2 days agoMember-onlyHow Stoicism Led Epictetus to Be Thrashed by a StrangerThe 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. …Stoicism4 min readStoicism4 min read
Feb 15Member-onlyBuddha on How to End SufferingDon’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…Buddhism2 min readBuddhism2 min read
Feb 8Member-onlyThe Slavery of Motivated Reasoning, According to the Ancient GreeksSince 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. …Rationalization13 min readRationalization13 min read
Dec 27, 2022Member-onlyClearing Up Misconceptions About PyrrhonismMassimo Pigliucci has published a review of the book How to Keep an Open Mind: An Ancient Guide to Thinking Like a Skeptic. …Skepticism13 min readSkepticism13 min read
Nov 22, 2022Member-onlyThe Buddha Did Not Teach an End to SufferingHow the mistranslation of “dukkha” has mislead Western Buddhists It has become normative and conventional to translate the Buddhist term “dukkha” as “suffering.” This is a bad translation. “Suffering” is not what the Buddha meant by “dukkha.” Translating terms about concepts is always tricky because often the closest words in…Buddhism5 min readBuddhism5 min read
Nov 5, 2022Member-onlyThe Thunder, Perfect Mind: A Heraclitean InterpretationPerhaps the most enigmatic of all of the ancient texts recovered at Nag Hamadi is The Thunder, Perfect Mind. It is wholly unlike the other texts found in this cache of ancient Gnostic texts. Based on the meter of the text, it was probably composed in Greek. …Heraclitus13 min readHeraclitus13 min read
Oct 25, 2022Member-onlyAn Epitome of PyrrhonismDon’t Confuse Pyrrhonism With Skepticism Pyrrhonism is the earliest form of Western philosophical skepticism; however, what we now consider to be skepticism is so greatly different from Pyrrhonism that calling Pyrrhonism “skepticism” produces severe and difficult-to-reverse misconceptions of what Pyrrhonism is. This is exacerbated by presentations of Pyrrhonism that distort…Pyrrhonism9 min readPyrrhonism9 min read
Oct 16, 2022Member-onlyPhilosophy Begins in BlunderEpictetus and Sextus on the Beginnings of Philosophy Why does a person become interested in philosophy as a way of life? Is it because they discover there is something wrong with themselves and wish to address that problem, or is it because they wish to end their mental suffering? Epictetus…Stoicism5 min readStoicism5 min read
Oct 5, 2022Member-onlyAtaraxiaA Key Pyrrhonist Concept The Greek philosophical concept of ataraxia has drawn quite a bit of attention recently among Medium.com writers, such as in these articles: The Problem with Ataraxia Ataraxia, Neuroscience, Rock Climbing, the Bhagavad Gita and Zen As ataraxia is a central concept in Pyrrhonism, it seems that…Ataraxia4 min readAtaraxia4 min read
Sep 13, 2022Member-onlyWas Marcus Aurelius a Stoic?No. Marcus Aurelius Was Not a Stoic One of the great treasures of the surviving ancient Greek literature is a philosophical journal kept by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It is a glimpse into the mind of an extraordinary man, in extraordinary circumstances, doing something extraordinary: philosophical self-counseling. As such…Marcus Aurelius13 min readMarcus Aurelius13 min read
