This is a guest post by Monil Shah. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the publication. Two years ago, if you asked me anything about politics, or, about what my opinions were about a particular leader, I would shrug the question […]
Some people imagine that Stoicism involves for an unfeeling approach to other people. To counter this misconception, consider this from Seneca: This is the first promise that philosophy holds out to us: fellow-feeling, humanity, sociability. — Seneca, Epistles 5.4 Friendship has been a constant topic for philosophers. Cicero has a wonderful essay On Friendship (recently […]
AJ Jacobs is a living, breathing experiment. A bestselling author and renowned NYC journalist, his writing combines philosophy, Gonzo journalism, science, humor, and a dash of self-help. He is the author of The Know-It-All, which documents the year he spent reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z, uncovering both funny and surprising factoids but also poignant insight […]
One of the hardest things to do in life is to say “No.” To invitations, to requests, to obligations, to the stuff that everyone else is doing. All of us regularly say yes unthinkingly, or out of vague attraction, or out of greed or vanity, or out of fear of disappointing a friend or acquaintance. […]
We all need a little motivation from time to time. A swift kick when we’re feeling a bit uninspired. The struggle to find motivation isn’t new. Woven throughout the most famous Stoic texts are wisely chosen words designed to motivate one’s self. They knew then, as we know now, that the right words, at the […]
Epicurus’s dictum was that “One sage is no wiser than another.” Clearly, Seneca agreed with this idea because he loved quoting Epicurus, even though he belonged to a rival school. His famous line was that he’d quote even a bad author if the line was good. This is a good example that does not go […]
We’ve written about the overlap between Seneca and Jesus—how both were born in the same year and how many of their teachings are similar in nature—and got great responses from the Daily Stoic Community. Our interviews with Professor Joey Dodson and Dr. Kevin Vost on the links between Christianity and Stoicism received wide attention as […]
Desire for influence is human nature. Many people allow this to dictate the course of their lives, often unaware. But the Stoic philosophers developed a deeper sense of awareness and took the opposite approach. Influence wasn’t their end goal. They approached it with indifference and chalked it up to fortune–nice to have but nonessential. Instead, […]
Think of all the people throughout history who were wrongly condemned and criticized by the mob. From the Civil Rights Activists to Galileo to ordinary people whose lifestyles were hypocritically condemned as perverted or a violation of God’s law. Think of Jesus himself, condemned and nailed to a cross for no good reason. In a […]