, primarily, and secondarily that of the city we happen to inhabit, which is only a microcosm of the universe in toto.

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