Stoic Meditations

Seneca reminds us that all too often we judge people on the basis of what they wear, or of their social rank, mistakenly assuming that those are good indicators of their character. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca reminds his contemporaries that slaves are human beings like everyone else. In this episode, we talk about slavery in the ancient world, what the Stoics thought about it, and what follows from their philosophy. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca warns us to be careful with people who pretend to be our friends, or simply feed our narcissism. Like, you know, most of the "friends" you likely have on social media... --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca reminds us that philosophy is open to all, no matter what our background and means. Engage the philosophical life and you will get to converse with noble minds across time and cultures. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca observes our tendency to boast of the good things we do and to keep quiet about the not-so-good ones. As if our own judgment, the judgment of our conscience, didn't matter. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca says that Stoic mindfulness is about paying attention to what is happening to us. We need to keep charting and re-charting our way forward, as our mind needs to be prepared for the vagaries of Fortune. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca says that Fortune may take just as much, and as suddenly, as she can give. But we can work on improving our character so that we can accept with equanimity both the good and the bad stuff in life. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Marcus Aurelius suggests some simple therapy for our troubled souls: pause and observe some good things done by people around you. Appreciate what they are doing. And use it as an inspiration for becoming better yourself. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Epictetus warns us that if we let an external take precedence over the integrity of our character we are doomed to become slaves for life. And who wants to be a slave, right? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca reminds us that Stoicism is a live philosophy, which must evolve over time in order to incorporate new truths and, if needed, reject old ideas that turned out to be wrong. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Marcus Aurelius reminds us that Stoicism is both self forgiving and forgiving of others, and that while we should take the path of truth and justice, we should also be tolerant of people who are even further from wisdom and are gooing the wrong way. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Epictetus tells us that nobody can force us to agree to a judgment we think is incorrect. Surprisingly, this has countless applications to everyday life. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca reminds us that, regardless of external circumstances, the only life worth living is one of virtue, and the only life to avoid is one dominated by vice. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Marcus Aurelius recognizes that, as Antoninus, he is a citizen of Rome. But more fundamentally, he is a citizen of the human cosmopolis. Some pretty radical consequences immediately follow... --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Epictetus reminds us that education, which involves the ability to shape our moral values, is the only ticket to achieving freedom. Something to remember, in these days in which people freely elect tyrants and autocracts. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

In this episode we discuss a quote from Seneca which, together with several other passages in other authors, clearly points to the conclusion that the Stoics were in favor of suicide in the case of disease and frailty in old age. Which does not mean they took suicide lightly at all. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Musonius Rufus rather sarcastically reminds us that being bad requires just as much work as being good, so why not choose the latter instead? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Marcus Aurelius says that people make mistakes because they don't know better. So there is no point in getting self-rigtheous and angry about it, instead we need to teach them where they go wrong. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Epictetus defends the apparently strange notion that philosophy, like mathematics (or science, or lots of other things) is a profession, requiring expertise. He is not being elitist, he's just being reasonable. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca reminds us that even though we belong to different social groups, religions, ethnicities and so forth, we are, most fundamentally, members of the human cosmopolis. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations/support