Erich Fromm When one’s own rationality is obscured, it is hard to turn to a system of thought such as Stoicism, which prizes human reason and logic as the means of rising above adversity. When we are in a rational frame of mind, its precepts make sense and form a worldview that is solid and…
Looking at “the thing behind the appearance”: examining “phantasiai” and finding calm
Happy Stoic Week! One of this week’s morning meditation passages, from Marcus Aurelius, reads in part: There is nowhere that a person can find a more peaceful and trouble-free retreat than in his own mind, especially if he has within himself the kind of thoughts that let him dip into them and so at once gain…
Stumbling blocks for a Stoic novice
I wrote in my last post of humans’ attaining their true end by using their intellect to contemplate nature, thereby achieving greatness of soul. This takes a certain steeliness of mental faculties, and personally, in the guise of being a “realist” I have gotten into lazy, flaccid, un-steely mental habits. Despite being for the most…
