In his 14th letter, “On the Reasons for Withdrawing from the World,” Seneca advises his reader to avoid discomfort, danger, and being an object of envy. As the title suggests, he recommends withdrawing, not engaging, to improve one’s peace of mind, and even to improve the lives of others. He makes a case for living in…
As you may be aware, Stoicism is hot these days. Some practicing Stoics appear to be view this as a non-preferred indifferent [1]. Rather than feel threatened or un-stoically irritated by it, modern Stoics should keep their chins up--or better, down, to peruse their Stoic texts and ignore the trend, which will likely die down…
This past weekend I spent eight hours in a car with my little boy. I had plenty of opportunities to practice virtue and temperance, but I could have done with fewer. It was at times a sweaty-palms, white-knuckles experience, but it made me think about Stoic philosophy and how driving is a metaphor for…
In Book Nine of the Meditations, Marcus Aurelius has some useful advice--very hard to follow, but useful nonetheless--about what to do when people act badly. I have to say, this is nearly impossible to follow on the day after yet another mass shooting. But let’s see if we can bring Marcus into the 21st century. We…
