Matthew Sharpe, author of Stoicism, Bullying, and Beyond, who writes about philosophy as a way of life on Medium.com under the nom de plume, “Castalian Stream,” has written an article critiquing Pyrrhonism as a way of life: “Some sceptical remarks on Pyrrhonian scepticism as a way of life.” Castalian Stream's…

What drag queens can teach Stoics about how to live an ethical life Ryan Holiday, the author who is probably responsible for bringing more converts to Stoicism than any other living author through his many books on Stoicism — such as The Obstacle is the Way, The Daily Stoic, and…

One of the many fascinating adventures of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey is his encounter with the Sirens. The Sirens have the appearance of beautiful women, but are half bird. They sing, and their song is so compelling that men are irresistibly drawn toward them. In the Odyssey they are situated…

The ancient Stoics took for their motto, “live according to nature.” While this motto sounds appealing, it turns out to be terrible advice. The problem is that while nature does seem to provide some guidance — we do have to eat, drink, and sleep, for example — nature’s guidance is…

Chrysippus, Zeno, and Epictetus on what it means to live according to nature One of the more perplexing ideas handed down from the ancient Stoics is the motto, “live according to nature.” It’s a nice-sounding motto, but it is less than obvious what it really means. Perhaps the ancient Stoics…

The Consequences of the Dichotomy of Control Stoicism is promoted as a way of making yourself invincible. Entire books are devoted to cultivating Stoic indifference to train Stoics to dismiss distressing things as mere “externals” that one should be indifferent to. A key underpinning of these things is a part…

Don’t believe what you think. In the Bahiya Sutta we have one of the most concise formulations given in Buddhist teachings on how to end suffering. In this sutta the respected ascetic, Bahiya, learns about the Buddha and travels to see him. When Bahiya eventually finds the Buddha he says…

Since the beginning of history, people have jumped to conclusions. Only afterward have they come up with reasons for those conclusions — all the while deluding themselves and others that the process happened in the other direction. This is what David Hume was talking about when he said “reason is…

Massimo Pigliucci has published a review of the book How to Keep an Open Mind: An Ancient Guide to Thinking Like a Skeptic. In this book, Richard Bett presents a fresh translation into contemporary English of some of the most important sections of the works of the ancient Pyrrhonist philosopher…