Stoic Meditations

Massimo Pigliucci

Occasional reflections on the wisdom of Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers with Prof. Massimo Pigliucci. Complete index by author and source at https://massimopigliucci.org/stoic-podcast/. (cover art by Marek Škrabák; original music by Ian Jolin-Rasmussen).

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1,094 episodes
Updated Aug 23, 2022

Episodes1094

Newest first

Jul 13, 2018 · 2 min
154. Don't buy a horse on the basis of its saddle
Seneca reminds us that all too often we judge people on the basis of what they wear, or of their social rank, mistakenly assuming that those are good indicators of their character.
Jul 12, 2018 · 2 min
153. “They are slaves,” nay, rather they are people
Seneca reminds his contemporaries that slaves are human beings like everyone else. In this episode, we talk about slavery in the ancient world, what the Stoics thought about it, and what follows from their philosophy.
Jul 11, 2018 · 2 min
152. Beware of the difference between friendship and flattery
Seneca warns us to be careful with people who pretend to be our friends, or simply feed our narcissism. Like, you know, most of the "friends" you likely have on social media...
Jul 10, 2018 · 2 min
151. Philosophy did not find Plato a nobleman, it made him one
Seneca reminds us that philosophy is open to all, no matter what our background and means. Engage the philosophical life and you will get to converse with noble minds across time and cultures.
Jul 9, 2018 · 1 min
150. What does your inner daimon say?
Seneca observes our tendency to boast of the good things we do and to keep quiet about the not-so-good ones. As if our own judgment, the judgment of our conscience, didn't matter.
Jul 6, 2018 · 1 min
149. How on earth did I get here?
Seneca says that Stoic mindfulness is about paying attention to what is happening to us. We need to keep charting and re-charting our way forward, as our mind needs to be prepared for the vagaries of Fortune.
Jul 5, 2018 · 2 min
148. Fortune has no jurisdiction over character
Seneca says that Fortune may take just as much, and as suddenly, as she can give. But we can work on improving our character so that we can accept with equanimity both the good and the bad stuff in life.
Jul 4, 2018 · 1 min
147. Observe the goodness of those around you
Marcus Aurelius suggests some simple therapy for our troubled souls: pause and observe some good things done by people around you. Appreciate what they are doing. And use it as an inspiration for becoming better yourself.
Jul 3, 2018 · 1 min
146. Whenever you yield to externals, you become their slave
Epictetus warns us that if we let an external take precedence over the integrity of our character we are doomed to become slaves for life. And who wants to be a slave, right?
Jul 2, 2018 · 2 min
145. Our predecessors are our guides, not our masters
Seneca reminds us that Stoicism is a live philosophy, which must evolve over time in order to incorporate new truths and, if needed, reject old ideas that turned out to be wrong.
Jun 29, 2018 · 1 min
144. Be forgiving of liars and unjust people
Marcus Aurelius reminds us that Stoicism is both self forgiving and forgiving of others, and that while we should take the path of truth and justice, we should also be tolerant of people who are even further from wisdom and are gooing the wrong way.
Jun 28, 2018 · 2 min
143. But I couldn't do otherwise! Yes, you could...
Epictetus tells us that nobody can force us to agree to a judgment we think is incorrect. Surprisingly, this has countless applications to everyday life.
Jun 27, 2018 · 2 min
142. Make yourself happy through your own efforts
Seneca reminds us that, regardless of external circumstances, the only life worth living is one of virtue, and the only life to avoid is one dominated by vice.
Jun 26, 2018 · 2 min
141. Above all, we are citizens of the world
Marcus Aurelius recognizes that, as Antoninus, he is a citizen of Rome. But more fundamentally, he is a citizen of the human cosmopolis. Some pretty radical consequences immediately follow...
Jun 25, 2018 · 2 min
140. Only the truly educated person is free
Epictetus reminds us that education, which involves the ability to shape our moral values, is the only ticket to achieving freedom. Something to remember, in these days in which people freely elect tyrants and autocracts.
Jun 22, 2018 · 2 min
139. Would the Stoics approve of assisted suicide?
In this episode we discuss a quote from Seneca which, together with several other passages in other authors, clearly points to the conclusion that the Stoics were in favor of suicide in the case of disease and frailty in old age. Which does not mean they took suicide lightly at all.
Jun 21, 2018 · 2 min
138. Being bad requires a lot of work
Musonius Rufus rather sarcastically reminds us that being bad requires just as much work as being good, so why not choose the latter instead?
Jun 20, 2018 · 2 min
137. Teach them then, and show them without being angry
Marcus Aurelius says that people make mistakes because they don't know better. So there is no point in getting self-rigtheous and angry about it, instead we need to teach them where they go wrong.
Jun 19, 2018 · 2 min
136. Go hug a philosopher, will you?
Epictetus defends the apparently strange notion that philosophy, like mathematics (or science, or lots of other things) is a profession, requiring expertise. He is not being elitist, he's just being reasonable.
Jun 18, 2018 · 1 min
135. We belong to the world, not to a particular corner of it
Seneca reminds us that even though we belong to different social groups, religions, ethnicities and so forth, we are, most fundamentally, members of the human cosmopolis.