Stoic Meditations

Seneca reminds us that the tools for becoming a better person are simple and inexpensive. In this episode we discuss the three basic tools of the Stoic practitioner. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

A quote from Marcus Aurelius sounds a lot like what Ayn Rand would say. But it couldn't be further from it. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca reminds us that it may be just as difficult to deal with good fortune as with the bad variety. Regardless, everything life throws at us is an opportunity to exercise our virtue. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca says that doing without things for a while renews our appreciation for them. In this episode we examine five exercises in mild self-deprivation guaranteed to reset your hedonic treadmill. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca reminds us that courage is not just for the battlefield, but for the everyday difficulties of life, like being sick. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

A contemporary theory of consciousness, proposed by philosopher Jesse Prinz, recalls Seneca's treatment of the emotions, and teaches us how to avert painful thoughts by focusing on the good things that happen to us. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Epictetus reminds us that the only things that are truly good or bad for us are our judgments, which are under our control. It follows that "happiness," in the sense of a life worth living, is also under our control. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca reminds us that athletes willingly subject themselves to harsh regimes in order to succeed. But when it comes to becoming a better person most of us think it's just too difficult. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca reminds us that to indulge in regret is irrational, as the past is outside of our control. That doesn't mean we can't learn from it, though. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca tells us that our happiness, or lack thereof, is a matter of our own opinion. No, he's not making a relativist or post-modernist argument on the nature of knowledge. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Marcus says that once we have observed human affairs for 40 years, it's the same as having observed them for 10,000 years. Surely he is wrong? Not necessarily... --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

The Stoics, the Epicureans, and Aristotle all agreed on one thing: friends are important. In this episode we talk about why, and how the Stoics differ from the other two schools on this topic. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca uses a metaphor that later became famous with Shakespeare: life is like a play, so what counts is not its length, but how well we act our parts. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca points out that people regret not being alive a thousand years from now, and yet are not bothered by the thought of not having been alive for the past thousand years. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca recalls an ancient Roman custom according to which the host of a banquet would distribute gifts to his friends at the end. Consider doing the same after your life has ended. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Epictetus warn us that a little knowledge of philosophy, without proper guidance, can actually turn us onto even more stubborn fools than we were before. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca argues that life is not like a journey. Whenever it is interrupted it is a whole life, if we have been living it virtuously. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Today's quote from Seneca is the root of the modern Stoic technique of premeditatio malorum, a meditation in which we try to get mentally prepared to tackle adversity. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca uses a beautiful analogy to argue that some people may look impressive while they aren't, and other people truly are impressive and yet remain overlooked. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca tells us that virtue is useful not just in order to handle bad fortune, but also, counter intuitively, to deal with good fortune. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support