A Modern Guide to Stoicism: Navigating Ancient Philosophy in the Current World
Estimated read time: 1:20
Summary
Midnight Thirty explores the enduring appeal of Stoicism in today's world, tackling the misconceptions and misrepresentations of this ancient philosophy. Modern interpretations often link Stoicism with emotionlessness and shallow values like financial success, but true Stoic philosophy is deeply rooted in logic, virtue, and the acceptance of nature's order. The video delves into the pillars of Stoicism, such as logic, ethics, and virtue, emphasizing that true fulfillment comes from aligning with the natural flow of life. It critiques contemporary figures who distort Stoic principles for self-help or productivity solutions, highlighting the importance of understanding Stoicism's true teachings in order to live a more virtuous and harmonious life.
Highlights
Stoicism is often misunderstood as promoting emotionlessness.
True Stoicism is about rationality and living in harmony with nature 🌿.
Modern figures sometimes misinterpret Stoicism for productivity and wealth 🚫.
Misrepresented Stoicism in modern culture aligns with toxic masculinity at times.
Real Stoicism focuses on virtue and ethical living over external achievements 🌟.
Key Takeaways
Stoicism is not about being emotionless; it's about embracing rationality and virtue 🌊.
The philosophy stresses aligning with the natural order, termed 'logos,' rather than chasing external success 🌌.
Misinterpretations of Stoicism often reduce it to self-help or productivity hacks which miss its deeper meanings 🚫.
Modern portrayal by influencers like Ryan Holiday can oversimplify and distort Stoic teachings 📉.
True Stoicism emphasizes internal virtues over material wealth or societal status 🚫.
Overview
In a world where anxiety and purposelessness are common, Stoicism offers a timeless philosophical solution. It teaches individuals to live in accordance with nature, promoting rational thinking and virtuous behavior. Despite its roots in ancient Greece, Stoicism remains remarkably relevant today, providing guidance on living a fulfilling life in alignment with universal truths.
However, the modern portrayal of Stoicism often strays from its original teachings. Influencers and self-help gurus have adopted Stoic principles, transforming them into tools for personal productivity and financial gain. This misinterpretation shifts the focus from internal virtue to external success, which is contrary to Stoic ideals.
Despite these misrepresentations, Stoicism still holds significant value. It encourages self-reflection and rationality, helping individuals navigate life’s challenges with grace and wisdom. By understanding its principles, one can cultivate a life of virtue and contentment, unaffected by the ever-changing tides of external circumstances.
Chapters
00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Stoicism The chapter opens with a reflection on common feelings of being overwhelmed, anxious, and purposeless, emphasizing that these are not new challenges. It introduces the idea that throughout history, various cultures have developed philosophies aimed at leading a fulfilling life. The text briefly mentions Confucius from ancient China, who emphasized character development, strong social bonds, and respect as foundational to a meaningful life.
00:30 - 01:00: Ancient Philosophical Background The chapter 'Ancient Philosophical Background' explores the emergence of a school of philosophy around 300 BC, which challenged the beliefs of prominent thinkers such as Aristotle and Epicurus. This school, known as Stoicism, derived its principles from logic, rationality, and virtue, treating these as the lone sources of value in the universe. It highlights the significant role of Stoicism from its inception to its implications in the modern age and contrasts philosophical principles with the roles of religion that have given many people meaning and direction for thousands of years.
01:00 - 01:30: Common Misconceptions about Stoicism Despite common misconceptions, Stoicism is often associated with being emotionless and is sometimes wrongly tied to modern shallow values like desirability and financial success. However, Stoicism is not about becoming cold or detached but is a rich philosophical tradition focused on ethics.
01:30 - 02:00: Origins of Stoic Philosophy The chapter titled 'Origins of Stoic Philosophy' discusses how Stoic philosophy provides defense against modern worries, desires, and nihilism. It emphasizes humanity's place within nature, encourages rational thinking, and promotes virtuous behavior. The origins trace back to the Stoa Poic, or painted porch in Athens, where Zeno of Citium and his followers gathered. Inspired by Socrates and the Cynics, Zeno laid the foundational principles of Stoicism.
02:00 - 03:00: Key Concepts: Eudaimonia and Virtue The chapter discusses key concepts in Stoic philosophy, focusing on Eudaimonia and Virtue. It explains how the Stoics, along with Socrates and Cynics like Diogenes, believed that virtue is the sole good. A key quote illustrating this belief is that 'happiness is a good flow of life.' The term 'happiness' here is translated from the Greek 'eudaimonia,' which differs significantly from the modern English sense of happiness.
03:00 - 04:30: The Stoic View on Physics and Materialism The chapter discusses the Stoic understanding of ultimate well-being, referred to as 'Eudaimonia,' which is distinct from the fleeting pleasure of happiness. It is compared to Nirvana and the Christian concept of Joy, derived from love of God. Eudaimonia represents a state of flourishing and freedom from negativity.
04:30 - 06:00: Stoic Determinism and Logos The chapter titled 'Stoic Determinism and Logos' discusses the foundational principles of Stoic philosophy as it relates to ancient Greek thought. It highlights how the Stoics, following Zeno and his intellectual successors, articulated their understanding of the universe and the concept of 'udonia'. Unlike modern physics, Stoic physics considered the universe to be composed of only four elements: water, earth, fire, and air. This exploration happened in the context of ancient Greek philosophy before the advent of modern scientific figures like Newton or Einstein.
06:00 - 07:30: The Role of Logic in Stoicism This chapter explores the Stoic concept of 'Numa,' a blend of fire and air that symbolizes breath or spirit. The Stoics are notable for their unique belief that Numa is omnipresent, permeating all living beings in varying degrees, serving as the soul in animals and the cohesive force in rocks. They extend this idea to assert that the human spirit itself is composed of Numa.
07:30 - 09:00: Ethics and Virtues in Stoicism The chapter discusses the materialist perspective of Stoicism, emphasizing the belief in tangible, physical elements and rejecting the existence of any non-interactive entities. This philosophy is tied to their understanding of causation, where every event is deemed a result of preceding occurrences, creating a deterministic view of the universe.
09:00 - 11:30: Practical Applications and Misinterpretations This chapter delves into the concept of determinism in the universe, where all present and future events are causally predetermined by past events and the laws of nature. It explores the idea that everything is guided by the 'logos,' a term used to describe the universal or divine reason, nature, or fate. This principle suggests a deterministic worldview in which every occurrence is part of a larger, predetermined plan.
11:30 - 18:00: Analysis of Modern Stoicism Advocates The chapter discusses the concept of logos, the source of order and reason in the universe that guides nature and people. Logos is likened to a god that manifests in all aspects of the universe. The idea of happiness is explained as a ‘good flow of life,’ which is achieved by aligning oneself with logos, remaining in harmony with nature, and being true to one's own soul (or Numa).
18:00 - 20:00: Conclusion and Reflection on Stoicism This chapter explores the concepts of rhetoric and dialectic within the context of Stoicism and ancient Greek philosophy. It explains that logic, in this philosophical context, includes argumentation, which is divided into rhetoric and dialectic. Rhetoric is described as persuasion and monologue aimed at developing long-form arguments, while dialectic involves active discussion and dialogue to uncover truth. The Greeks, including philosophers like Plato, are noted for their preference for dialectic as a method for learning, sharing ideas, and establishing true beliefs.
A Modern Guide to Stoicism: Navigating Ancient Philosophy in the Current World Transcription
00:00 - 00:30 do you ever feel overwhelmed anxious purposeless lost in a great big world that seems void of any real meaning well I have good news for you people have struggled with these same challenges for ages throughout history different cultures have proposed Pathways to Leading a fulfilling life by promoting different beliefs and values Confucius for example developed a school of thought in ancient China that emphasized the development of one's character strong social bonds and a great respect
00:30 - 01:00 for one's ancestors for a life in harmony with the universe beyond philosophy religion has become a source of meaning and direction for many people and has for thousands of years around 300 BC a school of philosophy emerged that challenged the beliefs of prominent thinkers like Aristotle and epicurus and derived its tenants from logic rationality and virtue as the lone source of value in the universe stoicism in the Modern Age
01:00 - 01:30 stoic has become synonymous with emotionless and many people associate the philosophy with the vocal groups online attempting to profit off of these ancient thoughts or associate stoic like principles with modern shallow values like desirability and financial success but contrary to popular interpretation stoicism isn't about turning people into cold detached superficial robots it is a rich philosophical tradition with ethical
01:30 - 02:00 logical and even metaphysical tenants stoic philosophy and practice defend an individual from Modern worries desires and nihilism by emphasizing Humanity's place within nature rational thinking and promoting virtuous Behavior stoicism began on the stoa poic or painted porch an area in Athens where Zeno of cium and his followers gathered Zeno having been inspired by Socrates and the cynics provided the foundations
02:00 - 02:30 for stoic philosophy he employed the tools of dialogue and discussion to work through philosophical questions and agreed with both Socrates and prominent cynics like diogenes that virtue is the only good one quote that illustrates a key conclusion of his beliefs is happiness is a good flow of Life happiness in this context is translated from the Greek term udonia which is much different than our word happiness udonia
02:30 - 03:00 is not fleeting or achievable through small Pleasures like happiness is it translates to good spirit which may better approximate the term's true meaning it is Ultimate well-being and flourishing and freedom from conflict and negativity to me udonia seems more like Nirvana and the Christian concept of Joy derived from the love of God Zeno divided philosophical inquiry into three primary categories physics ethics and logic over the next several centuries
03:00 - 03:30 Zeno's intellectual descendants provide an account of these three pillars which attempts to explain the path to udonia physics in ancient Greece is not quite the same as the physics of Newton or Einstein because those guys had not existed yet since this philosophical inquiry took place in ancient Greece before modern science the stoics understood the world to contain four elements water Earth Fire and Air of these
03:30 - 04:00 Fire and Air come together to form what is called Numa literally breath or Spirit Numa is a concept was not invented by the stoics but they're unique in proposing that it is omnipresent to some extent Numa permeates all beings and appears in varying degrees in animals Numa acts as the soul and in rocks Numa is what holds each Rock together as a distinct individual since the stoics claim that even the human spirit is composed of
04:00 - 04:30 physical elements they would be considered materialists they do not hold a belief in any entities outside of those with which we can physically interact this principle gives rise to their account of causes each thing that has happened was caused by something else and everything that ever will happen will be caused by the necessary consequences of the present moment if I kick a soccer ball it will move because I caused it to it will not change unless I or something
04:30 - 05:00 else causes it to this principle can be applied on a broad scale to the entire universe and we end up with a deterministic worldview all of the events of the present are causally determined by the past and the laws of nature in the same way all of the major events of the future are predetermined as well Numa is Guided by and part of the logos sometimes called the universal or divine reason nature or fate logos
05:00 - 05:30 provides the source of order and reason in the universe and guides all of nature including people it is like a god that manifests itself through every piece of the universe to go back to our guiding quote happiness is a good flow of life the good flow of Life mentioned is one aligned with the logos never in conflict with nature or one's own Numa or soul
05:30 - 06:00 like physics logic in this context has a slightly different meaning it tends to Encompass argument more broadly and it is split into rhetoric and dialectic rhetoric is the realm of persuasion and monologue and it focuses on developing a long form argument whereas dialectic uses active discussion and dialogue to discover the truth the Greeks largely prefer dialectic over rhetoric as a means to learn share ideas and create true beliefs think of Plato's Republic
06:00 - 06:30 for example the whole book takes the form of a dialogue between Socrates and several interlocutors more closely associated with our modern understanding of logic the stoics and especially chifus presented an early form of propositional logic focused on the relationship between the type of statements that can be true or false propositional logic in its modern form was greatly influenced by the late 19th century German philosopher Fraga
06:30 - 07:00 and there is at least some evidence to suggest that his work in this area was taken from cfus and his peers let's go over some propositional logic first let's take this argument form known as modus ponin if a then B A therefore B A and B can be replaced by any declarative sentences like it is raining or the ground is wet or the moon is made of cheese
07:00 - 07:30 now we have a new argument if it is raining then the ground is wet it is raining therefore the ground is wet notice how if premises 1 and two are true then the conclusion must also be true premise one means that if it is raining the ground will necessarily always be wet premise 2 tells us that it is raining so therefore the conclusion that the ground is wet must be true so what is this logical system system tell
07:30 - 08:00 us about the stoics and their priorities well they focus on rationality dialogue and the internal consistency of their beliefs and methods of evaluating the truth this indicates a school of philosophy dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and a rejection of false beliefs just as the logos is rational and orderly so too should our beliefs be happiness is a life where one's beliefs and methods of Truth discernment align with the universal reason
08:00 - 08:30 ethics according to the stoics can be seen as an extension of logic the morality of an action is derived through logic and knowledge they emphasize four virtues common in ancient Greek thought adopted from Plato these virtues are Temperance courage wisdom and Justice Aristotle describes virtue as the midway between two vices and the stoics adopt a similar idea related to their understanding of logic virtue comes from a knowledge of how to act and knowledge
08:30 - 09:00 comes from one's rationality aligning with the logos Temperance for example is simply knowledge of when to indulge in external pleasures and when to refrain virtue therefore is knowledge of how to act and a virtuous Act is one in accord with the Divine reason if a good flow of life is one walked in step with the logos then a bad life is one lived in contrast with the logos a life in conflict with fate is like trying to
09:00 - 09:30 climb up a slide the slide exists for you to go down and resisting Makes You Weary unhappy and ultimately stuck in one place a good flow of life is going down the slide without fear trusting that the journey down the slide is intended and ultimately for good even if your slide is Bumpy painful or you think someone else's slide is nicer than yours you cannot change your place in Life or what your nature demands of you we we ought not battle nature but recognize
09:30 - 10:00 that we are a part of it I think today we tend to frame our search for purpose as rational Humanity at odds with an ultimately irrational and meaningless universe but this depiction is not accurate we ultimately must exist within nature and it is the universe from which we are formed the same materials in the stars and planets make up conscious human brains love and life itself we are not separate from the universe by any means a good flow of Life recognizes
10:00 - 10:30 this principle of monism and Embraces its consequences discontent arises when one tries to fight the Divine reason anxiety is the result of excessive worry about external events someone who is truly aligned with logos does not feel anxious as they understand these events result from order and reason in nature ultimately one should be indifferent to all Affairs external to one's actions as there they're outside of one's realm of
10:30 - 11:00 control desire manifests harm in the same way as distrust in fate and longing for things that are not ultimately valuable remember the only value in the universe comes from virtue and reason so Desiring anything else conflicts with the logos and interferes with your judgments another source of pain and discontent in the world comes from one's actions when you do something wrong you can tell at least for most people knowing that they performed an action
11:00 - 11:30 that they shouldn't have makes them feel unpleasant happiness or udonia is a life where a person acts perfectly in accord with the logos using logical reasoning to generate knowledge and acting based on that knowledge to exhibit an ACR virtue life then becomes easy as your goals emotions and actions are consistent with the rationality of the entire universe
11:30 - 12:00 when discussing stoicism and its practical application ancient authors often illustrate a sage or an ideal version of man that perfectly embodies the principles we have covered in today's world the sage of stoicism is Marcus aelius Aurelius was a Roman emperor in the 2 Century ad he studied philosophy as was popular with the educated Elites of the time and he fell in love with stoicism particularly the work of epicus he left us a book called meditations and
12:00 - 12:30 it acts as the entry point to stoicism for many people meditations was not written as a philosophical text or even a book to be read it was aurelius's personal Journal where he reflected and instructed himself on how to become a better ruler and a better man in this work he never shows signs of immorality and challenges himself to ignore the innumerable Pleasures available to him as the emperor and to focus on his subjects and his character he says
12:30 - 13:00 things like very little is needed to live a happy life you have power over your mind not external events and waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be be one reading meditations can be a useful way to remind oneself of the principles of stoicism just as aelius used it as a reminder to himself stoicism as it has been presented thus far is a rich tapest of philosophical
13:00 - 13:30 ideas spanning many fields and cohesively providing an account of our purpose in life stoic practices can reduce anxiety and help resist the pushes and pulls of the world so it seems like it should still be practical and beneficial so how is it presented to the people of today well if you Google stoicism one of the top results will inevitably be daily stoic daily stoic is a website run by Ryan holiday who makes YouTube videos among other things under
13:30 - 14:00 the daily stoic name before he began to create content on stoicism holiday was a journalist writing on media manipulation and marketing he has multiple best-selling books and nearly 2 million subscribers on YouTube so surely he knows what he's talking about unfortunately daily stoic falls into a category that I like to call self-help stoicism which is a part of a broader category of stoicism spelled with a dollar sign this kind of con gained popularity in Silicon Valley and teaches
14:00 - 14:30 people to utilize some of the stoic principles and messages to reduce stress and increase their workplace productivity holiday even has a playlist on his YouTube channel entitled stoicism and productivity to illustrate this point let's watch a video called Eight stoic habits that will improve your life whenever I feel like quitting whenever I feel like it's not working whenever I feel like it's impossible whenever I feel like it can't possibly go on any longer I go I know this feeling I've
14:30 - 15:00 dealt with this [Music] before the stoics were successful busy people they had day jobs they had families they were of service to their country and their causes so how did they get it all done I mean that's the question we're all asking I get that question all the time people say Ryan how how have you written the books that you've written how have you spoken to the groups that you've done how did you manage to open up a bookstore on the side and the answer for for me as well as for the ancient stoics was a set of
15:00 - 15:30 foundational habits a wise philosopher once said that no one should be pied more than the person who's Wing who's treating everything as a new uncertain decision the person who has habits who has best practices who has rules they observe that is the person in a position to be successful and so in today's episode I wanted to give you eight foundational stoic habits things to do and practice every single day that will make make you better at whatever you do
15:30 - 16:00 whoever you are wherever you live and whatever stage of life you happen to be in what's really interesting about philosophy is that that's what Marcus aurelius's meditations was it's one of the few philosophical books that we have that wasn't published as a book the most powerful man in the world wasn't writing what he thought he was writing what he felt he needed to know for himself and it's only a complete accident that this work survives to us he'd probably be
16:00 - 16:30 mortified that we're reading his his diary or Journal but he's dead so it doesn't matter um the the point is it it's philosophy is not just this thing you read about one time and understand it's an active practice it's something you're doing with yourself it's a dialogue with oneself I talked about the Missile Crisis a little bit um what I think is so fascinating about the Missile Crisis is that we have Kennedy's Doodles and notes from the missile crisis on legal pads he would write these things to himself sort of reminders he would write missile missile
16:30 - 17:00 missile he write consensus consensus consensus he was journaling out working out what he was thinking as he was thinking it journaling is not the only way to do this I know people that doodle in the morning or sketch the but the point is to have kind of a a a creative practice um where there are very low stakes and it's just sort of a getting the juices flowing uh Julia Cameron calls U morning Pages a sort of a form of spiritual windshield wipers and I really like that analogy this tip seems
17:00 - 17:30 helpful on the surface but does it really relate to stoicism I mean Marcus aelius had a journal but that doesn't mean that journaling is inherently stoic especially since he presents journaling as a way to get your creative juices flowing and not as a way to practice virtue or reason this tip seems more like generic self-help mumbo jumbo than an actual attempt to educate the viewer about the tenants of stoicism holiday contradicts one of these key tenants in the intro he says one of the worst
17:30 - 18:00 things you can do is live your life winging it without a plan or goal he continues to say that you need structure to be successful talk of success especially external and material success is meaningless to the stoics they do not care about the outcome of events only that they act as the universe intended external indicators of success are outcomes not actions he is not off to a great start so
18:00 - 18:30 far I do this one thing every single day and you can see I'm I'm a little sweaty right now I just went on a long walk with my kids this is the property there but we just went on this long walk around our property we we talked we threw sticks we told stories we were just outside you know there's this great expression from n he says only ideas had when walking have any worth and I think that's right even senica talks about how how the mind must be given over to wandering walks he says fields that are
18:30 - 19:00 not allowed to rest will will not bear plants he even says that you know the mind will break like an anvil if not rested and so this is really important for me walking is physical activity is it is exercise but it's really about letting my mind rest I leave my phone at home I leave my thoughts at home I leave my work at home and I just go outside and I walk and I don't even consider it exercise it's exercise for my mind it's time I spend with my family it's time I spend on my property it's time I spend out doors it's time I spend practicing
19:00 - 19:30 gratitude and appreciation this is a thing I do every day without fail whether it's in a parking lot or on a beautiful beach somewhere I go outside and take a walk and so should you the second tip is probably a better place to include journaling as journaling can provide an additional opportunity for reflection and presence in the moment just as walking can overall I think I agree with tip number two it is certainly necessary to give your mind a break from the constant stimulation we experience especially today not to sound
19:30 - 20:00 like a crazy Boomer but kids these days need to get off the Tik Tok in your brain you have a pathway called the default Network and it activates basically when you're bored and unstimulated some of the components of the default Network are important for self-reflection so having time to be alone with your thoughts can boost your internal examination of your beliefs which is important for the stoic figure being bored is good for you
20:00 - 20:30 people ask me what the secret to writing you know 10 11 books in 10 years writing best sellers and I tell them there is no secret I just work every single day right I do a little bit every single day I try to make a little bit of progress every single day this is a core precept of stoicism Zeno says well-being is realized by small steps but it's no small thing Mark celus says assemble your life action by action no one can stop you from that right we focus on
20:30 - 21:00 what we control which is did you show up today did you make a little bit of progress and senica says look even wisdom is acquired quote Insight story you know experience by experience and and that's how books are written too there's a great rule in writing just a couple crappy Pages a day I just try to produce work and then I refine and edit later but the main thing is showing up doing the work trying to get a little bit better every single day
21:00 - 21:30 once again holiday provides a good tip without tying it to the underlying good virtue namely the virtue of temperance commitment to consistency is stoic but only if it manifests itself through a commitment to reason and virtue for the sake of virtue not money or best-selling books overall holiday offers passible life advice at first glance but his motives reveal a failure to grasp the deeper positions of the tradition I
21:30 - 22:00 don't think he's a bad guy or a grifter or anything but his presentation of stoic philosophy does not provide the context necessary to fully understand the principles that he gives other online self-help stoics like Ryan holiday exist and many of them more explicitly aim to profit off of their teachings hell you can even find people on Fiverr who claim they can help you to be more successful through stoicism if you pay for their coaching so look out
22:00 - 22:30 for people who are trying to sell you content on stoicism it is not necessarily predatory because content creators have to make a living somehow but be mindful of people who see stoic practices solely as tools to be more productive and Achieve wealth and success focusing on money reveals that they do not practice what they preach since a true stoic Sage would have no desire for material indicators of flourishing for themselves or for their
22:30 - 23:00 pupils while Ryan holiday's presentation of stoic philosophy leaves much to be desired it is not nearly as harmful as the ideas passed off as stoic by the manosphere the manosphere is a subset of Internet content targeted towards young men that promotes a return to traditional masculinity in gender roles as well as a rejection of feminism and political correctness people that fall under the manosphere umbrella incl include men's rights activists n cells
23:00 - 23:30 and pickup artists these figures teach that young men should be physically strong and disciplined never displaying emotion stoicism often gets shoved in with these principles because many of these creators viewed the ancient Greeks and Romans as the peak of masculinity it is misrepresented as total emotional repression and a ruthless coldblooded temperament that drives people to work tirelessly towards success the presentation of stoicism associated
23:30 - 24:00 with traits of toxic masculinity is often called broism and it tends to attract many of the same people as stoicism spelled with the dollar sign one of the key figures in today's bro philosophy is Andrew Tate if you don't know who Andrew Tate is what do you live under a rock he claims to be a stoic and quotes figures like Marcus aelius so how do his ideas Stack Up he often brags about his cars wealth and success and
24:00 - 24:30 preaches about becoming a winner through rigorous discipline and ruthless social tactics any speak of winners and losers cannot be rooted in stoic thought what is a winner Andrew someone who has a lot of money and Status somebody that gets what they want these definitions of being a winner do not align with the ultimate goal of being virtuous external indicators of success should not be the objects of your desire they have no real
24:30 - 25:00 value you can tell he's talking about status and notoriety because he claims that losers quote remain invisible loser is the opposite of winner and invisibility is the opposite of prominence and influence Andrew Tate's attempt to provide an account of discipline fails because it's not built on a solid foundation of virtue so how do the stoics think of motivation and discipline let's read a passage from meditations at dawn when you have
25:00 - 25:30 trouble getting out of bed tell yourself I have to go to work as a human being what do I have to complain of if I'm going to do what I was born for the things I was brought into the world to do or is this what I was created for to hle under the blankets and stay warm but it's nicer here so you were born to feel nice instead of doing things and experiencing them don't you see the plants and the birds the ants and the
25:30 - 26:00 spiders and the bees going about their tasks putting the world in order as best they can and you're not willing to do your job as a human being why aren't you running to do what your nature demands but we have to sleep sometime agreed but nature set a limit on that as it did on eating and drinking and you're over the limit you've had more than enough of that but not of working there you're still below your quota you don't
26:00 - 26:30 love yourself enough or you'd love your nature too and what it demands of you people who love what they do wear themselves down doing it they even forget to wash or eat do you have less respect for your nature than the engraver does for Engraving the dancer for dance The Miser for money or the social climber for status when they're really possessed by what they do they'd rather stop eating and sleeping than give up their practice is helping others less valuable to you
26:30 - 27:00 not worth your effort it is clear that aelius thinks that we should derive our motivation and discipline from the logos everything in the world has a duty and a purpose and Humanity's purpose is to be virtuous in fact we should love virtu so much that we exhaust ourselves over it it's absurd that we should even think about staying comfortably in bed all day because feeling good ultimately has no no value compared to playing your part in the
27:00 - 27:30 Universal ballet of Reason back to Andrew Tate for the sake of fairness let's watch a clip of an interview where he is directly asked about his stoic beliefs meditations by Marcus aurelus stoicism you've referenced stoicism multiple times not getting an emotional thinking rational this was a book that you've subscribed to for for years what is it about stoicism and not getting caught up in emotions and even triggering emotions that resonates with you well emotions
27:30 - 28:00 are feedback the idea that men don't feel emotions is incorrect we feel emotions I would actually argue we feel emotions in certain with certain emotions stronger than women it's feedback so when you get the feedback it's all about how you internalize it and how you process it right it's having stoicism is not not feeling emotions it's feeling the emotion and going okay why is this happening how much does this really matter what's the most intelligent move on the chessboard I'm not even that good at chess right my father was a Grandmaster
28:00 - 28:30 I'm chess is a fantastic game because in the game of chess there's no M there's no luck if you lose no matter how well you play if you lose at some point you made a mistake even if it's the most minor mistake you made a mistake so you learn to understand that no matter what happens to you if you lose a scenario you made a mistake maybe it's a tiny one maybe it was two years ago what whatever but you made a mistake and you learn absolute accountability for yourself at
28:30 - 29:00 that mentality is extremely powerful to apply to all things in life the position I'm in now as the most hated man in the world although I agree and I truly believe it's unfair I still take complete responsibility for I'm not goingon to sit here and say I'm telling you why it happened when I talk about Tik Tok and YouTube shorts but I'm not going to blame them absolutely they're are they're a company making money and they're monetizing the best they can fantastic all of this is my fault but the Bugatti on my drive is my fault and the yach is my fault the private Jet's my fault so it's all my fault so I take
29:00 - 29:30 the good with the bad I take all responsibility for absolutely everything including if a woman leaves me if a woman stays if I end up heartbroken if I end up filled with rage I take responsibility for that if something happens to me that makes me enrage I will take responsibility why has this happened to me why do I feel this way how did I end up in this position is this healthy in this scenario and sometimes it is I've had scenarios in my life where I was prepared to die to protect somebody else and I was enraged and it was healthy I've also had times
29:30 - 30:00 where I'm in a room by myself enraged sitting there going this is no good for anybody I need to just calm the [ __ ] down so emotions are feedback but stoicism is the ability to process them and that's what you need to be learn as a man you're never going to be able to turn them off you're gonna feel them you have to learn how to turn you have to learn how to process them and turn them into a pate Tate claims responsibility for everything in his life from his failures to his Bugatti but remember the stoics largely don't worry about the outcomes of of their actions because everything major has already been
30:00 - 30:30 determined by Fate your only job is to act rationally and Play Your Part in the Symphony of nature every time Tate brags about his cars and jets and money and women he proves that he doesn't get it at all I say this all the time I say that the biggest periods of transformation in my life is when everything was going wrong when my life was going good it's I'm not a hedonistic person I don't do drugs I don't gamble I don't do pr ites I don't do anything that hedonistic but I'll certainly go on
30:30 - 31:00 the yach with a bunch of women I know and chill and have some B and that thing when life's smooth that's then it's semi headis pretty relaxed but when I make my biggest progress when I really change who I am and change the world that's when everything's [ __ ] when things go wrong or I'm feeling things I don't want to feel or bad things are happening that's when I'm like okay I concurrent I currently cannot sleep I've completed the day's tasks I've tried to go to bed I can't sleep more [ __ ] has to get done that's when the amazing things happen in
31:00 - 31:30 my life when I was heartbroken when I was whenever everyone's been heartbroken I can't remember a specific example I hit the gym harder right if something goes wrong with your payment process that's when you get [ __ ] inventive that's that's business right that's when you get inventive so all the bad things that happen to you as a man if you're stoic you get to take unlimited energy heartbreak is unlimited energy so is depression so is Rage so is sadness all these negative emotions they tell you to to collapse behind it's like people talk like uh Brucey says Be Like Water and people see that as be fluid and just go
31:30 - 32:00 with the flow I disagree if you're like water you are you're necessary for life you are scary when you're enraged you're powerful you're beautiful when you're calm you're so many things when you're like water right so if I'm enraged it's like water behind a dam you just got to put the dam in for in place and you got get the turbo the hydro electrics put in don't tsunami your life Andrew Tate here is describing exactly how he lets his emotions influences decisions and alter his actions stoicism emphasizes
32:00 - 32:30 rationality and emotional Mastery understanding one's emotions and why they arise while not letting them pull you away from reasonable behavior and your perspective on the world in trying to describe his stoic attitudes tapate provides another clear example that he has absolutely no idea what stoicism is really about reducing stoic philosophy to Turning rage into energy bits in the face of the complexities of the
32:30 - 33:00 tradition passed down by these great ancient thinkers when people misrepresent stoicism they do so by ignoring the underlying depths of the philosophy people like Andrew Tate and Ryan holiday take the conclusions of stoicism like that you should not act irrationally because of your emotions and insert their own values and belief systems underneath that conclusion they show their Detachment from the original virtues that they claimed to promote by prioritizing workplace productivity or
33:00 - 33:30 bragging about their wealth or women they cherry-pick quotes from ancient thinkers and use them to justify whatever practice or beliefs they want to promote to you the values that support real stoicism are confusing and maybe counterintuitive individually but understood cohesively the intellectual tradition illuminates the beliefs behind stoic principles and allows us to more easily use them to make judgments about our world stoicism should be interpreted
33:30 - 34:00 with an understanding of the context of the world in which it arose and the rich Mosaic of ethical logical and physical tenants that uphold its key claims in its simplest most palatable form stoicism is reduced to self-help quotables and emotional repression the modern popular presentation of stoic principles has Associated wealth Fame and Power with stoic emotional regulation and the virtue of
34:00 - 34:30 temperance the modern stoic practices not as a way to ACR virtue and sift through the messy realm of Desire but to achieve the common modern dreams of financial success and relief from anxiety however we should not ignore the wisdom and practical advice of people like Marcus aelius just because Andrew Tate manipulates his words to suit his own ends stoicism and its practice have value and should not be disposed of
34:30 - 35:00 simply because they're misinterpreted and unfavorably presented today it is easy to be consumed by the world with your mind constantly pushed and pulled by things that ultimately do not matter to maintain your sanity make sure you have time to truly reflect an inquiry into your emotions and realizing some of the inconsistencies in your mind can provide insight into what truly matters but a lot of people today are afraid of
35:00 - 35:30 Silence afraid to be alone with their thoughts create a refuge in your mind and cultivate comfortability with yourself by just practicing doing nothing but thinking deep insights can only reveal themselves to you if you let your mind be open to them boredom is good for you go for a walk put everything away and make yourself forget about all the circumstances of your life remember the default network does discussed earlier parts of the default
35:30 - 36:00 Network are utilized when making judgments about yourself so being bored almost forces you into self-reflection it may be scary but it makes you better there's an idea in stoicism that we should be constantly reminded of our own mortality not in a particularly morbid kind of way but to illustrate the finitude of your existence and the urgency with which you should live if you were going to die tomorrow how do you think you would act would you allow yourself to be pulled
36:00 - 36:30 around by the world or would you be present making the most of each moment before you're passing and in the eyes of the cosmos and the universe and the large scale of things what's the difference between a day and a lifetime presence in each moment makes you receptive to new insights and creates context about what really matters allowing more virtuous behavior and promoting character you don't have to believe ancient stoic metaphysics about
36:30 - 37:00 fate and logos and Numa to apply the practices to your life but you should understand them to some extent to avoid manipulating them in inauthentic ways reflect for the sake of growing recognizing where you have acted immorally or illogically and planning to do better in the future if happiness is a good flow of life then we should all strive to live lives with better flow more rational more ethical and
37:00 - 37:30 ultimately more fulfilling stoic or not I think everyone can benefit from pledging to be more virtuous if you learn something new engage with this video by liking commenting and subscribing to give it a boost in the algorithm I think these ancient ideas are worth sharing And discussing and if you do too then help this video reach more people who might find it valuable thank you very much for watching until the end and if you want more content on stoicism I recommend
37:30 - 38:00 this lecture on Marcus aelius by Dr Michael SRU Link in the description thank you