book
Virtue
Evidence
Citations (79)
It depends on which age you want an opinion on. (The below is using non-Wittgensteinien language for ease of discussion) I like his later idea that expressions have no objective meaning and that the…
I posted a while ago about being Fearful Avoidant and, since so many people reached out about how to overcome that style, I've decided to compile a sort of list of things that are helping me become more secure — (based on what is working in my life, what I've observed, what i've read, etc. They may not apply to everyone but even if it helps a couple of people I'll be happy) **These are things to practice in …
When is emotional control actually suppression? — In reading Epictetus and Seneca, I’ve been reflecting on how Stoicism distinguishes between emotional mastery and mere suppression. the texts emphasize that destructive emotions, anger, fear, resentm…
Has anyone experienced a static electronic crackle? — Hi everyone, I've been doing Gateway for about 6 months now. I haven't finished the tapes, because I'm probably taking it slower than most and re-doing certain ones over and over. I try to set aside t…
House of Danube/Deneb & The Tuatha Dé Danaan — I have just had an unexpected and seasonally apropos experience with St. Patrick's day right around the corner. Meditating in a hypnopompic state yesterday morning I heard a man's voice speaking to m…
What does Marcus Aurelius mean by “misfortune” and “good fortune” in Meditations 4.49? — I’m having trouble understanding what Marcus Aurelius means by “good fortune”/"good luck" and "bad luck"/“misfortune” in *Meditations* 4.49. From Robin Waterfield translation: >Be like a headland: th…
I wanted to discuss letters 3 to 5 of Moral Letters. — I just finished letters 3 to 5 of Letters From a Stoic by Seneca. I wanted to summarise what I got from them, and talk with y'all about the parts I didn’t fully understand. If I misrepresented or mis…
Schopenhauer's cessation of striving and Marcus Aurelius's cognitive clearing: is there a Stoic equivalent of deliberate emptying before decision-making? — Schopenhauer argues that the continuous striving of the individual will produces only horizontal progress, and that the complete cessation of that striving opens a qualitatively different kind of perc…
Question of virtue ethics: Proper Ambition, the golden mean between ambition and unambitiousness. — I like to identify through my actions as a stoic, and recently read an interesting quote that I would like to provide in hopes of assessing the opinions of like-minded people. I'm not sure who origina…
The fatalistic overcorrection of the dichotomy of control. — I wrote part of the body of this post as a comment in another thread, but I see these comments very often anyway so I thought (voluntarily) that I would give a general objection to them here. The g…
One Sentence Encheiridion (1-15) — I was rereading the Enchieridion and decided to try and summarize each passage in a single sentence. This was a fun activity, let me know if I should share more. 1. The only thing fully up to you are…
Welcome! Read Me First. — # Welcome to r/Stoicism. This community exists for serious discussion of Stoic philosophy. It is not a forum for general self-help, motivation, validation, or professional therapy. It is also not a p…
Overcorrections 2 Electric Boogaloo — This time I'm focusing on the way things are phrased in this subreddit's Read Me First. The problems I'm noticing can be either attributed to right understanding but wrong phrasing, or wrong understan…
Marcus Aurelius wrote "look inward" constantly. What's the thing about yourself you suspect you still can't see? — Something I keep coming back to in the Meditations is how often Marcus talks about self-examination. Not once as an exercise, but as a daily discipline. "Look within. Within is the fountain of good, a…
How to call out white liberal racism — I had a racist encounter with a white liberal yesterday (hooray for living in Boston), and I’m hoping this will help some here in dealing with them. While conservative whites are much more direct wit…
Doubt on Free Will, Meditations — Does Meditations by Marcus Aurelius draw a bridge for the readers to interpret the existence of free will on their own because at some parts of his book he talks about Nature or a Rational source dete…
Stoic free will versus determinism — I recently posted this comment on a question regarding free will in Stoicism. I’d like any refinements or corrections to improve my understanding of free will and determinism in Stoic thought. The St…
I wanna go NC but they threaten they will sell their house because of me/end their lives — I really really need some advice. I fought against arranged marriage because I don't really want to get married and I hate having a family, who would've thought! I came home for the easter holidays (b…
Stoic apatheia looks like integration from the outside but is single-pole ego management of emotion, not dipolarity — **The Stoic sage achieves equanimity by bringing all emotional response under rational governance:** the passions are not *eliminated* but *disciplined* by logos. From the outside this looks identical…
What do you actually believe? — I'm going through a divorce, and I'm trying to wrap my head around some of the things that my STBXW has been saying. For context, she had a brief affair a couple years ago, and we patched things up, b…
La fin de ma mariage…rencontre à Distance qui me perturbe — Bonjour à tous F 49 ans marié depuis 21 ans mariage plus de entiments pas d’émotion, pas d’attention Monsieur très distant mon futur ex mari très bon père. Je ne l’aime plus. j’ai pris conscience de …
How do you deal with the virtue signaling? — I wrote this in another narc sub the other day but I’ll try here as well: My cluster B ex (his SD-3 score is 3.9 machiavellinism, 3.8 narcissism, 3.2 psychopathy if that helps) has a habit of using h…
Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue (Politics) — \> “Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue” What does this actually mean? La Rochefoucauld wrote this in the 1600s but the idea goes back to ancient Greece. Here’s how it works mechanically. …
How did the stoics derive a life of virtue and proactive engagement from materialism? — I don’t share the false belief that stoics believe in complacency and doing nothing in light of injustice. I just simply don’t know how the stoics got this from materialism.
After 10 years as a secret protector, I was branded a monster to cover her tracks. — I am just now coming to terms with the fact that I spent a decade in a high-pressure trauma loop. For ten years, I was the secret partner of a woman from a high-status religious family. At her explici…
I despise the default assumption that all parents are good. The default should be neutral. — Since the default social assumption is that all parents are good, it places a tremendous burden on children/adult children to prove that their parents are harmful. Because you aren't just fighting aga…
Yellow Peril Racial Profiling — Regardless of how you feel about North Koreans this is straight up deranged behavior. It's like people spamming Tienanmen Square or Winnie the Pooh whenever they come across someone they believe is Ch…
For anyone working in tech right now, get ready to deal with more bullshit — Regardless of how you feel about North Koreans this is straight up deranged behavior. It's like people spamming Tienanmen Square or Winnie the Pooh whenever they come across someone they believe is Ch…
Updated Cheat Sheet — 4 Years ago I posted my daily cheat sheet, and I've been off Reddit ever since. Here is my updated version! I have a list of 10 concepts or principles that I read every day to help me along my St…
\> "anxious individuals have a lack of self control, don't respect boundaries, and and don't realize how much damage they do because they just don't care" That would be basically correct, that's why …
The replies that you've received in this thread is enough. The masters also made other conflicting remarks for various other reasons that are never stated but which can be understood after some think…
Greetings, I've published a new article one he role that play, games, and hobbies have in Stoicism: https://mimeticvirtue.substack.com/p/fun-and-games
> The sub doesn't let me post That's weird. There are auto-rules that limit TOP-LEVEL comments for posts tagged as "Seeking Personal Stoic Guidance". You have to be tagged as a "Contributor". I do…
(Tried to post this as a solo post, but couldn't due to not enough karma) *Does Thinking About Death Really Help Us Live Better?* In this post, I want to question the practice of Memento Mori, becau…
Detachment or Anxiously Slipping? I was in and on again off again relationship for long while. Neither of us had a lot of experience in relationships before the other, despite being in our late 20’s,…
Greetings, I've published a new article on aesthetics and it's relevance for virtue, and therefore Stoicism: https://mimeticvirtue.substack.com/p/the-aesthetic-compulsion
Hey everyone👋 Over the last few years I've struggled with identity, motivation, feelings of failure. I've come back to Stoicism as a way to ground me, help me be more rooted in whats important to me…
Greetings, I've published a new article on how passions differ from being moved to action by reason and virtue, as well as situating emotions within Stoic theory: https://mimeticvirtue.substack.com/p/…
Sunday Stoic - Greetings, I am cohost of the “Sunday Stoic” podcast, a weekly podcast that concentrates on applying Stoicism to modern life. Our most recent episode examines the Cardinal Virtue of Ju…
Greetings, I've published a new article on "fun", situating fun within Stoicism and discussing how Stoics should orient themselves regarding fun: https://mimeticvirtue.substack.com/p/on-fun
"I wish you told me sooner?" You guys met on a dating app though! It's not like you were pining after a coworker. I'm sorry you went through this. This one is grinding my gears on your behalf. Pers…
Maybe after a couple dates but before sexual intimacy? If someone brought it up on the first date tho I'd see it as a red flag - like trauma dumping or I'd see it as a man virtue signaling. As in: "Lo…
Self proclaimed progressive women aren’t actually necessarily progressive women, fwiw. They tend to be Taylor Swift-esque women who try to virtue signal and get “points” for being feminist but not *to…
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There’s just a lot of misinformation, either from ignorance or a disregard to truth. Stoicism is a virtue ethics philosophy that holds that virtue is the supreme good, so we should align our will (or …
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Yes. As you say there are different aspects to Stoicism, which will lead to different types. There is a rugged Stoics who experience the ills of the world and march on relentlessly with acceptance. …
You can’t control your emotions. The Stoics were quite deterministic, and they argue that there’s only one thing in your power (notice how they wouldn’t use the word control), and that thing is your…
> virtue consists in correcting these judgments rather than simply controlling the outward behavior. This is not correct. Virtue consists in having the disposition of your soul/mind (also understood …
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I think you can use suppression sometimes for small things. But rely on it is impossible it leads to bad consequences and you will simply just blow up. In these cases when I’m on the edge I’m thinking…
So let's step away from your interpretation of the word kindness and look at the virtue of justice. Virtues are the best choices in behavior. Virtues are based in wisdom. Nobody would argue that bein…
If others think you are a doormat, so what? It’s an incorrect judgment borne from ignorance. To quote one of my favorite works of fiction, Vagabond: “All truly strong people are kind.” It is often mor…
Yeah, so she already knows she should’ve gotten tested. The virtue signaling on this sub is insane. She posted on this sub to ask about the impacts of this on her relationship. Y’all are acting like s…
You've touched on something crucial here, and the tension you're feeling is actually a gift - it's showing you where to look within yourself. The feeling of being "cheated" isn't wrong - it's informa…
I have a few different things to say in response: First, I should answer your direct question: # What is Kindness I'd say that's just a semantic thing. The real question is what you think is the ri…
Yes the virtue signaling and condescension is insane. I'm a successful single 35 year old woman. If I am having sex with a man (romantic or platonic) there is trust, communication, respect, and (hopef…
I am offering my thoughts in hopes that something somewhere might help you see things in a new light. This will be long and I will take no offense if you don't read it. >Unfortunately, I think for th…
I applaud you my man. 17 years gone is a tough thing to stomach. Brutal. However, you’ve persevered. You left without hesitation and I imagine there are many men who would maybe try to work it out. Lo…
If you are needing to "control" a judgement then the judgement itself is probably not in accordance with virtue, and should be corrected. Emotional discipline, unlike some modern views of stoicism, …
No, they don't. But do the Stoics abide by all four virtues even at their own peril? The example I gave in my post, certainly doesn't involve 'peril'. But if there was a situation where acting virtu…
You're doing nothing wrong friend. Your willingness already puts you on the path of the blessing you seek, and you bear no guilt, even when you "give in". The road of learning is not pristine perfect,…
I try to use a mix of strategies: 1. If it’s about my past choices, recognize that that, like the weather, is actually something I can’t control, and so I should not worry about it. 2. If it’s abou…
> Personally, what I do is weigh the cost of my actions on myself and others, and when there is a net gain that's what I do. So I hold the door open for a stranger whose arms are full, because it cost…
Acting with virtue is its own reward. Are you talking about this? "Take the case of one whose task it is to shoot a spear or arrow straight at some target. One’s ultimate aim is to do all in one’s…
This is probably the most important question in Stoic practice and honestly most people get it wrong in both directions. The original concept, apatheia, never meant the absence of feeling. It meant fr…
Hair is the example, not the topic. The real topic is vanity, luxury, and shaping oneself for other people’s approval. He’s criticizing the mistake of valuing externals like appearance and approva…
Focus on values. What things matter to you? What things are important to you personally? Do you have any dealbreakers? Someone might have voted for Trump out of ignorance ("I always vote red"), or be…
going from 25-30 years of practice, & including a powerful awakening type experience, things stabilise more over the years. One part of that, is that the awakening experience becomes more like a groun…
Okay, that is fascinating. History is full of pockets of ignorance we simply fill in to the best of our expectation, and the trick is in challenging that expectation, and challenging it well. This is …
But in eight years, he has never expressed any problem with that dynamic, until the last few months. So either he *hasn't* "had eight years of that" (feeling bad that she doesn't initiate) and his fe…
I was just thinking this was some type of inept virtue signaling- "Im not some pig who's just into you because you look like Barbie- in fact, youre not even my type!" So mean, or stupid, or sociall…
Holding the "right opinions" does not make you a good person. Supporting the right causes, saying the right things, being politically correct and diplomatic, being the person everyone likes at a party…
I'll tell you what, my dear... Some of the teachers suspect us of having an inner sense of unworthiness that fuels all our doubts. And there is a strong grain of truth in this. Not a big particle. But…
Greetings, I've published a new article on Stoic epistemology, and detailing a practical approach to developing Stoicism: https://mimeticvirtue.substack.com/p/stoic-epistemology
Responding partially to your response and partially to the OP. I've been concerned with this manosphere garbage since I accidentally stumbled onto it online six or seven years ago. My initial response…
One thing we need to understand is that the idea of 'evil' is not separate from us; it's an integral part of our consciousness. Actually, there are numerous studies in psychology that point towards th…
Lack of human contact doesn't make people bad. Lack of human virtue makes people bad.
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