As we speculate over The Good Life in this series, we add education enthusiast, Denis Diderot to the conversation. We ask you to consider when education is part of your virtuous development and when it might become a burden, but mostly we talk about Diderot. Join us on From What we Gathered as we move into the Enlightenment.

Covering Catholic Philosopher Saint Thomas Aquinas, we'll discuss the addition of hope, faith and charity to the virtues that give us a shot at The Good Life. Famous for his mega publication, Summa Theologica, Aquinas brings Aristotle and Christian thought into alignment while clarifying and documenting Catholic doctrine.

As promised, we made sure to find out where his girdle lives. In case you want to add it to your Continental Tour, hit up the Dominican Church in Chieri, Italy, located near Turin

In this episode, we finish up our Hellenistic installment on The Good Life with Epicurus. A born Athenian whose ideas were shared at his own school, The Garden. We talk about when pleasure turns bad and the nothingness of death on From What We Gathered!

It's with great joy that I tell the story of Zeno's soup. Is soup a delicious portal to the good life? If you view healthy eating as part of the virtue of temperance, you bet it is! We'll also talk about what Stoicism has to say about intentionality in our lives.

Below is the recipe for Zeno's lentil soup which we discuss for an indulgent amount of time at the beginning of the episode. Simple ingredients like lentils, vegetables, vinegar, and coriander seeds, reflect the values of moderation and mindfulness.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. lentils

8 cups broth vegetable or light meat broth

1 large leek minced

1 carrot sliced

1 stalk celery sliced

1 small onion sliced

2 tbsp vinegar (wine vinegar preferred)

1 tsp honey

2 tbsp olive oil per serving

Salt and pepper to taste

12 coriander seeds per serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Rinse the lentils thoroughly, then place them in a pot with the broth. Bring to a boil.

2. Reduce the heat and simmer for one hour.

3. Skim off any foam from the top, then add the leek, carrot, celery, and onion.

4. Simmer until vegetables are softened, about 15 minutes.

5. If the soup appears too watery, mash a portion of the lentils or pass them through a sieve to thicken.

6. Add the vinegar and honey, then stir to combine.

7. Serve hot with a generous drizzle of olive oil and exactly 12 coriander seeds per bowl.

Do you strive for excellence? Aristotle thinks you should if you are going to achieve eudaimonia. As we cover our second Hellenistic philosopher in our discussion of The Good Life, we describe Aristotle's view of honing your skills mental, physical, comical (in our case) to achieve virtuous balance.

Starting Series 2 where the focus is The Good Life, Dani and Kylie explain the four cardinal virtues beloved by Ancient Philosophy and introduce listeners to Diogenes, a hilarious Cynic who doesn't mind laying with the dogs. Flourishing can mean pure happiness but it can also be contentment with only a loin cloth to your name.

Kylie and Dani end the Friendship series with reflections and philosophies necessarily missing in the discussion in our initial go with this format. We know there are holes left to explore and we hope to build a community that helps us builds on these ideas. Hear more about what we're hoping you might get out of these episodes and From What We Gathered.

Communitarianism is fairly new in the philosophy world. Really getting going in the 1980's by political philosophers who view social development as a group work rather than an individual accomplishment. In Marilyn Friedman's article, "Feminism and Modern Friendship: Dislocating the Community', she discusses how our chosen communities, our friends, have taken the place of historic relationships that shape our world. Family, neighbors, school teachers, coworkers and religious contacts made up the entirety of our relationships. Modern life has made sub-cultures the norm and are reshaping the value we place on who our closes influences are. Jump into the discussion with us on From What We've Gathered.

Leap into the 20th century with us for coffee and metaphorical cigarettes as we explore the ideas and friendships of Existential philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. We'll attempt to be our most authentic selves as we look at the positives and negatives of trying to live life in a genuine way.

Mary Wollstonecraft was a British philosopher and feminist who lived her life as a testament to her ideas of equality. This included an abundance of friendships with men whether society was ready for such progress or not. Within these friendships, she discovers the only kind of marriage she might agree too, that of being wedded to a friend. Find out more on From What We've Gathered with Dani Nelson and Kylie Shahar.