Great reading....very practical and helpful...really appreciate your efforts to further clarify these really important principles of practice....
These teachings are just so practical.... it's amazing....
I can remember one day driving to work, and wishing to myself that the person at which my frustrations were currently directed could be a better driver. But then I thought, hey, I'm desiring something that's not up to me. Bingo, I laughed at myself!!!
PS I think it takes a lot of time and effort to practice all these Stoic values. And this could be perhaps the challenge of another article. How can we get there? I would long for that ...
I've been drawn to revisit this article several times since it was published. I think its appeal to me personally is the numbered points. It may sound laughable, but I just love lists. This is one of the reasons I love studying Buddhism (the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, etc.). There's even a "Buddhist Cheatsheet" you can google that collects these simple points. If one were to make a similar "List of Lists" for Stoicism, what would it include? The Four Virtues, obviously. What else?
Nick, you are not the only one to like lists. That's why I wrote that essay in that form...
Good question about what such a list would look like for Stoicism in general. Not very different from the one for Epictetus, I think, but yes, including the four virtues, and perhaps not so much emphasis on the fundamental rule.
I feel like this is going to become a thing for me. Collecting lists of Stoic principles. There are worse hobbies, I suppose. At least it's not stamp collecting, lol!
Thanks. At 14 I read both Epictetus and Maximus. My sister’s books from her freshman course at Radcliffe. I borrowed. Re read regularly. I now get your posts on e mail/ patroon. There I can make tripe bigger at 80 with age related degenerate macula, needed. Substack for some reason does not allow the I pad two finger magnification
Concise, no extra bits. A beautiful nutshell. Every day of "Practice" enhances/grows my universe. Your words, and clear thinking, have served me well on my stoic journey. Thank you greatly…
I have been re-reading The Wisest One in The Room: How You Can Benefit from Social Psychology's Most Powerful Insights by Social-Cognitive psychologists Thomas Gilovich and Lee Ross (Ross termed the fundamental attribution error). I was wondering if you have read this work and/or what your thoughts are regarding this book and Stoicism. If not, Id love for your thoughts!
Jordan, I have not read that book, though I know of Gilovich's reputation as a psychologist. Looking over the description and ToC I don't think it has a lot to do with Stoicism, but I could be wrong.
You're correct, it's not about Stoicism, but I mention it because I think that it parallels nicely with Stoicism and that you and other readers may find it interesting and helpful. Their use of wisdom seems like the stoic concept of practical wisdom and the conception of a eudemonic life. For example, "Any analysis of wisdom must reflect the fact that the most important things in life involve other people" (Gilovich and Ross, 2015, p. 4). And “The aim of this book is to help you be wiser so that you can deal more effectively with your employees and coworkers, have an easier time getting your children to realize their potential, or resist the temptations crafted by slick advertisements and clever markers" (Gilovich and Ross, 2015, p. 5). The book also aligns with the stoic conception of logic, helping readers to ‘reason well.” I think this quote sums up the point: “Wisdom requires understanding the most common and most powerful influence on people's behavior. It also requires knowing when and why people get off track and end up making faulty judgments, erroneous predictions, and poor decisions" (Gilovich and Ross, 2015, p. 4). Through reviewing the literature the authors help us understand how we reason, where we go wrong, and the problems those errors can cause. To help readers, they provide nuggets of “wisdom” to remember. For instance, “The wisest one in the room takes a close, detailed look at what can be done to change the situation – what barriers and disincentives need to be removed and what can be done to make desirable and constructive actions easier, and undesirable and destructive actions more difficult” (Gilovich and Ross, 2015, p. 70). I love how the book, seems to me, to embody stoicism; using reasoning to live a eudemonic life. I always enjoy your book review articles and figured this could be one? At the very least, I hope I’ve given you another book to read :)
Wow! Thanks for the crash course! I have forwarded this excellent essay to fifteen friends. I intend to transcribe the gems and make drawings, in a little notebook I can fit in my pocket. Also thank you for your lovely photographs. Taking a long flight hurts the cosmopolis, yet I desire to visit Greece for good reasons. A conundrum!
Jane, you're welcome! Regarding flights, yes, they hurt the cosmopolis. As a compromise, I have started paying for carbon offsets everything I fly. Part of the money goes to direct offsets, and part toward the development of sustainable airplane fuel. You can find a calculator and way to pay for your flights' carbon footprint here: https://ba.chooose.today/#scrollTo=e57vdllxwg2ddsea2oxqgx
Which translation of the Enchiridion do you use? I'm afraid I've been relying on my "Dover Thrift Editions" copy the whole time and your version seems a lot more felicitous/contemporary. Indeed, the passage on Chryssipus seems totally different.
As an academic who did a PhD in the humanities that Chryssipus line actually brought me a lot of comfort when I first read it because I found myself very intimidated by my fellow students and professors who seemed to understand all of the difficult theory and criticism texts we read. My edition reads something like:
"Do not be impressed if someone has told you that they've read and understood all of the works of Chryssipus. If Chryssipus had not written obscurely this man would have nothing to be proud of!"
I mean, eventually I became a much better reader of theory but the line made me feel a lot better about myself as a student and about my own potential for growth. But also, I related strongly to the study of obscure writings.
The bit you mention is just above the one I quoted, still Enchiridion 49. Waterfield translates it this way:
“When someone prides himself on his ability to understand and explain Chrysippus’s works, tell yourself: ‘If Chrysippus hadn’t written so unclearly, this person wouldn’t have anything to feel proud about.”
Great reading....very practical and helpful...really appreciate your efforts to further clarify these really important principles of practice....
These teachings are just so practical.... it's amazing....
I can remember one day driving to work, and wishing to myself that the person at which my frustrations were currently directed could be a better driver. But then I thought, hey, I'm desiring something that's not up to me. Bingo, I laughed at myself!!!
Thank you Massimo and Epictetus!
David, thanks for the kind words. Yes, it's amazing how Epictetus is so practically useful!
What an amazing article! I read and re-read it and re-read it.
Thank you, appreciated!
PS I think it takes a lot of time and effort to practice all these Stoic values. And this could be perhaps the challenge of another article. How can we get there? I would long for that ...
I hope to address that point soon.
I've been drawn to revisit this article several times since it was published. I think its appeal to me personally is the numbered points. It may sound laughable, but I just love lists. This is one of the reasons I love studying Buddhism (the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, etc.). There's even a "Buddhist Cheatsheet" you can google that collects these simple points. If one were to make a similar "List of Lists" for Stoicism, what would it include? The Four Virtues, obviously. What else?
Nick, you are not the only one to like lists. That's why I wrote that essay in that form...
Good question about what such a list would look like for Stoicism in general. Not very different from the one for Epictetus, I think, but yes, including the four virtues, and perhaps not so much emphasis on the fundamental rule.
I feel like this is going to become a thing for me. Collecting lists of Stoic principles. There are worse hobbies, I suppose. At least it's not stamp collecting, lol!
Much better than stamp collecting!
Thanks. At 14 I read both Epictetus and Maximus. My sister’s books from her freshman course at Radcliffe. I borrowed. Re read regularly. I now get your posts on e mail/ patroon. There I can make tripe bigger at 80 with age related degenerate macula, needed. Substack for some reason does not allow the I pad two finger magnification
Concise, no extra bits. A beautiful nutshell. Every day of "Practice" enhances/grows my universe. Your words, and clear thinking, have served me well on my stoic journey. Thank you greatly…
Glad to be of help!
So wonderful, so helpful! Send me (and every reader of this writing!) a bill!
Ann, very kind of you, thanks. You are already supporting this publication, so thank you again!
It’s wonderful - many thanks!
Dear Dr. Pigliucci,
I have been re-reading The Wisest One in The Room: How You Can Benefit from Social Psychology's Most Powerful Insights by Social-Cognitive psychologists Thomas Gilovich and Lee Ross (Ross termed the fundamental attribution error). I was wondering if you have read this work and/or what your thoughts are regarding this book and Stoicism. If not, Id love for your thoughts!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25205421-the-wisest-one-in-the-room
Be well!
Jordan
Jordan, I have not read that book, though I know of Gilovich's reputation as a psychologist. Looking over the description and ToC I don't think it has a lot to do with Stoicism, but I could be wrong.
Dear Dr. Pigliucci,
Thank you for your reply!
You're correct, it's not about Stoicism, but I mention it because I think that it parallels nicely with Stoicism and that you and other readers may find it interesting and helpful. Their use of wisdom seems like the stoic concept of practical wisdom and the conception of a eudemonic life. For example, "Any analysis of wisdom must reflect the fact that the most important things in life involve other people" (Gilovich and Ross, 2015, p. 4). And “The aim of this book is to help you be wiser so that you can deal more effectively with your employees and coworkers, have an easier time getting your children to realize their potential, or resist the temptations crafted by slick advertisements and clever markers" (Gilovich and Ross, 2015, p. 5). The book also aligns with the stoic conception of logic, helping readers to ‘reason well.” I think this quote sums up the point: “Wisdom requires understanding the most common and most powerful influence on people's behavior. It also requires knowing when and why people get off track and end up making faulty judgments, erroneous predictions, and poor decisions" (Gilovich and Ross, 2015, p. 4). Through reviewing the literature the authors help us understand how we reason, where we go wrong, and the problems those errors can cause. To help readers, they provide nuggets of “wisdom” to remember. For instance, “The wisest one in the room takes a close, detailed look at what can be done to change the situation – what barriers and disincentives need to be removed and what can be done to make desirable and constructive actions easier, and undesirable and destructive actions more difficult” (Gilovich and Ross, 2015, p. 70). I love how the book, seems to me, to embody stoicism; using reasoning to live a eudemonic life. I always enjoy your book review articles and figured this could be one? At the very least, I hope I’ve given you another book to read :)
Be well!
Kindly,
Jordan
Thanks Jordan, I'll take a look!
You're welcome! Let me know what you think!
Massimo - thank you for boiling down Stoicism. Always helpful to have you guiding the way and reminding us of the fundamentals!
Epictetus was an astonishingly modern, contemporary sounding guy. Are sure you didn't just make him up?
😆
Wow! Thanks for the crash course! I have forwarded this excellent essay to fifteen friends. I intend to transcribe the gems and make drawings, in a little notebook I can fit in my pocket. Also thank you for your lovely photographs. Taking a long flight hurts the cosmopolis, yet I desire to visit Greece for good reasons. A conundrum!
Jane, you're welcome! Regarding flights, yes, they hurt the cosmopolis. As a compromise, I have started paying for carbon offsets everything I fly. Part of the money goes to direct offsets, and part toward the development of sustainable airplane fuel. You can find a calculator and way to pay for your flights' carbon footprint here: https://ba.chooose.today/#scrollTo=e57vdllxwg2ddsea2oxqgx
I'm in! Thanks again.
Which translation of the Enchiridion do you use? I'm afraid I've been relying on my "Dover Thrift Editions" copy the whole time and your version seems a lot more felicitous/contemporary. Indeed, the passage on Chryssipus seems totally different.
As an academic who did a PhD in the humanities that Chryssipus line actually brought me a lot of comfort when I first read it because I found myself very intimidated by my fellow students and professors who seemed to understand all of the difficult theory and criticism texts we read. My edition reads something like:
"Do not be impressed if someone has told you that they've read and understood all of the works of Chryssipus. If Chryssipus had not written obscurely this man would have nothing to be proud of!"
I mean, eventually I became a much better reader of theory but the line made me feel a lot better about myself as a student and about my own potential for growth. But also, I related strongly to the study of obscure writings.
John, I use the very recent Robin Waterfield translation: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60557014-the-complete-works
The bit you mention is just above the one I quoted, still Enchiridion 49. Waterfield translates it this way:
“When someone prides himself on his ability to understand and explain Chrysippus’s works, tell yourself: ‘If Chrysippus hadn’t written so unclearly, this person wouldn’t have anything to feel proud about.”
This is a wonderfully understandable guide to the teachings of Epuctetus.
Thank you!
Much appreciated, thanks!