How can Stoicism improve your life? (with Bill Irvine)
Feb 14, 2024
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In this discussion, Bill Irvine, an emeritus professor of philosophy and expert on Stoicism, dives into the relevance of Stoic principles today. He explores how Stoicism can lead to a fulfilling life through negative visualization and personal growth. The conversation touches on the balance between emotions and rationality, the importance of self-reflection, and how to navigate political beliefs with constructive dialogue. Irvine also examines how modern challenges in social media affect our critical thinking and decision-making.
Stoicism offers practical techniques, such as negative visualization and learning to be easily satisfied, to cultivate appreciation and contentment in life.
Stoicism encompasses various fields and provides practical strategies for living well, focusing on tranquility and the absence of negative emotions.
Stoicism recognizes the battle between rational thought and emotional responses, emphasizing the development of a strong rational framework to navigate this struggle and make ethical choices.
Deep dives
The Psychological Strategies of Stoics
Stoicism offers practical psychological strategies for living a good life based on the absence of negative emotions and the presence of positive emotions. These strategies, developed over 2,000 years ago, are still effective today. One technique mentioned is negative visualization, which involves imagining specific scenarios where things could be worse, to cultivate appreciation for what one currently has. Another technique is learning to be easily satisfied, appreciating and finding satisfaction in the things we already have rather than constantly seeking more. Stoicism also encourages reflection on the impermanence of life and the notion of a last time, which can help us appreciate and savor the present moment. These psychological insights aim to keep our emotions in check and guide us towards a better life.
The Core Philosophy of Stoicism
Stoicism encompasses various fields such as physics, logic, and ethics. The Stoics were preeminent psychologists of their time, focusing on strategies for living well. They believed that a good life is defined by tranquility, which is the absence of negative emotions and the abundance of positive emotions. Stoicism provides practical techniques to achieve this tranquility. Negative visualization is one such technique where individuals imagine specific scenarios, such as losing sight or losing relationships, to reactivates their appreciation of what they have. Stoics also emphasized adapting to the present moment and finding satisfaction with what one already possesses, rather than constantly striving for more. These insights, rooted in human psychology, continue to be valuable tools for living well.
The Battle Between Rational Thought and Emotional Response
Stoicism recognizes the ongoing struggle within individuals between rational thought and emotional responses. The Stoics aim to keep emotions in check and guide them towards a better life. They emphasize rational thinking as the driver, with emotions being passengers in the backseat. While emotions are a natural part of human existence, they can be harnessed and restrained from hijacking our decision-making. Stoicism encourages individuals to develop a strong rational framework and reasoning process, enabling them to make ethical choices and form meaningful values. By recognizing the interplay between rationality and emotions, Stoicism offers practical strategies to navigate this battle and live a more fulfilling and virtuous life.
Stoicism and its Modern Adaptation
Stoicism, an ancient philosophy, was revived by the Romans in the first century AD with the works of Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Musonius Rufus. These four Roman Stoics offer accessible teachings that provide personal takeaways for applying Stoic principles to one's life. There has been a resurgence of interest in Stoicism, with an increasing number of books being published on the topic, giving individuals more opportunities to explore and apply Stoic philosophy to their own lives.
The Thinker-Feeler Divide and the Modern Era
There is a divide between thinkers and feelers in today's society. Thinkers engage in evidence-based structured thinking, while feelers rely on their emotions and tend to outsource their thinking to others. This divide is evident in politics, where individuals either justify their beliefs based on evidence or resort to emotional reactions. However, the divide is not binary, but rather a spectrum. Encouraging individuals to think more and better, evaluating evidence, and being aware of cognitive biases can help bridge this divide and lead to more thoughtful conversations and understanding.
Why is Stoicism important and useful today? What are the main ideas of Stoicism? How can you tell if you're "living well"? And if you're not living well, then how can you move yourself in that direction? How can we learn to accept and embrace life as it comes without losing our desire to improve ourselves and the world around us? Do people vary in the degree to which Stoic practices might be beneficial for them? What's the relationship between Stoicism and CBT? What do Stoics have to say about the value or disvalue of emotions? Has Stoicism changed much since its inception? What does it mean to be a "reasonable" person? What are some clear signs that a person is a thinker or a feeler? How might we modify social media and/or ourselves so that our cognitive biases can't as easily be weaponized for political or economic ends? It's easy to see cognitive biases in others; but how can we learn to see them in ourselves?
William B. Irvine is emeritus professor of philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, USA. He is the author of eight books that have been translated into more than twenty languages. His A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy played a key role in the Stoic renaissance that has taken place in recent years. His subsequent Stoic Challenge: A Philosopher's Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient provides a strategy for dealing, in proper Stoic manner, with the setbacks we experience in daily living. He is currently at work on a book about thinking critically, but with an open mind, in the age of the internet.
