The Daily Stoic

Is The World Going Through Hell? | Marks Of The Good Life

Oct 20, 2022

08:21

Episode guests

Deirdre McCloskey

Timothée Chalamet

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Stoics cope with chaos by focusing on what's controllable and living with virtue.

True meaning comes from embodying virtues and refraining from evil, creating purpose and fulfillment.

Deep dives

Facing Challenges with Stoicism and Virtue

Living in a world filled with uncertainties and potential collapse, the Stoics, like Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca, understood the chaos but chose not to despair. Instead, they emphasized the importance of focusing on what can be controlled, doing one's best, and living with virtue. By recognizing that history repeats itself with challenges and collapses, they advocated for facing adversities with courage, moderation, justice, and wisdom, which increases the odds of a favorable outcome.

Is the World Going to Hell?

5min

What Is the Meaning of Life?

6min

“It’s tough to be alive now,” the actor Timothée Chalamet recently said. “I think societal collapse is in the air — it smells like it.”

It’s one of those lines that got picked up by dozens of media outlets. Because those outlets know it’s one of those headlines people can’t resist clicking on. As the economist Deirdre McCloskey once put it, “For reasons I have never understood, people like to hear that the world is going to hell.”

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