how a lot of would-be-Stoics get this one wrong and screw things up for themselves — Perhaps one of the most popular one-liners many would-be Stoics are attracted to is “Endure and Renounce”. This gets attributed to Epictetus, and indeed he might well have said it. The original Greek of these two imperatives are anekhou and apekhou. …

they recognized more than just the four we got taught in school — Several years back, I delivered a talk at one of our local libraries, straying a bit from philosophy into the field of gastronomy This isn’t an area in which I do my main work, but it is one in which I have a considerable, though basically amateur, interest. The topic…

What should Stoics care or be concerned about? Examining a common mistake people fall into — A few days ago, I retweeted an all-too common and off-base sentiment expressed by someone about Stoicism, writing for my part, by way of criticism: “Looks like we’re back on that bullshit again.” You’ve likely seen all the variants of this, sometimes emphatically asserted, other times presented as a question…

we have to choose between externals, people-pleasing, and philosophy — I am currently working a book providing line-by-line commentary on Epictetus’ short work of Stoic philosophy Enchiridion or Handbook. I take the videos I produced covering each chapter of that work, and edit the transcripts into what will eventually be compiled together into a book. Each of these edited chapter…

giving and getting what people actually do desire — Great thinkers articulate many useful insights. I produce short podcast episodes mining and refining those. Here’s one from the ancient philosopher Aristotle that I’ve found very helpful! Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics writes: Differences arise when the friends do not obtain what they desire, but something else. For not…

reflections on joy and other emotions spurred by hiking a long-familiar landscape — On a balmy Saturday afternoon in July, I drove out to one of my favourite places, Lapham Peak state park. Having grown up just several miles from the park, it’s a place I’ve spent time in at many points in my life. …

Why you shouldn’t make a big deal of it when you start studying philosophy — I am currently working a book project that provides a line-by-line commentary on Epictetus’ short work of Stoic philosophy Enchiridion or Handbook. I’m taking videos I produced covering every chapter of that work, and editing the transcripts into what will eventually be compiled into a book. Each of these edited…

reflections on practical dimensions to Hegel’s philosophy — Today marks the birthday, way back in 1770, of one of my favorite philosophers, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, best known in our era for his early work, the Phenomenology of Spirit, but also an extraordinarily productive thinker, lecturer, and writer. He worked out two massively dense, complex, and rich Logics…

visualizing things that appear scary each day can be a productive practice — I’ve been slowly writing a book of line-by-line commentary on Epictetus’ short work of Stoic philosophy, the Enchiridion or Handbook. This involves taking videos I produced covering every chapter of that work, and editing the transcripts into decent shape These edited chapter commentaries are released first to my supporters on…