Caleb and Michael explore Takuan Soho's The Unfettered Mind, examining how Zen Buddhism approaches mental training through the concept of "no mind." They discuss why stopping the mind creates ignorance and how this differs from Stoic approaches to reason and attention.

They examine how mental stopping manifests in combat, conversation, and performance - from sword fighting to basketball arcade games.

(00:00) Introduction to The Unfettered Mind(06:20) The Affliction of Stopping(14:47) The Beginner vs The Expert(27:22) Training(37:22) Practical Life(43:53) Stoicism vs Zen

Download the Stoa app (it's a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

Philosophy meets biography in this deep dive into Robin Waterfield's new book on Plato. Michael and Caleb explore how the philosopher's life shaped his ideas, from witnessing tyranny and democracy's failures in his youth to his later failed attempt to reform a Sicilian tyrant.

Plato was an aristocrat who saw his relatives join the brutal Thirty Tyrants, watched democracy execute his mentor Socrates, and spent decades running a research academy that encouraged debate over dogma. His life and philosophy are worth understanding.

(00:05:50) Plato's aristocratic background in Athens

(00:06:30) The Thirty Tyrants and family connections

(00:08:20) Socrates' execution and its impact

(00:10:40) Key philosophical insights from political unrest

(00:13:00) The Sophists reconsidered

(00:19:20) Establishing the academy as research institution

(00:21:00) Early, middle, and later period writings

(00:27:20) Plato's caution about passive consumption

(00:30:20) Criticism of poetry as ancient television

(00:35:40) The religious dimension of Platonic philosophy

(00:39:50) Return to Syracuse and the philosopher king project

(00:47:40) Philosophy's ambitions beyond ivory tower

Download the Stoa app (it's a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

Michael breaks down the ten most important concepts you need to understand ancient philosophy's most practical school of thought.

These are the core ideas that built a 2,000-year-old system for living well. From happiness and virtue to the dichotomy of control, each concept builds on the last to create a complete framework for human flourishing.

(00:00:00) Introduction: Why These 10 Ideas Matter

(00:01:50) Happiness and Flourishing (Eudaimonia)

(00:02:50) Virtue as Excellence (Arete)

(00:04:10) Knowledge as the Key (Episteme)

(00:05:50) Living According to Nature (Kata Phusin Zen)

(00:07:40) Mindful Attention (Prosoche)

(00:09:20) Impressions and Assent (Phantasia and Synkatathesis)

(00:11:00) The Things Up to Us (Ta Eph' Hemin)

(00:12:20) Your Ruling Faculty (Hegemonikon)

(00:13:50) Indifferents (Adiaphora)

(00:15:40) Passions vs Good Emotions (Pathe vs Eupathe)

(00:18:00) How the 10 Ideas Connect

(00:21:40) What to Focus on Next

Download the Stoa app (it's a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

What happens when the roles life gives you conflict with being a good person? Caleb and Michael tackle one of Stoicism's puzzles: when excellent performance in your job, relationships, or responsibilities seems to require abandoning virtue.

Starting with Machiavelli's brutal advice to princes, they work through modern examples where this tension emerges. The activist who uses propaganda for a just cause. The CEO who fires employees for market efficiency. The lawyer defending someone they think is guilty. The journalist photographing tragedy without intervening.

The Stoics said to follow your roles, but what if your roles demand cruelty, deception, or abandoning compassion? The conversation reveals three ways to think through these conflicts.

(00:00) Introduction: When roles conflict with virtue

(03:40) Machiavelli's challenge to virtue ethics

(08:20) The difference between bad people and role conflicts

(14:30) Modern examples: activists and propaganda

(16:00) Workplace tensions: bosses and market demands

(16:30) Impartial observers: journalists and philosophers

(18:00) Best soldiers follow orders without question

(20:30) Legal defenders and the guilty client

(22:40) When roles seem necessarily at odds with virtue

(27:00) Solution 1: The Stoic hierarchy of roles

(30:00) Human role vs chosen roles

(34:20) Why hierarchy alone isn't enough

(38:50) Solution 2: Breaking virtue into sub-components

(42:00) Fair dealing depends on context and circumstances

(46:20) Practical advice for everyday conflicts

(48:00) Solution 3: Using rights and consequences as constraints

(50:40) Reserve clause and staying flexible between roles

(51:20) Why most conflicts resolve with careful thinking

Download the Stoa app (it's a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

What would you do if you could get away with anything?

Plato's famous thought experiment cuts straight to the heart of human nature. If you had a ring that made you invisible—if you could take, do, or have anything without consequence—what would you do? More importantly, what should you do?

Michael explores what the Stoics believed about this thought experiment and what it reveals about their philosophy.

Download the Stoa app (it's a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

When life hits hard, where do you turn? Philosophy, therapy, or coaching? Michael and Caleb examine and debate the fundamental differences between these approaches to human suffering and growth.

They explore why Stoicism offers a prescriptive vision of the good life while therapy remains deliberately non-judgmental. The conversation reveals when philosophy works best as preventative strength training versus therapy's role in acute crisis intervention.

(00:00) Introduction: Philosophy vs Therapy

(03:20) The Ancient Medical Metaphor

(09:00) Different Goals: Prescriptive vs Non-judgmental

(23:30) Stoicism as Preventative Training Only

(27:30) When People Discover Stoicism After Crisis

(32:20) Why Some Stoics Struggle with Crisis Moments

(38:00) Questioning the "Solution" Mindset

(42:10) Who Should Choose What Path

(48:30) Practical Stoic Techniques in Daily Life

(52:40) Knowing When You Don't Know

Download the Stoa app (it's a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

In this episode, Caleb and Michael review the 2023 film "Seneca, On the Creation of Earthquakes" starring John Malkovich. They explore how the movie portrays the Roman Stoic philosopher during his final day, examining themes of hypocrisy, performance versus genuine philosophy, and the challenges of living up to Stoic ideals.

(00:00:56) Background on the film

(00:04:07) Overall impressions

(00:08:38) Play by play of the plot

(00:13:58) Discussion of Agrippina's portrayal

(00:16:31) Analysis of the Thyestes play scene

(00:21:00) Examination of slavery themes

(00:24:15) Seneca's hypocrisy and wealth

(00:27:43) Seneca's death scene

(00:30:06) Theme: Can you separate philosophy from philosopher?

(00:35:15) Theme: What the film says about Stoicism

(00:39:53) Theme: Criticism of pointless political art

***

Download the Stoa app (it's a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

Should you really be reading all those "great books"? Marcus Aurelius had strong opinions about this. He repeatedly told himself to throw away his books and stop getting distracted by endless reading lists.

In this episode, Caleb challenges the popular Great Books movement and explores what Marcus Aurelius would think about our obsession with reading everything. The emperor-philosopher believed reading should transform you, not just educate you. He saw most reading as distraction from the real work of living.

What do you think?

***

Download the Stoa app (it's a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

The Stoics made claims that sounded completely crazy to regular people. Only virtue is good. All crimes are equally bad. Everyone who isn't perfectly wise is literally insane.

These weren't just philosophical word games. They were deliberate provocations designed to force people to think differently about what really matters in life.

Caleb and Michael break down Cicero's six famous Stoic paradoxes and explain why each one makes more sense than it first appears. You'll discover how these seemingly absurd claims reveal the radical core of Stoic thinking.

(01:41) Virtue is the only good

(10:06) Virtue is sufficient for happiness

(13:53) All good deeds are equally virtuous and all bad deeds are equally vicious

(27:16) All fools are mad

(33:32) Only the wise are free

(38:16) Only the wise are rich

(43:47) Summary

***

Download the Stoa app (it's a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/

Most people learn about Stoicism through the dichotomy of control. It sounds simple: focus on what's up to you, ignore what isn't. But this apparent simplicity is dangerous.

The dichotomy of control becomes the lens through which people view all of Stoicism. Get it wrong, and everything else falls apart. You end up passive when you should act, frustrated when you should be patient, or convinced Stoics can't believe in cause and effect.

Michael and Caleb walk through four major misunderstandings that stem from getting the dichotomy wrong. From the myth that Stoics are passive observers to the confusion about free will and determinism, these mistakes reveal how a powerful idea can be corrupted when we bring our own assumptions to ancient wisdom.

(04:15) Four Confusions

(11:17) The Passivity Argument

(19:08) Do You Have Immediate Control?

(27:45) No Trichotomy

(35:58) Is the Dichotomy Incompatible With Determinism?

(41:00) Wrapping Up

***

Subscribe to The Stoa Letter for weekly meditations, actions, and links to the best Stoic resources: www.stoaletter.com/subscribe

Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:

https://ancientlyre.com/