Category: Stoicism

The Gaze of Foolish People: An Interview on Stoicism and Fashion

11/30/2023

I was recently interviewed about Stoicism and fast fashion by Hannah Korbman, a current student at Binghamton University studying Philosophy, Politics, and Law. The interview, which I have republished here, is part of Hannah's final project, a Stoic magazine, for her seminar on Stoicism and politics.

Hannah defines fast fashion as, "An approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing fashions that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers."

The interview gave me an opportunity to focus on Stoic philosophy as it can be applied to our modern decisions on what to wear, trends, consumerism, and the virtue of moderation, all topics I hadn't directly considered before. The final product has made for some interesting reading, and I hope you'll check it out:

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Beauty in Philosophy, Ethics, and Art: A Conversation with David Fideler

4/19/2023

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In this engaging conversation, David Fideler and I delve into the rich history of ancient Greek philosophy to explore the concept of beauty as an objective quality of nature.

We discuss the ideas of Pythagoras, Plato, and the Stoics, and the ideas they held about beauty. In this highly illustrated video, we also explore the importance of harmony and proportion in nature and art, and how they were used to enhance beauty in ancient architecture and Renaissance paintings.

The conversation also touches on the connections between beauty, truth, and goodness, and the timeless wisdom of ancient philosophy that can still inspire us today.

Links: https://livingideasjournal.com/
https://therenaissanceprogram.com/the-renaissance-program-in-florence-italy/

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What Does it Mean to be an Aristotelian?

3/17/2023

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This guest post was first published at Freedom and Flourishing by my friend Winton Bates, author of the excellent book Freedom, Progress and Human Flourishing.*

In my view, Aristotelians are people who seek guidance from Aristotle's Ethics in considering how to live their lives.

I was prompted to consider this thanks to an article by John Sellars entitled "How to be an Aristotelian" (recently published in Antigone). While thinking about the question I read Sellars’ new book, Aristotle, Understanding the World’s Greatest Philosopher.* By coincidence, at the same time I was reading Stoicism Today, Volume 4,* which contains an article by John Sellars entitled "Hard Truths and Happiness". The approach that Sellars adopts in discussing what it means to be a Stoic seems to also be relevant when considering what it means to be an Aristotelian. (I also think many of the articles in Stoicism Today are worth reading. It is fascinating to read about how people seek to apply this ancient philosophy in their daily lives.)

I will begin by outlining Sellars’ view about what it means to be a Stoic, and discuss the view Sellars presents of what it means to be an Aristotelian in his Antigone article before moving to a discussion of the approach he adopts in his book, and conclude with some comments on what it means to be an Aristotelian:

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Overcoming Injury, Illness, and the Fear of Death: A Stoic Dialog With Jonas Salzgeber

3/9/2022

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I welcome Jonas Salzgeber, author of The Little Book of Stoicism, back to the channel for a Stoic dialog on matters of ultimate importance: injury, illness, coming to terms with mortality, fear, and irrational beliefs that result when fear overcomes reason.

We discuss the shortness of life, memento mori, facing fear, and the proper psychological perspective necessary to flourish and be more courageous during uncertain times.

We also discuss a Stoic response to the covid-19 pandemic, reasonable caution, and not doing irrational or discriminatory things because of fear of death.

Jonas' website: www.njlifehacks.com/blog/
The Little Book of Stoicism: https://amzn.to/3INdnOk*

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*Affiliate link, I may earn a small commission from any Amazon purchases.

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The Core Critical Thinking Skills Necessary For Independent Thought

2/14/2021

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I was recently interviewed by Brittany Polat about the core critical thinking skills necessary for independent thought on her website, Living In Agreement, and how Stoicism can help us to think more clearly about the world.

We discuss logic, being slow to form opinions, having standards of evidence, separating truth from falsehood, being able to accurately evaluate other people's arguments, being open-minded, not being afraid to be wrong, changing your mind in light of better information, thinking with a degree of detachment, (rather than from a dogmatic or emotionally driven mindset) and a knowledge of cognitive bias and group dynamics.

Is there any group in which you automatically agree with all the opinions of the group? Are you in any group which views the “opposing” groups as evil, stupid, or weak? If so, some examination of your beliefs is probably in order. I suggest several ways to dig deeper and to think more independently throughout the course of this interview.

Books and resources to learn more about critical thinking:
https://www.commonsenseethics.com/blo...
The Well-Trained Mind book I mention: https://amzn.to/3jLpAHq *affiliate link http://www.triviumeducation.com/study...

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Tranquility Parenting - Stoicism for Parents - Book Review & Video

3/31/2019

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Tranquility Parenting: A Guide to Staying Calm, Mindful and Engaged, a just released book by Brittany Polat, offers lots of practical help and straightforward ways to overcome parenting challenges by implementing principles from Stoic philosophy within the family. I've been using some of the thoughtful techniques from the book already.

Her mantra for helping kids and parents deal with frustrations is "Don't get upset, just solve the problem." I think this is excellent advice for parents. Brittany expands on this by helping us to re-frame our value judgments in Stoic context. For example, rather than thinking "My kids are fighting, I can't believe I have to deal with this again," we should just drop the value judgement at the end of the sentence.

When we look at the situation in a factually oriented way, we think the same thing, "My kids are fighting," but minus the negativity. Then we are better able to deal calmly with the problem at hand. With practice, we can implement this advice over and over to make our lives as parents easier...

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A Meditation on Courage: 2 Techniques for Overcoming Anxiety

10/16/2018

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In an interview with the World Ethical Data Forum, Julian Assange warned that the generation being born now is the last to be free. The message is quite disturbing. After all, it does seem as though we are headed that way, that long shadows are falling. "Look back over the past with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can forsee the future too," Marcus Aureluis declares. Is this period of time similar to the fall of Rome? Maybe just the end of the Republic?

Anxiety seems to be at the root of the modern condition. Besides the stress that we deal with in our private lives, there are always political and geopolitical concerns (like the above) that stress us as well. Given all of this, I actually don't think that anxiety is by any means an irrational response. It's only when our response is disproportionate to the threat or when anxiety starts to take over our lives that it really becomes a problem.

I can honestly say that with each new child that we have added to our family, my own anxiety has increased. After all, I have my family's wellbeing to look after, not just my own. Courage however, is a decision. It's how we respond to anxiety provoking thoughts that we have control over, not the external situation. Let me share with you the 2 best techniques that I use to overcome anxiety.

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Is Self-Compassion Missing From Stoic Philosophy?

9/1/2018

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Self-compassion is a common theme in Buddhism, psychotherapy, and various self-help ideaologies. But does it exist in Stoicism? Do Stoics expect themselves to always exercise perfect courage, justice, moderation and wisdom, while considering anything short of this ideal an abysmal failure?

My friend Jonas Salzgeber of NJ Life Hacks noted that self-compassion may be missing from Stoic philosophy when I interviewed him on my YouTube channel. Jonas is right that there certainly seems to be a tendency towards perfectionism in Stoicism. Reading Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, one would get the impression that Marcus was an awfully dour guy who beat himself up when he fell short of the ideal of the Stoic Sage.

But in spite of a strong tendency towards the perfectionism of the Sage, I believe that self-compassion is actually present in Stoicism, and that such self-compassion can give us strength and perspective.

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Fearless Parent: How to Raise Kids Using Stoic Philosophy

8/12/2018

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Wondering how to be less stressed as a parent? Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy that teaches us how to focus on what we can control in life. Brittany Polat of Apparent Stoic and I discuss how to apply Stoic philosophy to parenting, and how it can make both parents and kids happier.

We discuss:

Overcoming worry and parenting anxiety. Not worrying about what other people think of how you raise your children.
US culture being oriented towards adult lifestyles and careers and not very child friendly.
Thinking that you can control everything and being goal oriented does not work with kids because while you can influence them, you can't control what they do.
You will be happier as a parent/family if you focus on what you can control - the environment, how you respond, getting prepared in advance, etc.
The Golden Rule and other ways to teach kids the value of kindness.

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Video: The Best Philosophy Books For Beginning Readers

5/17/2018

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Which philosophy books are the best for people just starting out? Dr. Greg Sadler and I talk about his recent list of the 10 Best Philosophy Books for Beginners, which is now one of the most popular posts on this site.

We dicuss:

Which thinkers are average people most interested in?
The practical philosophy movement and popular philosophies like modern Stoicism and Aristotelianism that are currently being applied in people's lives.
Philosophy's relevance: the disconnect between academic versus applied philosophy, poor outreach among academic philosophers and the public.
Women philosophers - Greg's love of Mary Wollstonecraft, and why some people argue that Aynd Rand is not a philosopher.
Avoiding agenda-driven histories of philosophy and the importance of reading primary texts.
Poor pedagogy in introduction to philosophy classes - the difficulty of teaching, good versus bad teachers.
Existentialism: reading books of philosophy as a teenager and then again as an adult. What appeals to people?
Interesting tidbits about Anselm's On the Fall of the Devil and many other books.

If you like these types of videos please subscribe to my Youtube Channel.

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<<Previous

The Gaze of Foolish People: An Interview on Stoicism and Fashion

Beauty in Philosophy, Ethics, and Art: A Conversation with David Fideler

What Does it Mean to be an Aristotelian?

Overcoming Injury, Illness, and the Fear of Death: A Stoic Dialog With Jonas Salzgeber

The Core Critical Thinking Skills Necessary For Independent Thought

Tranquility Parenting - Stoicism for Parents - Book Review & Video

A Meditation on Courage: 2 Techniques for Overcoming Anxiety

Is Self-Compassion Missing From Stoic Philosophy?

Fearless Parent: How to Raise Kids Using Stoic Philosophy

Video: The Best Philosophy Books For Beginning Readers

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Book of the Month: Journal Like a Stoic by Brittany Polat

Personal Growth Resources:

Follow Common Sense Ethics on Pinterest:

Join the Stoic Parents Facebook Group: