Category » Applied Philosophy & Psychology
Stoic Values X
If you’re reading this, you are probably dedicated to understanding how human life works. This blog is the tenth in a challenging series seeking to understand Stoic indifferents by first understanding Stoic metaphysics against on-the-street application of those (metaphysically) contextualized ethics. Last week we left off with the understanding that the Stoics seem to have […]
Stoic Values IX
Stoic ethics still has more to offer, though not always agreeably. The next premise that has me asking questions is quoted below: While it is plausible that accepting one virtue logically necessitates accepting all others, credibility is strained to breaking in the face of human behaviour. I have been alive well over half a century […]
Stoic Values VIII
Coming to terms with the death of a loved one is not something most people see as harmonious with the ebb and flow of daily life. We perceive the deaths of loved ones as tragic major milestones on our own lifelines. The Stoics are behind many of the ideas in 12-step culture, and in modern […]
Stoic Values VII
This week we do what we’ve been preparing to do for six weeks: explore what the Stoics called the indifferents. Those values not deemed virtues or vices were called indifferents. Those values were thought to neither add to, nor subtract from, well-being. If you are indifferent toward a thing, you are “unconcerned, uninterested, uncaring…uninvolved…” (Barber, […]
Stoic Values VI
We continue, this week, to expand our understanding of what the Stoics called appropriation. Stephens (2023) provided four synonyms: orientation, familiarization, affinity, or affiliation. Last week we saw that appropriation can go two ways for a person leaving childhood and entering adolescence. One way is described by the four synonyms showcased above; the opposite is […]
Stoic Values V
The previous four blogs grappled with the foundations of Stoic ethics. Having outlined a more contemporary, Aristotelian, perspective on those foundations, it is time to move on to other elements underlying this system of thought. Again, I lean heavily on W.O. Stephens’ (October 2023) mercifully parsimonious description of these factors within the generous Internet Encyclopedia […]
Stoic Values IV
This blog continues the strand begun with explications of the first six points, from the list below. That list is an analysis of a single paragraph provided by the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy on the nature of the ends (telos) or ultimate pursuits of Stoicism. You can read that here, if the background is of […]
Stoic Values III
This blog continues the strand begun with explications of the first four points, from the list below. That list is an analysis of a single paragraph provided by the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy on the nature of the ends (telos) or ultimate pursuits of Stoicism. You can read that here, if the background is of […]
Stoic Values II
This blog picks up with the third and fourth points, from the list below. That list is an analysis of a single paragraph provided by the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy on the nature of the ends (telos or ultimate pursuits) of Stoicism. You can read that here, if that background is of interest. The ideal […]
Stoic Values
I suspect there are readers who find some of these blogs too philosophical. If that’s you, skip this one. This blog focuses on a subject I have wanted to clarify for at least a decade: Stoic values, particularly what the Stoics meant when discussing the “indifferents.” As always, the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) has […]