War today is, as always, driven by the interests of the wealthy and powerful to further their own agendas in one way or the other. Many great thinkers have through the ages recognized that war is ultimately futile and only increases suffering. Seneca has something very poignant to say on …
The life of Marcus Aurelius is as interesting, epic and historically significant as you may expect from one of Rome’s most famous emperors and one of the few philosopher kings history has to offer. Biographics, a highly recommendable YouTube channel just released a biography of Marcus Aurelius, check it out:
Most of us are sitting at home right now, going out only when necessary. But even now, it can happen that we overhear somebody telling someone else off for real or imagined breaches of quarantine rules. Or maybe someone thinks they have special rights and do not have to stick …
When you open any news site, turn on the radio or TV, there is a lot of news covering irrational behavior. People are buying surgical masks, hand-sanitizer and toilet paper (!) like crazy. Hint: Toilet paper and clean behinds have no effect on corona viruses of any kind whatsoever, and …
Continuing my series on Stoicism, instead of writing about another virtue (the next one will be justice), I wanted to share this presentation by Massimo Pigliucci. The key points of Stoicism in under one hour. Please enjoy, be inspired and take some notes.
Temperance may well be the virtue most relevant in our time for every day life. Temperance is defined as moderation or voluntary self-restraint. In a world where we are constantly bombarded with advertising and we are under constant pressure to have X in order to be cool, respected, en vogue …
The Stoics recognize four primary virtues: Wisdom, Justice, Courage, and Temperance. I will tackle each one starting today with Wisdom. Wisdom to Stoics is the knowledge of things which are good or evil or which are neither. Concerning this knowledge I want to share some thoughts on two quotes by …
For a very long time I have been a fan of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. My fascination with him began back before my teenage years when I found out there was a Roman emperor who shared my first name. Much later (but already some 20 years ago or more) …