Stoa Conversations: Stoicism Applied

Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven

Today’s Stoic revival is the second one. The first resurgence of Stoicism actually happened during the Renaissance.

In this podcast, David Fideler and I discuss what Modern Stoics today can learn from the Renaissance Humanists.

It’s a conversation that touches on history, education, and virtue ethics. It should be of interest to anyone who wants to increase the influence of Stoicism on society.

https://www.davidfideler.com/

https://therenaissanceprogram.com/

(02:24) Introduction

(08:35) The Birth of the Renaissance

(15:37) What Made Florence Great

(17:49) Stoics in the Rennaissance

(26:57) Stoic Exercises

(30:25) Other Influences

(32:44) What Modern Stoics Can Takeaway From the Humanists

(38:54) Reinventing Education

(46:10) Where to Learn More

Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven

“You are mortal.” So whispered the slaves of triumphant Roman generals as they celebrated their return in a glorious parade.

In this episode we discuss memento mori: Remembering the fact that you will die in order to live well.

We discuss the Stoic view of death and why they argued that one should always keep death in mind. We end by summarizing the benefits and risks of memento mori exercises so that you can translate Stoic philosophy into real practice.

(02:16) Introduction

(08:37) Memento Mori

(17:49) Face Death to Pursue Knowledge

(22:07) Overcoming Death

(27:08) You Are Free

(32:30) How to Practice

(39:04) Summarizing the Benefits

(42:55) Risks 

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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): 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/

Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven

In this conversation, Caleb speaks with the investor, author, and philosopher Michael Gibson.

You’ll hear why Michael thinks novelists are the successors of Plato, what some of the key entrepreneurial virtues he looks for are, how a philosopher like him ended up managing a sizable venture capitalist fund, and what his criticisms are of Stoicism in Silicon Valley.

So I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did and do check out his most recent book: Paper Belt on Fire – as it has a number of gems we don’t even begin to touch on.

https://www.1517fund.com/

(09:29) Redesigning Academic Philosophy

(19:34) The Meaning of Polytropon

(23:18) Do Founders Need a Life Philosophy?

(26:38) Does Virtue Pay?

(31:54) Virtue Ethics in Entrepreneurship

(33:55) Stoicism and Silicon Valley

(50:22) A Role Model

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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): 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/

Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven

In this conversation, Michael and Caleb talk about philosophy graduate school. We discuss the good, bad, and interesting. You’ll learn why we think it’s awesome, but fewer people should go to graduate school and whether we’d do the experience again.

(01:31) Our Academic Stories

(07:45) Logic in the Academy

(12:52) Getting Paid $$$

(18:15) Custodians of Civilization

(21:33) Surrounded by Serious People

(24:09) Bad Business

(28:56) Too Many Graduate Students

(33:33) A Culture of Perfection

(36:56) Philosophies of Life

(42:21) The Obsession about Prestige

(48:23) Making Graduate School Better

(52:10) Would You Do Graduate School Again?

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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): 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/

Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven

In this discussion, Caleb speaks with Leo Konstantakos. Leo a veteran, professor of international relations and co-author of Being Better: Stoicism for a World Worth Living In.

We cover how Leo came to see Socrates in a different light, Stoicism in ancient Sparta, and how the ancients viewed justice differently. We also lightly spar over whether someone can or should call themselves Stoic today.

Leo has a unique cut on many of these issues and a clear love for the Stoic tradition, check it out.

Being Better

(02:03) Introduction

(02:48) Seeing Socrates in a New Light

(05:26) Rediscovering Stoicism

(10:01) Stoicism in Sparta

(16:18) Justice in the Ancient World

(25:11) Can You Be Stoic Today?

(41:53) Opposing Heroes

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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): 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/

Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven

How do you live in an uncertain world?

In this episode Caleb and Michael talk about the life philosophy of Skepticism. Skepticism was one of the Stoic’s rival philosophical. Michael and I discuss what skepticism is, what living like a skillful skeptic looks like, and our impressions of the philosophy.

(01:15) Introduction

(04:22) What is Skepticism?

(12:37) Questioning Skepticism

(23:29) Skeptic Ethical Exercises

(31:53) Areas of Agreement with the Stoics

(35:56) Disagreements between the Stoics and Skeptics

(43:13) Is Skepticism Self-refuting?

(49:09) The Ancient Stoic Response

(54:02) Summing Up

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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): 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/

Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven

In this conversation, Caleb speaks with Michael McGill.

They discuss Michael's story, Roman history, and how Michael applies Stoic philosophy to his life. It’s a great look at how anyone can take lessons from Greco-Roman philosophy and use them in work, family life, and hobbies in a positive and energetic way.

https://twitter.com/mcgillmd921

(02:46) Introduction

(04:34) How Stoicism Shows Up In Michael's Life

(10:56) What Lost Stoic Do You Want To Read?

(13:21) Roman History

(19:23) Cicero

(22:12) Time Management

(26:06) Cato the Younger

(31:38) Role Models and Anti-Models

(35:39) Introducing Others To Stoicism

(43:06) Advice for Creators

(47:57) Busts

***

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): 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/

Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven

The Stoics thought anyone could be happy in any situation.

This is because virtue is the only good and it is obtainable by anyone.

But why did the Stoics think virtue was the only good?

That’s what Caleb and Michael discuss in this conversation. They frame the discussion around objections to that idea from Scott Aikin, William Stephens, and Massimo Pigliucci (all past Stoa Conversations guests).

Epictetus’s Encheiridion: A New Translation

Virtue cannot be the ultimate good

(02:51) Why This Matters

(09:04) What is Virtue?

(17:45) The Objection

(26:31) Response: Stoic Move I

(31:59) Response: Stoic Move II

(39:43) The Practical Upshots

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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): 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/

Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven

In this conversation, Caleb speaks with Brittany Polat.

She’s has done excellent work teaching and promoting the ideas of Stoicism through her books, blog, and Stoicare, so we’re always happy to have her on. In this conversation, we talk about what we can learn from monasteries, how to think about Stoicism & accountability, what Epictetus believed about the Cynics, and the Stoic attitude towards beauty.

Stoicism for Humans

(01:41) Introduction

(03:11) Ethical Development

(09:15) Determinism and Accountability

(16:55) Learning From Medieval Monks

(21:19) Medieval Monks on Meditation

(29:40) Beauty

(33:39) Epictetus on the Cynics

(38:54) Devotion

(42:56) Learning To Live Naturally

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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): 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/

Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven

In this podcast, Michael Tremblay discusses everything you should know about ancient Stoicism in 1 hour. Consider it a Stoic speed run.

(01:54) Introduction

(04:46) The History

(13:48) Stoic Ethics

(19:35) Psychological Claims

(26:49) Stoic Epistemology

(33:09) Stoic Metaphysics

(42:05) Stoic Exercises

(52:09) Objections

(56:58) Last Challenge

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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): 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/