The Wheel of Life

“We Must Cultivate Our Garden”

Objective judgement, now, at this very moment. Unselfish action, now, at this very moment. Willing acceptance - now, at this very moment - of all external events. That's all you need. ~ Marcus Aurelius

What is Stoicism?

Why Stoicism Matters

Massimo Pigliucci, Stoicism

John Paul Sartre and the Existential Choice

I WOULD PREFER NOT TO.

The School of Life: Why Socrates Hated Democracy

"Love means that you accept a person with all their failures, stupidities, ugly points, and nonetheless, you see perfection in imperfection itself." ~ Žižek

In terms of influence, Gramsci is up there with Goffman, Stuart Hall, Rawls and Sarte for me.

Cultural Hegemony

"Our minds are sick."

The School of Life: Theodor Adorno

Born this day

The School of Life: Friedrich Nietzsche

"What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears." ~ Seneca

The School of Life: The Stoics

Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Seneca, 1773

The Blind Men and an Elephant

"The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena (or reality) and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion." ~ Wikipedia

Loving this new video series from the Guardian.

Radical Thinkers: A series of three minute video talks by modern philosophy academics on radical philosophers down the ages.

Rawlsian philosopher Michael Sandel on the BBC speaking about free markets and democracy.

John Rawls

Michael Sandel's famous Harvard University course on Justice. Recommended.

Epicurus' Tetrapharmakos

Recipe for leading the happiest possible life from ~300 BC.

Don't fear god,
Don't worry about death;
What is good is easy to get, and
What is terrible is easy to endure

"Epicurus believed that the greatest good was to seek modest pleasures in order to attain a state of tranquility and freedom from fear (ataraxia) as well as absence of bodily pain (aponia) through knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of our desires. The combination of these two states is supposed to constitute happiness in its highest form."