Stoic Meditations

Latest Episodes:

414. The hedonic treadmill will not make you happy Jul 30, 2019

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People think that externals are good, and then, after having won their wish, and suffered much, they find them evil, or empty, or less important than they had expected.

413. Fortune, I ask no favors of you Jul 29, 2019

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Fortune sometimes favors villains and turns against good people. That's why our happiness should depend on our own decisions, not the vagaries of chance.

412. The playthings of children and the shackles of adults Jul 26, 2019

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External goods like fine clothing, gourmet food, and nice houses ought to be regarded as the playthings of children, not the shackles of adults.

411. The importance of not wasting time Jul 25, 2019

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Nature has not given us such a generous and free-handed space of time that we can have the leisure to waste any of it.

410. The value of money, beauty, and high social position Jul 24, 2019

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The Stoic concept of preferred and dispreferred indifferents always gets people confused or, the other common human response to lack of understanding, scoffing.

409. Rationalizing is not the same thing as reasoning Jul 23, 2019

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We are in love with our vices; we uphold them and prefer to make excuses for them rather than shake them off. The reason is unwillingness, the excuse, inability.

408. How to tell whether you have achieved wisdom Jul 19, 2019

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Do you find yourself in the thralls of fear, jealousy, or anger? Do you act inconsistently in life? Then you ain't wise yet.

407. Negative emotions are diseases, they are not good even in small measure Jul 18, 2019

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One of the major differences between Stoics and Aristotelians has always been the treatment of disruptive emotions, such as anger and fear. They are helpful, in small measure, for Aristotle, but definitely to avoid for the Stoics.

406. The true value of things Jul 17, 2019

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We have become alternately merchants and merchandise, and we ask, not what a thing truly is, but what it costs.

405. Are you a slave, a fool, or what? Jul 16, 2019

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From the point of view of someone who has managed to overcome his attachment for externals, people going after riches and luxuries look like fools. Are you one of them?

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