I'm creating podcast episodes offering practical wisdom for everyday life -- solutions to modern human concerns -- informed by the ancient philosophical school of Stoicism popularized by thinkers including Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. Improve your quality of life by implementing a strong mental framework informed by Stoic Philosophy! I explore topics such as gratitude; acceptance; overcoming adversity; finding meaning in life; moderation; dealing with change; friendship; lonelines ...
…
continue reading
Stoic Solutions Podcasts
Beginner friendly if listened to in order! For anyone interested in an educational podcast about philosophy where you don't need to be a graduate-level philosopher to understand it. In chronological order, the thinkers and ideas that forged the world we live in are broken down and explained.
…
continue reading
1
Episode #239 ... Authenticity and the history of the self. (Charles Taylor)
36:43
36:43
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
36:43
Today we talk about the work of the philosopher Charles Taylor. First, we trace the historical origins of how he views the modern self. From the Greeks to the Reformation. From Descartes to Rousseau. The modern self to him is something "irreconcilably multileveled". Then we talk about our modern focus on authenticity as a moral ideal and why Taylor…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #238 ... Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
30:06
30:06
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
30:06
Today we talk about the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. We talk about the mix of Romantic and Enlightenment attitudes and how it leads to problems without the proper oversight. We talk about technology and the responsibility that comes with creation. We talk about how ostracized people often learn to resent the world they live in. Hope you love …
…
continue reading
1
Episode #237 ... The Stoics Are Wrong - Nietzsche, Schopenhauer
30:27
30:27
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
30:27
Today we talk about two famous critiques of Stoicism. One by Friedrich Nietzsche who thought the Stoics weren’t life affirming enough and so rob themselves of some of the best parts of life. The other by Arthur Schopenhauer who thought the Stoics were too life-affirming of worldly things to ever reach a deep understanding of things. Hope you love i…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #236 ... Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
36:57
36:57
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
36:57
Today we talk about the collection of journals known as Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. We mark the differences between Stoicism, modern Stoic ethics, and the journals of Marcus Aurelius. We talk about the divine logos, indifferents, and how metaphysical assumptions ladder up into the virtue ethics of the ancient Stoics. We talk about some of the c…
…
continue reading
51
Episode #235 ... The Philosophy of Zen Buddhism - Byung Chul Han
38:19
38:19
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
38:19
Today we talk about one of Han's earlier books where he offers an alternative to classic western ideas about subjectivity. We talk about Zen as a religion without God. Substance and emptiness. Alternatives to the reified self. Dwelling nowhere. Original friendliness. And death as an event we desperately try to control. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #234 ... The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
35:03
35:03
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
35:03
Today we try to produce a philosophical guide for the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. We talk about Parmenides, Nietzsche's eternal recurrence, kitsch as something more than just an aesthetic category, existential codes and his animal test of morality. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: ZocDoc: https://www.ZocDoc.com/PHILO Nord…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #233 ... A philosophy of self-destruction. (Dostoevsky, Bataille)
33:57
33:57
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
33:57
Today we talk about two different theories for why we ritualize self-destructive behavior. We check out a lesser-known work from Dostoevsky called The Gambler. We consider how much we can hold people morally accountable for this kind of stuff. Then we look at the work of Georges Bataille, his book The Accursed Share, and how a hidden underlying eco…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #232 ... Byung Chul Han - The Crisis of Narration
29:41
29:41
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
29:41
Today we talk about the book The Crisis of Narration by the philosopher Byung Chul Han. We talk about the history of storytelling. Walter Benjamins distinction between a Paris fire and a revolution in Madrid. The effects of social media on memory. Story telling vs story selling. AI as pure Intelligenz lacking Geist. The ability for stories to give …
…
continue reading
1
Episode #231 ... The Late Work of Wittgenstein - Language Games
26:02
26:02
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
26:02
Today we talk about the late work of Wittgenstein in Philosophical Investigations. We talk about the meaning of words. Augustine's theory. Forms of life. Rules and practices. Grammar. Geometry. Family resemblance. And the role of a philosopher on the other side of accepting this view of language. Hope you love it. :) Sponsors: ZocDoc: https://www.Z…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #230 ... Hope as an Existentialism (Ernst Bloch)
28:43
28:43
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:43
Today we talk about the early work of Ernst Bloch. Hope as anticipatory consciousness. The darkness of the lived moment. Educated hope vs false hope. Music as an experiential metaphysics and gateway to the Not-Yet. Hope you love it. :) Sponsors: Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Thank you so mu…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #229 - Kafka and Totalitarianism (Arendt, Adorno)
28:58
28:58
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:58
Today we talk about Kafka's book The Castle and how the symbolism is interpreted by two powerhouse philosophers: Theodore Adorno and Hannah Arendt. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Incogni: https://www.Incogni.com/philothis Quince: https://www.QUINCE.com/pt ZocDoc: https://www.ZocDoc.com/PHILO Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this with…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #228 ... Albert Camus - Kafka and The Fall
30:45
30:45
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
30:45
Today we talk about Camus' book The Fall and what the main character represents in his larger project. We also talk about someone Camus deeply admired, Franz Kafka, and how to think of the images he created in his work. We talk about the experience of the modern individual in relation to politics. We also talk about what Camus and Kafka disagreed o…
…
continue reading
Today we talk about the concept of exile from the work of Camus. We focus on a couple stories from his book Exile and The Kingdom. We talk about why Camus insists that true lucidity can only arise from the jarring lived experience he calls “exile,” not from armchair reflection. We talk about Janine’s desert epiphany in “The Adulterous Woman.” We ta…
…
continue reading
Today we talk about Camus’ concept of rebellion and how it offers a powerful alternative to abstract ideologies. We talk about solidarity as the foundation for justice without systems. We talk about the death penalty as a symbol of premeditated murder disguised as virtue. We talk about rebellion as something closer to art than politics—an act roote…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #225 ... Albert Camus - The Plague
32:52
32:52
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
32:52
We look at Albert Camus' The Plague. We talk about a common misreading from the Myth of Sisyphus. We talk about different cycles of his work from his earlier individual confrontation with the absurd to a more community focus. We talk about solidarity. Absurd heroes. Empathy and metaphysical rebellion. Hope you enjoy it, my friends. :) Sponsors: Fac…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #224 ... Albert Camus - The Stranger
29:58
29:58
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
29:58
Today we talk about the book The Stranger by Albert Camus. We talk about why Camus saw himself as an artist and not a philosopher. We talk about happiness. The absurd and it's full implications. The Mediterranean lifestyle. The sun as a symbol of immanence. Revolt against the absurd as a descriptive claim-- not a normative one. Sponsors: ZocDoc: ht…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #223 ... Religion and the duck-rabbit - Kyoto School pt. 3
34:48
34:48
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
34:48
Today we talk about the relationship between philosophy and religion. We talk about the duck-rabbit as a metaphor that may have something useful to teach us about the way we experience reality. We talk about the enormous difficulty of fully addressing the question: what is religion? We talk about Schelling's historical view of revelation and its co…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #222 ... Dostoevsky - Love in The Brothers Karamazov
40:44
40:44
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:44
Today we talk about the philosophical themes around love in The Brothers Karamazov. We talk about Dostoevsky's existential, tragic form of Christianity. Family as a microcosm of society. Active love as an experiential framing. The Grand Inquisitor. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: ZocDoc: https://www.ZocDoc.com/PHILO Rocket Money: http://www.RocketMo…
…
continue reading
Today we talk about the book The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky. We talk about the curse of sainthood. The connection between beauty and morality via his moral-aesthetic spectrum. Realism vs. Idealism. And how beauty can save the world. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: ZocDoc: https://www.ZocDoc.com/PHILO Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS …
…
continue reading
Today we discuss the philosophical themes of the book Demons by Fyodor Dostoevsky. We talk about western liberalism, the lack of moral leadership, the promises of Nihilism, the Madman and the Saint, and Dostoevsky's complicated relationship to faith. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS Quince: https://www…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #219 ... Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment
32:19
32:19
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
32:19
Today we talk about the philosophical themes that Dostoevsky had in mind when writing Crime and Punishment. We talk about Russian Nihilism and its consequences. Rational Utilitarianism and Egoism. A common misunderstanding of Raskolnikov as an embodiment of Nietzsche's work. Confession. Guilt. Affirming life through consent. And much more. Hope you…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #218 ... Dostoevsky - Notes From Underground
35:42
35:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
35:42
Today we talk about the philosophical themes of one of Dostoevsky's most famous books: Notes From Underground. We talk about contemplative inertia, the "stone wall" of rationality, utopian socialism, the tension between love and freedom in the modern world, self-loathing as a defense mechanism, and much more. Hope you enjoy it. :) Sponsors: Nord VP…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #217 ... Religion and Nothingness - Kyoto School pt. 2 - Nishitani
47:08
47:08
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
47:08
Today we talk about expanding our view of what a religious quest includes. The limits of dualistic thinking. Technological enframing and obsession with utility. Self-emptying. Consciousness, Nihility and Sunyata. Sunyata as immanence. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Aura Frames: https://www.AuraFrames.com use promo code: PT Better Help: https://www.…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #216 ... The Self-Overcoming of Nihilism - Kyoto School pt. 1 - Nishitani
35:33
35:33
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
35:33
Today we look at the work of Keiji Nishitani. We examine Nihilism in a deeper way than we've ever covered on the podcast before. We talk about The Great Doubt. Zen Buddhism. Sunyata. The self as similar to structural linguistics. Hope you enjoy it! :) Sponsors: Lumen: https://www.lumen.me/PT Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS Thank yo…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #215 ... How Mysticism is missing in our modern lives. (Critchley, Heidegger)
31:16
31:16
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
31:16
Today we talk about whether it's possible to achieve not just freedom of the will, but freedom from the will. The technological enframing of reality from the perspective of Heidegger. Misconceptions about Mysticism. The ways that modern life prevents us from having more of a connection with Being. Some ways to start practicing mystical types of exp…
…
continue reading
