Caleb Ontiveros is the founder of Stoa, an app that combines the ancient philosophy of stoicism with mindfulness and meditation. He writes The Stoa Letter, co-hosts the podcast Stoa Conversations, and is the editor of The Classical Futurist. Caleb and I talk about the philosophy of Stoicism and what Stoics have to say about psychology, mental health, and human flourishing. We discuss Stoic conceptions of virtue, emotion, and self-control; similarities between Stoicism, System 1 and System 2 thinking, and cognitive behavioral therapy; and why Stoic thinkers and practices appeal so much to men. We conclude by speculating about whether today’s “meaning crisis” has always been with us, and whether material progress undermines opportunities to be virtuous.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Links:

* Stoa Conversations, How to Think Fast, Slow, and Stoic.

* Brittany Polat, How Do Stoics Care?

* Johnny Thomson, Naive Stoicism: Why Pop Philosophy is Bad for your Mental Health.

* Mamat & Anderson, Improving Mental Health by Training the Suppression of Unwanted Thoughts.

* Mental Disorder Podcast, Kevin McCaffree - Suicide Research has Failed.

* Philipp Reiff, Freud: The Mind of the Moralist.

* Thomas Szasz, The Myth of Psychotherapy.

* Bruce Alexander, The Globalization of Addiction.

* The Stoa App.

* Caleb’s Substack, Twitter.