Stoa Conversations: Stoicism Applied Goodhart's Law and Stoicism (Episode 165)
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Jan 7, 2025 Explore the intriguing implications of Goodhart's Law in measuring philosophical progress. The discussion highlights the pitfalls of treating metrics as targets within Stoicism. Learn how true fulfillment stems from practicing Stoic principles rather than just knowing them. Insights from Epictetus emphasize transforming knowledge into actionable virtue for meaningful growth. Dive into the complexities of aligning metrics with genuine objectives in your journey through Stoicism.
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Test Scores vs. Learning
- Students often optimize for test results, not actual learning.
- This focus on the measure (test scores) makes it a poor target for evaluating true knowledge.
Appearance vs. Health
- We often measure health by appearance, leading to unhealthy practices like extreme bodybuilding.
- Targeting appearance as a health measure defeats its purpose.
Stoicism as a Way of Life
- Stoicism, as a philosophy of action, is measured by behavior, not intellectual understanding.
- Making intellectual pursuits the target, not the measure, of Stoic progress leads to a misunderstanding of its principles.
