The What Is Stoicism? Podcast

The Stoics liked to draw parallels between the practice of philosophy and other, more physical pursuits that require concentrated effort to improve one’s ability.One popular analogy was to present Stoicism as a type of training similar to that an athlete would undertake.In this episode, we reflect on Epictetus's comparison of life to the Olympic Games, and Musonius Rufus's use of Stoicism as a means of strengthening one’s soul.----☀️ Start your next 10 days like a Stoic with morning routines that take only 10 minutes to complete.Free Stoic 10-day series: https://whatisstoicism.com/10days Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To prepare for the day ahead, the Stoic Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius would often remind himself of the type of people he was likely to come into contact with.“At the start of the day,” he wrote in his Meditations. “Tell yourself: I shall meet people who are officious, ungrateful, abusive, treacherous, malicious, and selfish.”In this episode, we look at why we might want to develop a similar practice.----☀️ Start your next 10 days like a Stoic with morning routines that take only 10 minutes to complete.Free Stoic 10-day series: https://whatisstoicism.com/10days Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote 124 letters to his friend Lucilius and reveled in his replies:"Your letter has given me pleasure, and has roused me from sluggishness."—Seneca, Letters 74.1This collection of letters is today one of our best sources of Stoic life advice from ancient Rome.In this episode, we look at why we should consider writing some letters of our own.----☀️ Start your next 10 days like a Stoic with morning routines that take only 10 minutes to complete.Free Stoic 10-day series: https://whatisstoicism.com/10days Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Robertson’s new book How To Think Like Socrates will be a welcome release for anyone keen to delve into the life of the man often referred to as the grandfather of Western philosophy.Almost all philosophical schools after Socrates traced their roots to him, including the Stoics.In this episode, I talk to Donald about the book and what we can learn today from how Socrates thought all those years ago.----☀️ Start your next 10 days like a Stoic with morning routines that take only 10 minutes to complete.Free Stoic 10-day series: https://whatisstoicism.com/10days Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.