Tag: society-and-culture

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: An image of a lyre is featured based on modern reconstructions of an ancient instrument known as the "kinnor" - the kind of lyre that King David used. Halway framing the kinnor is a question mark. This image is for the alternative psalms that I wrote and posted on my blog (virtualstoa.org). Unlike the traditional psalms which pretty much require religious belief for you to use them -- these psalms (the Non-Theistic psalms) impose no such requirement at all for their use.

Non-Theistic Psalm no. 2

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Non-Theistic Psalm no. 2: Composed on 2018-02-11 in the evening. How long will the foolish stay in power? How long will they continue their reckless schemes? How long will they hold the world in jeopardy Believing that God will fix Read more

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: An open book with writing represents a journal - specifically, a meditative journal, which is an ancient time-honored ingraining technique. Above it and to the left, a chain of Death Beads used in a very recently-devised ingraining technique. Above the book and to the right (slightly overlapping) is a blue silhouette of someone running - a symbol of exercise - as the ingraining techniques are key philosophical exercises for Stoicism. Above all that are, in big red letters, the words "EVERY DAY" highlighting the importance of making it an every-day practice to use whatever regimen of ingraining techniques are found to be appropriate for you. This image is for articles in this blog pertaining to Stoic ingraining techniques - whether they be ingraining techniques that we get from the Classical Stoics, or whether they be those developed in modern times by Modern Stoics.

Why We Shouldn’t Surrender to Emotion

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It is part of Plurationalist teaching that we should not surrender to our emotions, but master them. Here is why Plurationalism is right in teaching that. Recently, I shared with some people the following gatha that I use in my Read more

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: We see one of those turkeys drawn in the style that we learned to draw them in grade school based around a hand's outline. Behind it burns the flame which represents the Logos, which is the spirit of logic and reason. This image is made for writing on this site (virtualstoa.org) that connects Stoicism to the holiday of Thanksgiving.

#9: A Stoic Thanksgiving with the Emperor Marcus Aurelius

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Though you may not realize it, Thanksgiving Day can be a very Stoic holiday. The Emperor Marcus Aurelius shows us how this can be. [powerpress /] This piece is Episode 9 of the podcast: Philadelphia Stoic Thouhts By the normal Read more

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Against a grey background, we see the red flame that represents the Logos (the spirit of reason that animates the Universe). In front of that, we see a badly-drawn representation of a human brain - on which there is a lightbulb that is lit, representing thought. Some of the rays from the lightbulb's glow gradually blend into the flame, representing how our reasoning faculty is part of the Logos. This image is for articles in this blog dealing with logic and critical thought.

#8: Empathy vs. Rational Compassion: Part 3: Examples of Empathy Causing Harm

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The arguments as to why empathy is problematic as a moral compass and ought to be replaced with ratonal compassion are not mere theoretical hair-splittings. History has actually demonstrated disasters wrought when decisions are driven by emotional empathy. [powerpress /] Read more

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Against a grey background, we see the red flame that represents the Logos (the spirit of reason that animates the Universe). In front of that, we see a badly-drawn representation of a human brain - on which there is a lightbulb that is lit, representing thought. Some of the rays from the lightbulb's glow gradually blend into the flame, representing how our reasoning faculty is part of the Logos. This image is for articles in this blog dealing with logic and critical thought.

#7: Empathy vs. Rational Compassion: Part 2: Basic Flaws in the Empathic Model of Compassion

sophia_my_blog

The popular theory is that emotional empathy is the precursor to compassion as people help each other in order to avoid themselves suffering empathetic pain if they don’t. However, in reality, things just don’t very often work out that way. Read more

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: In the background burns the flame that represents the Logos. In front of it, several letters from the Greek alphabet fill the air - and near the floor is a book labeled "A Stoic Dictionary". This image is for articles in this blog (virtualstoa.org) pertaining to Stoic terminology.

#6: Empathy versus Rational Compassion: Part One: What We Mean by “Empathy”

sophia_my_blog

I want to discuss why society ought to encourage rational compassion rather than empathy. But before I can do that, I must clarify what “empathy” means in this discussion and why it is important to keep in mind how empathy Read more

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A strange liquid boils and bubbles in an Erlenmeyer flask. To the right of it, two test-tubes sit on a rack. And to the right of it, slightly above, is an image of what is perhaps, for Stoics, the most painful reminder of scientific advance - the atom. Behind all that burns the flame that represents the Logos. This image is for articles on this site (virtualstoa.org) that pertain to the relation between Stoicism and science.

Stoicism in the Age of Science

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While ancient Stoics no doubt held some views that are at odds with modern science, proper understanding of Stoicism requires that we differentiate the actual principles of the philosophy from context-specific influences in the ancient writings. Upon doing this, we Read more

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Two mouths - one slightly-above to the right, and one slightly-below to the left. From the mouth on the left come a few straight lines representing honest speech. From the mouth on the right come a few crooked lines representing deceptive speech. Behind the honest mouth (the one on the left) burns the flame which represents the Logos. This image is for articles in this blog (virtualstoa.org) which deal with cases in which the true words of the philosopher meet with untrue words of baser society.

Epictitus Shows us How to Stand Up to Hate Speech Without Compromising our Resilience to Insults

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While the Stoic advice to embrace insults may seem at times to put us in conflict with our obligation to stand up to societal injustice, Epictetus gives us a great way to resolve this dilemma. One thing is abundantly clear Read more