Category: philosophy

Stoic Philosophy: Recovering from the Past

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I talk about practical methods to recover from events in the past.

Excessive focus on past events and brooding can be harmful to us, but we can take steps to move our focus away from the past through acceptance; reforming our thoughts; questioning our appraisals of the world; being mindful; replacing bad habits with good ones; focusing on positives rather than negatives; and employing other strategies.

My Stoic Philosophy series explores the tradition of Stoicism with goals to inform, empower, and help others benefit from practical wisdom of Ancient Greek, Roman, and modern thinkers including Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca.

For the Stoics, a main focus is pursuing virtue to attain a well-examined life through practical applications of Philosophy – acting with good character, using reason to form accurate careful judgments about the world, and achieving contentment. Stoic writers focus on many perennial human concerns and urge people to take action applying what they learn to everyday life. Self-improvement is central to Stoic thought – strengthening and improving one’s mindset.

Listen to my new Stoic Philosophy episode on YouTube and SoundCloud.

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Applying Stoicism With Travis Hume

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Travis Hume joins me to talk about applications of Stoicism in many areas of life including college and the workplace.

Travis Hume is the creator, administrator, and writer at ApplyingStoicism.com. He is 27 years old, and currently serves as a Special Education Paraprofessional. He aims to write full-time on the application of Stoic philosophy, and the restoration of its system.

My Stoic Philosophy series explores the tradition of Stoicism with goals to inform, empower, and help others benefit from practical wisdom of Ancient Greek, Roman, and modern thinkers including Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca.

For the Stoics, a main focus is pursuing virtue to attain a well-examined life through practical applications of Philosophy – acting with good character, using reason to form accurate careful judgments about the world, and achieving contentment. Stoic writers focus on many perennial human concerns and urge people to take action applying what they learn to everyday life. Self-improvement is central to Stoic thought – strengthening and improving one’s mindset.

Listen to my new Stoic Philosophy episode on SoundCloud.

Click on this post’s title for more.

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Stoic Philosophy: Desolation

Justin Vacula 1 Comment

I talk about desolation; self-reliance worth wanting; benefits of good relationships; explain the drawbacks of desolation; and argue for courageousness.

My Stoic Philosophy series explores the tradition of Stoicism with goals to inform, empower, and help others benefit from practical wisdom of Ancient Greek, Roman, and modern thinkers including Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca.

For the Stoics, a main focus is pursuing virtue to attain a well-examined life through practical applications of Philosophy – acting with good character, using reason to form accurate careful judgments about the world, and achieving contentment. Stoic writers focus on many perennial human concerns and urge people to take action applying what they learn to everyday life. Self-improvement is central to Stoic thought – strengthening and improving one’s mindset.

Listen to my new Stoic Philosophy episode about desolation and its cure on SoundCloud and YouTube.

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Stoic Philosophy for Secular Humanists Speech

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I recently presented on the topic of Stoic Philosophy for the Humanist Association of Greater Philadelphia. Watch the video on YouTube and listen on SoundCloud.

From the introduction to my speech:

Secular humanists — subscribing to no religious worldview — face questions of how they can find meaning in life, have an ethical foundation, cope with hardships, and come to terms with death. Religious individuals draw upon their various traditions for answers to many of life’s big questions, but non-religious individuals may find themselves to be at a loss – especially in the eyes of the religious – to establish and explain a solid framework for living a coherent examined ethical life.

Stoic Philosophy – popularized by Ancient Greek and Roman thinkers like Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca – offers practical wisdom with which Secular Humanists and people of all backgrounds can improve their lives by finding responses to many perennial challenges.

For the Stoics, a main focus is pursuing virtue to attain a well-examined life through practical applications of Philosophy – acting with good character, using reason to form accurate careful judgments about the world, and having contentment through casting away anxiety and certain desires. Stoic writers urge people to take action applying what they learn to everyday life. Self-improvement including strengthening and improving one’s mindset is central to Stoic thought. Even though many Stoic writers are centuries removed from us, their wisdom endures and is extremely relevant to our time.

This speech – referencing Epictetus’ ‘Discourses,’ Marcus Aurelius’ ‘Meditations,’ and Seneca’s ‘Letters from a Stoic’ — will focus on central themes within Stoic Philosophy including having an ethical foundation for life, finding purpose, dealing with death, overcoming adversity, acceptance, distinguishing what’s inside and outside our control, and working toward contentment.

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Stoicism and Anger with Gregory Sadler

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Gregory Sadler

Gregory Sadler joins me for a conversation about Stoicism and anger.

We talk about the negative consequences of anger; how to reduce anger and stress; how to better handle testing situations; benefits of a more content mindset; and much more.

Gregory B. Sadler is a philosopher, consultant, speaker, and online content producer.

He served as a Combat Engineer in the US Army, then attended and graduated from Lakeland College with a degree in Philosophy and Mathematics. He went on to earn a Masters and Ph.D. in Philosophy at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

After his graduate work, for six years, he taught Philosophy and Religious Studies for Ball State University’s extended education 4-year degree program, at Indiana State Prison. He then moved down to Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, where in addition to teaching Critical Thinking and Philosophy classes, he coordinated university-wide assessment, wrote portions of the 10 year Quality Enhancement plan, and began designing and facilitating workshops for educators.

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