Neither too serious nor too frivolous.

This is well put by Musashi:

The mindset in the Way of combat must be no different from one’s normal state of mind. In the course of your daily life, and when engaged in strategy, there should be no change whatsoever in your outlook. Your mind should be expansive and direct, devoid of tension, but not at all casual. Keep your mind centered, not leaning too much to one side, swaying serenely and freely so that it does not come to a standstill in moments of change. Consider this carefully.

Book of Five Rings

At times, playful. At others, intense. The Stoic is calm, but not merely. Their mind is adaptable and can take on the shape of whatever the situation requires.

Is it a time for levity? Then the soul is light. A time for gravity? Then it is appropriately somber.

The Stoics meant this literally. The soul expands and contracts with emotions:

Distress is a contraction of psyche which is disobedient to reason, and its cause is a fresh believing that some evil is present toward which it is appropriate to <be contracted. Delight is an elevation of psyche which is disobedient to reason, and its cause is a fresh believing that some good is present toward which it is appropriate to> be elevated.

Stobaeus

Cited in the excellent Margaret Graver Stoicism and Emotion.

Negative emotions, passions, disorder the soul. This is a physical, not just a cognitive, happening.

Good emotions order the soul: wish, caution. And what is ordered is harmonious – ready to meet the moment.

But for each person, when they approach their life from the right distance, neither too close nor too far away, their mind is consistent. The way of combat is no different from the way of love.

(00:00) Visiting the Stoa Poikile and the Athenian Agora

(05:00) The Acropolis, the Lyceum, and Plato’s Academy

(06:30) Edward Lear and Athens as an imaginary city

(08:40) Athens as a platonic form

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If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we’ll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

What if there is something that connects all great people? Something that they all have in common about how they approach life, from great entrepreneurs and artists to community leaders and philosophers. Yes they are all good at different things, but what if we could narrow in on what all great people have in common, and focus on developing that in particular?

Zen has an answer to that question. What connects all great people is an understanding of the Way - a direct indescribable knowledge of the nature of the current moment and how to navigate it successfully.

Now, you can’t use words to describe something that is indescribable. Even if I understood it myself, I couldn’t tell you what the Way is, any more than I could give you a set of words that instantly make you a great artist, parent, or entrepreneur.

You have to understand it yourself through study and practice. However, 400 years ago a Japanese samurai, undefeated in over 60 duels, retired to a cave to write down his understanding of the Way. He knew his book couldn’t give people the answer, but it might help them get there quicker.

I’m talking about Miyamoto Musashi’s famous Book of Five Rings.

Zen is a type of Buddhism that emphasizes practice, particularly meditation and contemplation, over the study of theory or scripture. But it is also heavily influenced by the Taoist traditions, with a focus on finding ‘the way’ through life, the thing that connects all exceptional people, and runs through each domain of life.

To understand “the way” of anything, is to understand how to live well. However, Zen also argues that this way is indescribable. We can’t just talk about it and write it down, we have to come to understand it through practice.

The zen warrior is someone who pursues ‘the way’ through the art of combat or battle. This is their practice or craft, along with meditation, that enables them to understand how to live.

So, someone practicing Zen aims to live well, but is skeptical of how far theory can take them, so they begin a practice. The Zen warrior involves combat, conflict, and battle as a key part of that practice.

Some reading this may be professional soldiers, or combat athletes, but not many. So why should you care about Warrior Zen if you do not think of yourself as a warrior?

Warrior Zen is a life philosophy that focuses on using high-stress or challenging conflicts in our life and turning them into a way to live better. It is about mastering strategy, learning how to succeed in difficult situations, and then applying that strategy back to other parts of your own life.

Miyamoto Musashi is an excellent teacher of Warrior Zen. Musashi was a Japanese swordsman who lived in the 17th century. Known as perhaps the greatest sword fighter of all time, he was undefeated in over 60 duels, many of which were to the death.

He was also renowned for his innovative style of fighting, which often broke convention, and his use of two swords, instead of the more common single sword style. If all Musashi had done was fight with a sword, he would still be well known today. But he was also a philosopher.

Months before his death, at nearly 60 years old, he isolated himself in a cave and wrote down his philosophy of swordsmanship and life in the Book of Five Rings.

There are many lessons in this book, about how to fight and how to live.

It also has many parallels to Stoicism. Remember that the Stoics also compared living well to a kind of combat.

Marcus Aurelius wrote that:

The art of life is more like the wrestler’s art than the dancer’s, in respect of this, that it should stand ready and firm to meet onsets which are sudden and unexpected.

Meditations, 7.61

Zen does not always use the same language as western philosophy. It does not talk about pursuing virtue, or eudaimonia. Instead, it focuses on achieving what is called “The Way”. Zen philosophers aspire to life in accordance with the Way - even if it is not easily describable.

One key theme of Musashi’s writing is that we can learn about ‘The Way’ through whatever craft we pursue excellence in, although as a zen warrior his craft is battle.

So there is a ‘Way’ in swordfighting, and by understanding that, Musashi gets closer to understanding how to follow ‘The Way’ in life.

This is similar to the Stoic’s craft analogy. Living well is a skill to be learnt like any other, so our other skills teach us about living.

Keep this in mind when studying Musashi.

You may not be a fighter, but you do have other skills. They are all connected. Learning about ‘The Way’ of swordfighting will teach you about how to draw, run a business, or be a better friend.

Epictetus reminded us that even though you may train to be an Olympic champion for years, after all that work, you might still fail.

Success is not up to you. Even if you do everything in your power. Even if you are realistic, consistent, inspired, resilient and focused - you can still fail any external goal.

If you are a runner, unless you are world champion, you only won your race because someone better than you did not register. And you only came in last because no one worse than you was there.

The Stoic is not discouraged by failure, or made cocky by success. Instead, they use success or failure as feedback. It becomes information, an input into the process.

Marcus wrote in his meditations:

That which rules within, when it is according to nature, is so affected with respect to the events which happen, that it always easily adapts itself to that which is and is presented to it. For it requires no definite material, but it moves towards its purpose, under certain conditions however; and it makes a material for itself out of that which opposes it, as fire lays hold of what falls into it, by which a small light would have been extinguished: but when the fire is strong, it soon appropriates to itself the matter which is heaped on it, and consumes it, and rises higher by means of this very material.

To paraphrase Marcus in more plain language, the philosopher pursues a goal or purpose and turns whatever failures or hardship it encounters into material that benefits that goal.

Their character is like a fire that has achieved enough size and power to consume whatever is thrown into it, instead of being snuffed out.

Inspired by the Stoics, the contemporary author Nassim Taleb described this ability as antifragility. The antifragile person is made stronger by disruption, failure, and challenge - they are the opposite of the fragile person, who is ruined by chaos.

High-performers are antifragile. They incorporate failure into the process. They learn from their mistakes. Being antifragile, like all things, required effort and focus. You must practice finding the lesson in each failure.

But it also requires a flexibility of purpose. If your goal is to make the 2032 Olympics, or get accepted into a specific medical school, or have a specific amount of money by a certain age - you can’t be antifragile about these goals. They are binary. You either reach them or you fail. They have no flexibility.

The Stoic’s ultimate goal is to make the right choice in every moment with what they have available to them - so their purpose is maximally flexible.

But - that goal is a bit abstract. Specific goals can be framed more flexibly too. Instead of making the olympics, aspire to achieve your potential as an athlete. Instead of being accepted at medical school, aspire to become someone that helps people with their health. Instead of a certain net worth, aspire to be financially responsible.

Antifragility comes from practice and focus, and reframing your goals as a purpose rather than a specific achievement.

Today, consider how you can make your goal a purpose - so that you can be antifragile to anything outside your control.

As always, if you cannot afford the Stoa app but want to use it nonetheless, send an email to stoa@stoameditation.com and we will set you up with a free account.

Caleb and Michael continue their series on Musashi’s Book of Five Rings with the second book: Water. Where Book One laid out general strategy, this one gets into the craft itself: swordsmanship as a lens for how to carry yourself, think clearly, and stay locked onto what actually matters.

(00:00) Introduction to the Water Book

(03:40) Mindset: Quietly Vibrating, Not Leaning

(07:50) Don’t Let Your Body Control Your Mind

(10:50) Spirit vs. Body Size

(13:00) Posture as Evidence of a Strong Mind

(18:00) Make Your Everyday Stance Your Strategic Stance

(21:50) Purpose Over Technique: Cut the Opponent Down

(25:10) Bruce Lee, the UFC, and Rejecting Styles

(28:00) Telos: The Ancient Word for “Keep Your Eye on the Ball”

(31:30) Positions That Exist and Don’t Exist

(35:00) Precepts as Boats: When to Let Go of Rules

(38:30) Rhythm in Fighting, Conversation, and Life

(42:00) Offensive and Defensive Lessons on Disruption

(44:50) Forge Yourself with a Thousand Days of Training

Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we’ll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

First, a quick summary of the Stoic position. It’s perfectly captured by Epictetus:

But it is a man’s own opinions which disturb him: for when the tyrant says to a man, I will chain your leg, he who values his leg says, Do not; have pity: but he who values his own will says, If it appears more advantageous to you, chain it.

Discourses 19.1

Other people do not determine your happiness. Ultimately, that is up to your decisions and judgements.

Yes, other people can constrain your liberty – but ultimately they cannot limit your freedom:

And what is freedom, you ask? It means not being a slave to any circumstance, to any constraint, to any chance; it means compelling Fortune to enter the lists on equal terms.

Seneca, Moral Letters 51

Epictetus tells the story of Helvidius Priscus refusing to shut up just because the emperor demanded it. Why? Because the job of a senator and philosopher is to speak his mind – not give it up just because an emperor threatens him.

Stephanie asked, “Can tyrants take away our dignity?” With such philosophical questions, it always depends on what we mean – and as the SEP says “dignity is a complex concept.” For the Stoics, it is essential to distinguish between other people wronging you and causing you to suffer.

Other people can wrong you – and that requires a response. The Stoics certainly do not deny that. But again, they cannot make you suffer. Here is Marcus Aurelius:

If you take away your opinion about that which appears to give you pain, you yourself stand in perfect security.

Meditations 8.40

So, other people can treat us unjustly. They may affront our dignity. But they cannot impinge on the inner citadel. That’s our own.

This, of course, is consistent with defending ourselves and others from tyrants. Stoics died resisting tyrants themselves – think of the Stoic opposition to Nero or Cato’s war against Caesar.

It’s Stoic practice that cements our dignity in any circumstance. Helvidius Priscus acted with courage because he believed no emperor held power over him. People who are slaves to fortune sell their soul for the sake of rewards or the fear of punishment.

But if Stoics believe others cannot ultimately harm us – what grounds our rights? This is a deep question, perhaps deserving of another piece. Here I’d just like to reframe it as a separate matter from the point that Michael is making is his post:

Tyrants control the domain of externals. And if we worship externals, the things not to us, then they will control our happiness and our emotions.

The purpose of the game of life is to play it well. No one can prevent you from doing that to the best of your ability. It doesn’t matter whether others play dirty, play fair, or hold a better hand. If you do your best, for the Stoics, that is genuine happiness.

How do you deal with bad people who have power over you?

In Epictetus’ time, he called them tyrants. Today, we might call them something else, but they still exist. The terrible boss, the bully, the corrupt politician.

First, Epictetus says to recognize that they are not as powerful as they seem to be. They might have a puffed up ego, but even with all their money or authority they don’t have power over the important things. They can’t make themselves a good person. They can’t make you a bad person. They only have power over a few things, namely external things, indifferents.

Second, recognize that if you fear them, it is because you also value things outside your control - these indifferent things. Epictetus says to his students:

But it is a man’s own opinions which disturb him: for when the tyrant says to a man, I will chain your leg, he who values his leg says, Do not; have pity: but he who values his own will says, If it appears more advantageous to you, chain it.

Discourses 19.1

Epictetus’ point is that if you desire things other people control, you will find them terrifying. If you desire a promotion, you will be focused on appeasing and kissing up to your terrible boss.

If you want to be popular, you will have to laugh along with the jokes of the bully.

The Stoic focuses on virtue. The Stoic does what they think is right with the things up to them, and accepts that the Tyrant will do the same. And if it seems right to the tyrant to chain up or exile the Stoic, they will do that.

Tyrants control the domain of externals. And if we worship externals, the things not to us, then they will control our happiness and our emotions.

Epictetus gives the example of a man who has been elected to an important position in Rome:

Has a man been exalted to the tribuneship? All who meet him offer their congratulations: one kisses his eyes, another the neck, and the slaves kiss his hands. He goes to his house, he finds torches lighted. He ascends the capitol: he offers a sacrifice on the occasion. Now who ever sacrificed for having had good desires? For having acted conformably to nature?

Discourses 19.1

Epictetus is right here. We claim to be Stoics but celebrate a promotion or raise.

We should focus on celebrating our internal victories. Elsewhere in the Discourses, Epictetus compares these moral victories winning the Olympics. The moral dilemma, the moment of bravery, the time you did what is right, that is your Olympics.

So ask yourself, when someone has scared you or seemed terrible, what external success or reputation are you holding onto?

Tyrants on their own are not as powerful as they seem. Don’t give them power over you by valuing the things they have the ability to give or take away.

3.3

Hippocrates after curing many diseases himself fell sick and died.

The Chaldaei foretold the deaths of many, and then fate caught them too.

Alexander, and Pompeius, and Caius Caesar, after so often completely destroying whole cities, and in battle cutting to pieces many ten thousands of cavalry and infantry, themselves too at last departed from life.

Heraclitus, after so many speculations on the conflagration of the universe, was filled with water internally and died smeared all over with mud.

And lice destroyed Democritus; and other lice killed Socrates.

What means all this?

You have embarked, you have made the voyage, you are come to shore; get out.

If indeed to another life, there is no want of gods, not even there.

But if to a state without sensation, you will cease to be held by pains and pleasures, and to be a slave to the vessel, which is as much inferior as that which serves it is superior: for the one is intelligence and deity; the other is earth and corruption.

https://stoameditation.com/read/meditations/3/3

Read more

Caleb pushes back.

This solo episode uses the viral debate as a launching pad for what the Stoics actually think about self-examination.

Caleb draws a sharp line between the kind of introspection the critics hate — guilt, rumination, dwelling on the past — and the kind Marcus Aurelius practiced: forward-looking, demanding, and grounded in a clear standard of how to live.

(00:00) The VC’s argument against introspection

(03:00) Marcus Aurelius as counterexample

(05:00) What Stoic introspection is

(08:30) Self-criticism: proleptic, not punishing

(13:30) Knowing yourself: the Delphic tradition

(18:00) Why Stoic introspection isn’t rumination

(20:30) The risks: diminishing returns and the hall of mirrors

(23:30) How much introspection is enough

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If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we’ll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

Adapt yourself to the things that circumstances have brought to you. And the people who happen to surround you–love them, but do it truly, sincerely.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.39

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive back as much. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.

Luke 6.32-35

So let every one of you, who is eager to be or gain a friend, eradicate [faulty] judgments, hate them, drive them out of your mind. If you do that, then in the first place, you will never criticize yourself or be in conflict with yourself, and you will be free from inward reproach and self-torture; and, in the second place, in relation to other people, you will always straightforward to every like-minded person, while to everyone who is unlike you, you will be tolerant, gentle, kindly, forgiving, as to one who is ignorant, or is making a mistake in things of greatest importance.

Epictetus, Discourses, 2.22, 34-36

For what purpose do I make a friend? In order to have someone for whom I may die, whom I may follow into exile, against whose death I may stake my own life.

Seneca, Moral Letters 9.10

In practice though, the life they encouraged was not too dissimilar to Stoicism. The Epicureans recommended a virtuous life because they argued that a virtuous person would feel the most pleasure. The virtuous person is free from jealousy, desire, anger and other painful emotions. Not to mention they would have no enemies out to destroy them.

However, there was one major difference with the Stoics. The Epicureans thought we should separate ourselves from society. They encourage us to avoid having children, and live in a small commune of close friends. Politics is dangerous they would argue. It presents too many opportunities for suffering. Today the Epicurean might be compared to the person living off the grid - self-sufficient and peaceful, but disconnected.

Discourses Book 1 Chapter 23 is a criticism of this Epicurean tendency for isolation.

Epictetus sees this as weakness. You aren’t virtuous enough to navigate politics well, so you avoid it. You are not calm enough to raise your child, so you abandon them.

Epictetus says to his students:

Epicurus…ventures to say that we should not bring up children. But a sheep does not desert its own offspring, nor yet a wolf; and shall a man desert his child?

His point is that we criticize the sheep as dumb, and the wolf as vicious, but both still raise their children. Both still perform their social duties.

The Stoic lesson is this: living with other people is hard. It will lead to mistakes. You will lose your temper and patience. Work will challenge you, and your family will challenge you.

But this is why we need to study philosophy and practice our virtue. Anyone can avoid getting angry by removing themselves from social situations entirely. Our goal is to be a great member of a community, which is a much higher calling.

The Stoics are often criticized for being detached - much more often than the Epicureans. But this is an interesting example of what Stoicism actually asks of us. Stoics do not detach themselves from politics and social pressure so they can feel good. They detach themselves so that they can contribute more effectively, so they can help others.

The Stoic detaches themselves from their child’s tantrums, so they can be a better parent. It is the Epicurean who deserts their difficult child.

Some of Jesus’ core teachings land hard from a Stoic lens. Vice lives in desire, not action. The cowardly adulterer is worse than the bold one — he has two vices instead of one. Virtue demands the right reason, not just the right deed. Film your charity for Instagram and you’ve already collected your reward. Turn the other cheek isn’t passive — it’s radical character consistency. And loving your enemies? If you only love your friends, you’re not doing anything impressive. Everyone does that.

But then things get complicated. What’s the ethical function of miracles? Why does faith matter if the Stoics demand knowledge? And if heaven promises a hundredfold return on your sacrifice, doesn’t Christianity collapse into delayed hedonism?

Michael and Caleb wrestle with all of it — the overlaps, the tensions, and the parts that don’t resolve neatly.

(03:00) Reading Jesus as a Philosopher

(07:30) Vice Lives in Desire, Not Action

(12:30) Virtue Requires the Right Reason

(17:00) Turn the Other Cheek

(22:00) Love Your Enemies

(28:00) Cast the First Stone

(37:30) The Danger of Appearances

(41:30) Where a Stoic Pushes Back

(51:20) Ted Chang and the Literature of Faith

Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we’ll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

They took the other aspects of the philosophy seriously – logic and physics but Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, or Seneca didn’t pay as much attention to those aspects of the philosophy as the logic chopping Greeks.

This doesn’t mean that we should ignore those aspects of Stoicism – sometimes it figures in the background and a background can make or break a picture.

But it does mean that we shouldn’t overinvest in them. Of course, few of us are involved in disagreeing over the abstruse matters of Stoic metaphysics (perhaps I am guilty enough). But there’s another lesson here too.

Epictetus once said:

What do I care whether all existing things are composed of atoms, or of indivisibles, or of fire and earth?

Fragments, 1

In other words, what’s the importance of these theoretical questions? The simple path to a good life resides in acting well and that does not change if we are made of atoms or indivisible parts.

The Fragment continues:

Is it not enough to learn the true nature of the good and the evil, and the limits of the desires and aversions, and also of the choices and refusals, and, by employing these as rules, to order the affairs of our life, and dismiss the things that are beyond us?

Fragments, 1

I think this is an awesome reminder. To clear away the cobwebs of dialectics, debates, and distraction and simply focus on our duty. Who are you, what’s happening, and what’s your role. Don’t waffle in indecision, take account of the basic facts and then act. Oftentimes the right path, the straight road, is easy enough to see. All we need to do is walk.

Use this check-list to understand how far you’ve come, and where you still have room to improve.

Section 1: The Basics

1. Define Stoicism: Can you explain the fundamental Stoic principle that all we need to be happy is a good character?

2. Understand Virtue: Can you name and define the four cardinal Stoic virtues and explain why the Stoics considered them the only true goods?

3. Dichotomy of Control: Can you clearly distinguish between what is “up to us” versus “not up to us” and provide concrete examples of each category?

4. Read the primary texts: Have you read parts of foundational Stoic texts such as Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations”, Epictetus’ “Discourses,” or Seneca’s “Letters from a Stoic”?

Section 2: Theory

5. Preferred Indifferents: Can you explain what Stoics mean by “preferred indifferents” (health, wealth, reputation) and why they are neither good nor bad in themselves?

6. Emotions and Passions: Can you describe the Stoic view of emotions as judgments?

7. Living in Accordance with Nature: Can you articulate the Stoic concept of living according to nature and our role as rational beings within the larger universe?

8. Memento Mori and Impermanence: Can you explain how contemplating mortality is not morbid, but an important part of Stoic practice?

9. Hellenistic Philosophy: Can you identify and explain at least two other schools of hellenistic philosophy, and explain how they disagreed with the Stoics about how to live?

Section 3: Practice

10. Pausing before Acting: Do you regularly pause between impression and assent in order to examine your judgments, and can you provide examples of times you have successfully reframed situations?

11. Stoicism with Others: Can you demonstrate patience with difficult people by focusing on your own responses rather than trying to change them?

12. Consistent Reflection: Do you have a consistent practice of reflecting (journaling, introspecting, or otherwise) to examine your actions, thoughts, and progress?

13. Voluntary Discomfort: Do you occasionally practice voluntary discomfort to build resilience and reduce attachment to things you might desire but not need?

14. Keep Theory at Hand: Do you have a few Stoic lines that you understand so well that you feel comfortable reciting them by memory when needed?

Progress takes time and there is more to Stoicism than what is listed above. But if you are interested in practicing Stoicism - not just reading about it - then like any other craft improvement requires identifying the gaps in your skillset and practicing to reduce them.

Use this list as a jumping off point to improve your practice and return to it when helpful.

3.2

We ought to observe also that even the things which follow after the things which are produced according to nature contain something pleasing and attractive.

For instance, when bread is baked some parts are split at the surface, and these parts which thus open, and have a certain fashion contrary to the purpose of the baker’s art, are beautiful in a manner, and in a peculiar way excite a desire for eating.

And again, figs, when they are quite ripe, gape open; and in the ripe olives the very circumstance of their being near to rottenness adds a peculiar beauty to the fruit.

And the ears of corn bending down, and the lion’s eyebrows, and the foam which flows from the mouth of wild boars, and many other things- though they are far from being beautiful, if a man should examine them severally- still, because they are consequent upon the things which are formed by nature, help to adorn them, and they please the mind; so that if a man should have a feeling and deeper insight with respect to the things which are produced in the universe, there is hardly one of those which follow by way of consequence which will not seem to him to be in a manner disposed so as to give pleasure.

And so he will see even the real gaping jaws of wild beasts with no less pleasure than those which painters and sculptors show by imitation; and in an old woman and an old man he will be able to see a certain maturity and comeliness; and the attractive loveliness of young persons he will be able to look on with chaste eyes; and many such things will present themselves, not pleasing to every man, but to him only who has become truly familiar with nature and her works.

https://stoameditation.com/read/meditations/3/2

Notes

Beautiful passage. It’s frankly difficult to add commentary to passages like these.

Read more

The result is something between Stoicism and Aristotle — keeping the Stoic emphasis on character and agency while smuggling in a little more common sense about the human condition.

(00:00) Why articulate a personal philosophy?

(04:00) The geometric method

(05:00) The eudaimonistic framework

(10:30) What kind of thing are we?

(16:30) Degrees of happiness

(22:00) Rejecting the Stoic binary

(24:00) Unequal agency, genuine hardship, and obligations to others

(32:00) The capabilities approach

(37:30) The Stoic counterargument

(44:30) Summary

Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we’ll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

About pain: The pain which is intolerable carries us off; but that which lasts a long time is tolerable; and the mind maintains its own tranquility by retiring into itself, and the ruling faculty is not made worse.

Meditations 7.33

The Stoics saw fatigue as a kind of pain.

And like pain, it is a semi-rational phenomenon. In other words, something that our judgment can influence. Just as our interpretation can shape whether we are anxious or excited, angry or assertive, disciplined or disordered, it can render us tired or not.

This is an interesting upshot for those that might hold it’s completely a bodily phenomenon. If it has to do with the body alone then it would not be up to us. Apart from indirect measures – like stimulants and living a healthy life conducive to energy – it would be fully outside of our control.

But our judgments matter.

Whether or not we are motivated determines our energy levels and so also our level of fatigue. And motivation depends on how we think. Whether or not we believe we will succeed shapes how energetic we are. We may have seen, or even experienced, the situations in our life when we’re able to feel alive, energetic, like a force of nature because of what we believe – or the reverse, when the idea that our project is meaningless or when we feel depressed fatigue may accompany our every waking moment and drag us down.

In athletic situations the force of will cannot be underrated. So also in life.

That’s worth remembering. Many complain (or even boast) about how tired they are.

Fatigue is, to some extent, a choice. Not only because we can influence our environment, choose the effervescent and avoid the energy draining, but also because how we think determines the pep in our step.

That said, of course, there are limits. At some point the judgment that I am exhausted and I ought to sleep is truly correct. In fact, at some point, it’s true for us nearly every day. But don’t overlook the fact that how you think shapes your energy levels too.

At some level, fatigue is inevitable. In some cases, it’s a sign that you’re living well. You’ve found something worth spending your energy on. But in another sense, it’s a choice.

The paradox was that in order to become a successful author, Wallace had to inundate himself from the desire to win awards. He had created these mental justifications for why awards don’t matter: Those that judge the awards don’t know what they are talking about; the game is rigged and political; who wins awards is random; real authors don’t care about awards.

To survive the challenge of being a struggling writer he had adopted these paradigms. And now that has written this great book, and received these awards, he is not able to enjoy them. He no longer desires them the way a fresh young David Foster Wallace might have.

Some might say that these were survival mechanisms, borne out of a need for psychological protection. Others would say David was naturally moving towards a truth.

Discourses book 1, chapter 21 is about how we measure success. True philosophers measure success internally. They don’t want things outside of themselves.

But many of us try to impress people. We strut around. We show off. We want to be admired. We want other people to comment on how successful we are.

There are two things wrong with this. First, you are placing success externally, which makes you vulnerable. It breaks the idea of the dichotomy of control.

But there is an important second risk: you are letting people who are not qualified be the measure of success. This is not a job they have earned. They don’t practice philosophy, they don’t have the authority to measure success as well as you do.

As Epictetus says about the philosopher who shows off:

Who are they by whom you wish to be admired? Are they not those of whom you are used to say, that they are mad? Well then do you wish to be admired by madmen?

You should not need to be admired. That is not the metric of success for a philosopher. But if you do look for feedback, make sure it is from people who have authority, people whose character you actually want to emulate.

If David Foster Wallace’s approach to awards has validity, it is because it gets close to this Stoic idea: we shouldn’t care about the opinions of people we don’t respect.

3.1

We ought to consider not only that our life is daily wasting away and a smaller part of it is left, but another thing also must be taken into the account, that if a man should live longer, it is quite uncertain whether the understanding will still continue sufficient for the comprehension of things, and retain the power of contemplation which strives to acquire the knowledge of the divine and the human.

For if he shall begin to fall into dotage, perspiration and nutrition and imagination and appetite, and whatever else there is of the kind, will not fail; but the power of making use of ourselves, and filling up the measure of our duty, and clearly separating all appearances, and considering whether a man should now depart from life, and whatever else of the kind absolutely requires a disciplined reason, all this is already extinguished.

We must make haste then, not only because we are daily nearer to death, but also because the conception of things and the understanding of them cease first.

Read more

Most people assume Epicureans chase pleasure while Stoics suppress emotion. Michael flips that narrative.

In practice, both schools recommend virtue. The real split is about engagement. Epicureans say withdraw from society: skip the kids, dodge politics, live off the grid. Because people are messy and mess makes you suffer. Stoics say lean in. Stay in the mess. Practice philosophy so you can show up better for the people you love, not so you can feel good.

As Epictetus put it: even a sheep doesn’t desert its offspring. Why should we?

(00:00) Introduction: Stoics vs. Epicureans

(02:00) Epictetus’s critique of Epicurean isolation

(03:30) Why Stoic detachment is misunderstood

(05:30) The real distinction: detaching to feel good vs. detaching to serve others

(07:00) Key takeaway: Stoicism is practiced for others, not yourself

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Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/