Stoic Meditations

Seneca argues that tranquillity of mind is the result of an active, but realistic, engagement with the problems posed by life. By contrast, refusing to rise up to challenges simply leads to a flat and meaningless calm. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca says to his friend Lucilius that he is no wise man or doctor, but rather an unwise and sick person. Which brings us to a discussion of Stoic humility and how it is that we can all make progress toward wisdom. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca gives some very commonsensical advice, backed up by modern psychological research, on how to best avoid temptation. Which leads us to a discussion of what we should avoid, and what, by contrast, we should seek out in order to act virtuously. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca makes a point that is still controversial two millennia later. The important thing about life is not its length, but its quality. And it is up to the individual to judge the quality of her own life. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca continues his discussion of suicide with his friend Lucilius, arguing that maintaining agency and exercising our judgments are fundamental ingredients of a good life. It follows that we should be in charge of when and how to quit. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca elaborates on how the Stoics see suicide: nature gave us one entrance into life, but many exits. And it is the existence of these exits that guarantees our freedom. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca makes an argument for why we should adopt a philosophy of life (be it Stoicism or something else). It provides us a framework to make decisions and prioritize things. The rest is details. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca invites his friend Lucilius to consider that philosophy is too serious a business to be left only to professional philosophers, especially those who engage in clever wordplay and logic chopping just to show how smart they are. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stoicmeditations/support

Seneca tells Lucilius how Cato, after losing an election, went out to play; and how, before taking his own life, he retired to his room to read a book. Stoicism isn't just about enduring things, it's about achieving serenity in the face of ill fortune. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stoicmeditations/support

A quote from Seneca leads us into a discussion of the difference between Stoicism and modern philosophies of despair. For the Stoic, knowledge of the vastness of time and space is no excuse for nihilism, but simply a way to put things in perspective and get back to the task of living well. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stoicmeditations/support