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Stoicism Decoded: Your Guide to Ancient Wisdom in Plain English · The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so we're going to be doing a deep dive into Stoicism, but I'm going to be attempting to explain some of the core ideas of Stoicism here in a way that might be a bit new.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like a lot of the translations that we are given, so my attempt here is to give you a very quick primer on Stoicism using some of the phrases that I prefer in replacement of these more archaic terms to ideally help you understand Stoicism in a new way.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're new to ancient philosophy, great.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're revisiting the core teachings, that's also fine.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Today we are going to use a more of a modern lexicon to help you clarify some ideas or learn new ways of seeing certain things.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that Stoicism is more than just staying calm.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's meant to be a complete framework for living well under any circumstances.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's start with the ultimate aim of Stoicism.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Quite simply, one word flourishing.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: In Greek they call this eudaimonia, it's often translated as happiness or well being.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: For Stoics, flourishing means living excellently despite your circumstances.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: And the engine or driver of flourishing is excellence of character areti.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: This is a skill, a form of knowledge at choosing and doing what's right.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: The Stoics insist that only excellence as a human being is what's good, and everything else, health, wealth, reputation, is just a condition or an external that matters for planning, but not for determining our worth.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: The Stoics like to call these external things indifferent.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: So everything that is not the engine of flourishing, which is excellence in our character, would be called an external condition.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: And we can classify these external conditions as helpful conditions, where they can make excellent action easier, or we can call them external hard conditions because they make it harder.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then we can just call them neutral conditions when they have no bearing in any way.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Understanding Stoicism requires us to understand how the mind works.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: The Stoics break down mental events into three key stages.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: First we experience a first take.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: They call this fantasia.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is a raw impression that flashes through our mind, the first take.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Second, we either give or withhold assent.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, we either agree with the first take that comes to us, or we disagree with it.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: This first take then becomes a chosen take.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is where our freedom lies.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Third, that chosen take generates an action urge.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And this action urge propels us toward or away from something.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: So first take, chosen take, action urge.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Guiding these stages is the executive mind.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: This is the ruling faculty that integrates perceptions, judgments, and actions.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: By attending closely to the contents of our consciousness, our first takes, with a steady watch, we notice quickly our first takes, and then we just decide whether to accept them or suspend our judgment.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: And importantly, the Stoics teach that our core agency is our power to choose our judgments and intentions.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Epictetus reminds us that our will, our volition, is unimpeded and constitutes the real self.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: The Stoics use a dichotomy of control to direct effort.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Some things are within our full control, such as our judgments and choices, and others are not directly within our full control.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: We can only watch these.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Epictetus famously lists opinion and desire among what's in our control, and then body, property, reputation among what's not.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: By focusing on what we can control, and then just observing what we can't control, we save ourselves a lot of frustration.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Stoicism is often summarized through four trainable skills.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: They call these the four cardinal virtues, but we are going to think of these as the four trainable skills for excellence.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: We have number one, reality literacy, number two, steadfast courage, number three, balanced self-regulation, and number four fair dealing.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: These correspond to the classical virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Reality literacy, sometimes called practical wisdom or phronesis, means seeing clearly and choosing apt means.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's practical.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thinking without distortion and making decisions that align with facts and values.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: So practical wisdom would just be knowing what's within our control and what's not within our control.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Knowing what's good for our character and what's bad for our character and what's indifferent for our character.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Steadfast courage is the strength to act rightly even when it's risky or uncomfortable.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about being super brave and standing out.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: It could just mean following your values even when it's hard.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Balanced self-regulation is measured desire.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: We ensure that pleasure and appetite serve reason rather than rule it.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: The key is that it's balanced self-regulation.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's not this hyper over the top type of self-regulation where we almost cause ourselves suffering by being too rigid.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's about finding that middle way and allowing our reason to be in the driver's seat.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Four, fair dealing, sometimes called justice.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: This fair dealing is about consistently respecting others and fulfilling our roles in social life.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: When these character skills are exercised, they produce a stable character that cannot be shaken by the whims of fortune.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Stoicism often gets caricatured as cold or emotionless, and that's a misunderstanding.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Stoics draw a line between unhelpful surges and healthy emotions eupathea.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Unhelpful surges, healthy emotions.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: The unhelpful surges include distress, fear, craving, giddy elation, and they result from false value judgments, believing that certain things that are external are good or bad.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: And because they're based on mistaken beliefs, the wise person seeks to eliminate them.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: In their place, the wise person cultivates equanimity and calm clarity that allows feelings to inform judgment without completely hijacking it.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: The wise person experiences healthy emotions like joy over something that's truly good, a caring commitment to other people's well-being, measured caution in the face of real risks.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so emotional health in stoicism isn't suppression, it's using feeling in the service of right judgment.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: And stoicism is not only about thinking.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Some people say it's too rational.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's about doing.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: A fit action, cathicon they called it, but a fit action is what a reasonable person does given the facts, their role, and what is right.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Fit actions include everyday duties like being a supportive friend, paying taxes, or caring for your health, provided they align with developing excellence for your character.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: Stoics encourage us to play our part well.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Since we are embedded in families, communities, and work, we ask, what fits my role here?
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Living in agreement with reality.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: They use nature, but for me, nature brings up images of trees and animals and greenery.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: But let's use reality.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Living in agreement with reality means echoing the order of the cosmos in our own behavior.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: So when considering external conditions, we apply rational choice to select what accords with reality, and then we use intentional refusal to reject what conflicts with it.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: So the ethical ideal is the moral beauty of character good acts, and the ultimate aim is living in agreement with the flow of reality.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Stoic ethics rests on a grand view of the universe.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: They see reality as an ordered whole, and this order is structured by universal reason.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Some Stoics identify God with this rational principle, but you don't have to.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: The flow of events unfolds according to a causal web, an unbroken chain of cause and effect.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: Everything is infused with Numa, which is a living breath or spirit that gives form and unity.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: The notion of rational foresight, provident ordering of the world, reinforces the belief that the cosmos is intelligible and benevolent.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Within this ordered whole, the Stoics encourage us to expand our care through circle growing.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: We start with self-care, extend to family, then to our city, and eventually the whole of humanity.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: The doctrine of shared connection underscores that everything is interconnected and that no private good stands apart from the common good.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because we are all part of one global community, we treat every human on earth as a fellow citizen.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Stoicism is a practice, first and foremost, and some key exercises the Stoics were fond of are as follows.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: Setback rehearsal, sometimes called premeditation of adversity.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: In setback rehearsal, we imagine obstacles that we might face so that we can prepare excellent responses.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: Wide angle view.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: We visualize ourselves and our problems from a cosmic perspective so that we can put things in proportion.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: We plan with flex.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: We pursue goals with a proviso, if nothing prevents it, acknowledging that outcomes depend on more than our will.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: A daily review, we reflect each evening on what we did well and where we can improve.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Friction practice, often called ascasis.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: We voluntarily embrace small discomfort so that we can build resilience and detachment from external conditions.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Label, loosen, replace.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: We notice troublesome thoughts, we identify the false value judgment, and then replace it with a truer one.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: This is a lot like CBT.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: Label, loosen, replace.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: And ready at hand maxims.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: We keep short reminders ready to guide our choices when life feels overwhelming.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: These practices exercise the mind and cultivates excellence of character.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: They help transform stoic ideas into actual habits and qualities of mind.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: And a final piece of stoicism is refining our desires and aversions.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: Stoicism recognizes intentional aim, which is a rational wish directed at what is truly good.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: It distinguishes this from guided pursuit, the desire for helpful conditions that must be moderated, so intentional aim, guided pursuit.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: And we can also cultivate mindful avoidance, turning away from what harms excellence of character.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is coherent living, living consistently with the reality and our own reason.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: When our desires align with what is under our control and our aversions align with what truly harms character, we gain freedom and peace.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: So taken together, Stoicism is a coherent way of life.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: It aims at flourishing through excellence of character.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: It teaches us how to handle impressions and choose our judgments.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: It offers four forms of virtuous skill to train.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: It clarifies how to feel without being ruled by feelings.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: It grounds action in roles and reasons.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: It situates ethics in a rational, interconnected universe.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: It provides practices to cultivate wisdom, and it refines our desires so they match reality.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: So using our new lexicon, stoicism becomes accessible.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: We talk about flourishing, excellence of character, external conditions, first takes, chosen takes, core agency, the steady watch of the mind, fit actions, global community, and more.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: These concepts fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Stoicism reminds us that while we can't control everything, we can always choose our judgment and our next action.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that is enough to live well.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, thank you for listening.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed this exploration of Stoicism, a basic primer, told in a more modernized way, consider integrating one practice into your day and see how it transforms your responses.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you on the next episode.