Practical Wisdom

Explore the profound insights of Epicurus on the essential role of friendship in achieving happiness. The discussion delves into how authentic relationships enhance life's pleasures and bring a sense of security. A heartfelt letter from Epicurus provides a personal touch, revealing his reflections on the value of friends as life’s most significant treasure. Friendship isn’t just a social connection; it’s portrayed as a cornerstone of a fulfilling existence.

“It is necessary to take into account both the actual goal of life and the whole body of clear and distinct perceptions to which we refer our judgments. If we fail to do this, everything will be in disorder and confusion.If you reject all sensations, you will not have any point of reference by which to judge even the ones you claim are false. …If at any time you fail to refer each of your acts to nature’s standard, and turn off instead in some other direction when making a choice to avoid or pursue, your actions will not be consistent with your creed.”(Leading Doctrines, 22-25) Get full access to Figs in Winter: a Community of Reason at figsinwintertime.substack.com/subscribe

“Bodily pleasure is not enlarged once the pains brought on by need have been done away with; it is only diversified. And the limit of mental pleasure is established by rational reflection on pleasures themselves and those kindred emotions that once instilled extreme fear in human minds.Infinite time contains no greater pleasure than does finite time, if one determines the limits of pleasure rationally. …One who understands the limits of the good life knows that what eliminates the pains brought on by need and what makes the whole of life perfect is easily obtained, so that there is no need for enterprises that entail the struggle for success.”(Leading Doctrines, 18-21)The Philosophy Garden: Stoicism and Beyond is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Figs in Winter: a Community of Reason at figsinwintertime.substack.com/subscribe

“The pleasure or pain that accompanies someone’s deeds ought to be taken as a sign of his characteristics: he who abstains from bodily pleasures and enjoys this very abstention is moderate, but he who is vexed in doing so is licentious; he who endures terrifying things and enjoys doing so, or at any rate is not pained by it, is courageous, but he who is pained thereby is a coward. …For moral virtue is concerned with pleasures and pains: it is on account of the pleasure involved that we do base things, and it is on account of the pain that we abstain from noble ones. Thus one must be brought up in a certain way straight from childhood, as Plato asserts, so as to enjoy as well as to be pained by what one ought, for this is correct education. …That [virtue and vice] are concerned with the same things might become manifest to us also from these considerations: there being three objects of choice and three of avoidance—the noble, the advantageous, and the pleasant together with their three contraries, the shameful, the harmful, and the painful—in all these the good person is apt to be correct, the bad person to err, but especially as regards pleasure.”(Nicomachean Ethics, 2.3) Get full access to Figs in Winter: a Community of Reason at figsinwintertime.substack.com/subscribe

“Ever since I was a boy I’ve always desired to acquire a certain thing. You know how different people desire different things: for example one man desires to acquire horses; another, to acquire dogs; another, gold; another, honors. I’m quite indifferent to those things, but I do passionately love acquiring friends. I’d rather get a good friend than the best quail or cock in the world. …When I see you two, you and Lysis, I’m amazed, and think you must be very happy because, though you are so young, you’ve been able to acquire that possession quickly and easily: you’ve acquired Lysis as a friend so quickly and firmly; and he, you. Whereas I’m so far from acquiring one that I don’t even know how one man becomes the friend of another. That’s what I want to ask you about, in view of your experience.Tell me, when a man loves someone, which is the friend of which? Is it the one who loves who is the friend of the one who is loved? Or is it the one who is loved who is the friend of the one who loves? Or is there no difference?[After a spirited back and forth, Socrates concludes:]Then, Menexenus, it would appear that what is loved is dear to what loves it whether it loves what loves it or whether it actually hates it. For example, some newly born children do not yet love, while others actually hate their mother or father when they are punished by them. None the less they are most dear to their parents at the time they actually hate them. …That will mean, then, that we must allow exactly what we allowed earlier in our discussion, that a man is often the friend of what is not his friend, and often of what is actually his enemy, when he either loves what doesn’t love him, or loves what actually hates him; and that a man is often the enemy of what is not his enemy, or of what is actually his friend, when he either hates what does not hate him, or hates what actually loves him. …‘Heavens, Socrates,’ he said, ‘I don’t know what to say.’Can it be that we were not conducting our investigation properly at all, Menexenus?, I asked.”(Lysis, 211d-213d)The Philosophy Garden: Stoicism and Beyond is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Figs in Winter: a Community of Reason at figsinwintertime.substack.com/subscribe

Explore Epicurus' insights on living a life guided by reason and simplicity. The discussion emphasizes the value of solitude and the tranquility that comes from withdrawing from societal chaos. It contrasts natural wealth with the endless pursuits of social conventions. Dive into how Epicurean philosophy remains relevant today, advocating for meaningful connections and simple pleasures over complex societal expectations.

Explore the power of human reason in overcoming adversity and shifting your mindset from complaint to action. Delve into the intriguing debate around providence and the design of nature, as Epictetus draws parallels between crafted objects and the wonders of the natural world. Discover how our cognitive abilities set us apart and ignite a deeper understanding of existence. This insightful discussion encourages a reflective examination of the invisible forces shaping our lives.

Cicero’s sharp critique of philosophers opens the discussion on integrity in philosophy. He emphasizes the gap between teaching and practice, highlighting that many who claim to impart wisdom fail to live by it. The exploration dives into the ethical responsibilities of philosophers, drawing parallels to other professions that require consistency between knowledge and action. Listeners will find thought-provoking insights into why some philosophers are deemed hypocritical and the implications this has for their teachings.

“Now, since the present subject is taken up, not for the sake of contemplation, as are others—for we are conducting an examination, not so that we may know what virtue is, but so that we may become good, since otherwise there would be no benefit from it—it is necessary to examine matters pertaining to actions, that is, how one ought to perform them. For these actions have authoritative control over what sorts of characteristics come into being, just as we have said. …This, then, is the first thing that must be contemplated. Such things [as the virtues] are naturally destroyed through deficiency and excess, just as we see in the case of strength and health. …Excessive as well as deficient gymnastic exercises destroy strength, and, similarly, both drink and food destroy health as they increase or decrease in quantity, whereas the proportionate amounts create, increase, and preserve health. So it is too with moderation, courage, and the other virtues: he who avoids and fears all things and endures nothing becomes a coward, and he who generally fears nothing but advances toward all things becomes reckless. Similarly, he who enjoys every pleasure and abstains from none becomes licentious; but he who avoids every pleasure, as the boorish do, is a sort of insensible person. Moderation and courage are indeed destroyed by excess and deficiency, but they are preserved by the mean.Strength comes into being as a result of taking much nourishment and enduring many exertions, and he who is strong would especially be able to do just these things. So too in the case of the virtues, for as a result of abstaining from pleasures, we become moderate; and by so becoming, we are especially able to abstain from them. Similar is the case of courage as well: by being habituated to disdain frightening things and to endure them, we become courageous, and by so becoming, we will be especially able to endure frightening things.”(Nicomachean Ethics, 2.2) Get full access to Figs in Winter: a Community of Reason at figsinwintertime.substack.com/subscribe

The conversation dives into the relationship between parental love and personal happiness. Socrates challenges Lysis on whether happiness can exist in constraint, questioning the role of knowledge and desire in fulfillment. The dialogue reveals how our understanding of freedom and happiness is often shaped by those who care for us. Ultimately, it positions knowledge as a pivotal element in the pursuit of true happiness, weaving together philosophy and everyday life.