“If you are a Christian, you can still practice Stoicism and think of the Logos as the Word of God. If you are a secular person, an agnostic or an atheist, you may treat the Logos as "Einstein's god," that is the factual recognition that the cosmos is ordered according to rational principles, without which science itself wouldn't be possible.” ThinkingChristianAtheistRationalRecognitionWord Of GodSecularAgnosticStoicismFactual Author:Massimo Pigliucci
“I can't speak for others, but I find the fundamental idea that a life worth living is one during which one strives every day to become a better person to be compelling.” SpeakStriveStrifeBetter PersonLife Worth Living Author:Massimo Pigliucci
“I don't see any Stoic practice as problematic or risky, but I would advise to engage in extreme versions of the negative visualization exercise only if you are an advanced practitioner. The negative visualization is a meditation during which you visualize, slowly and deliberately, something bad or discomforting happening to you.” MeditationExerciseNegativeAdviseVisualizationStoic Author:Massimo Pigliucci
“Death itself is a natural occurrence, it is unavoidable, and the Stoics thought that part of philosophical practice is to get comfortable with the unavoidable, learning to face it with courage.” NaturalPhilosophical Author:Massimo Pigliucci
“Rob Lowe is a sportsman and a ladykiller and it's impossible to be in a scene with him and not immediately begin to play tennis.” ImpossibleSceneTennis Author:Emily Procter
“It was the first time, in the West Wing, I had ever read anyone write a Southerner properly. Because Southern women, in my opinion, are complicated and are equally feminine and driven. That's kind of an unusual combination and people usually tend to get it wrong.” PeopleWritingKindOpinionFirst TimeComplicatedDrivenFeminineSouthernUnusualSouthernerSouthern Women Author:Emily Procter
“The Stoic discipline of action, which is connected to the virtue of justice, says that we ought to treat others fairly and we should engage in social and political activity. This is further supported by the Stoic idea of cosmopolitanism, and by the famous "circles of concern" identified by Hierocles, who counseled that we should refer to other people as brothers and sisters, to constantly remind ourselves that we are members of the same human family.” PeopleActionPoliticalJusticeVirtueBrotherDisciplineConcernBrothers And SistersStoic Author:Massimo Pigliucci
“The Stoics thought that a fundamental insight into human life is that some things are up to us and others are not, the famous dichotomy of control. Up to us are our judgments, decisions, and actions; everything else is not up to us, because it is influenced by external factors.” ActionDecisionJudgmentInsightDichotomy Author:Massimo Pigliucci
“Often we can change things, and a realistic attitude - including envisioning worse case scenarios - actually helps to accomplish that change. But if you truly cannot do anything about something, then why on earth would you want to make things even worse for you by falling into despair? It seems like adding a self-inflicting injury to the already existing one.” HelpingEarthFallAttitudeDespairAccomplishInjuryRealistic Author:Massimo Pigliucci
“One of my favorite episodes in West Wing was the homeless man that died and they found, in the overcoat he was wearing, a card of the speechwriter, Toby. He had given that coat to the Goodwill and this guy had ended up wearing it, died in it and Toby went to his funeral. He turned out to be a Korean war veteran. It was our first Christmas episode and that was a true story - a member of the staff had done exactly that. So many of these stories were far better than any fiction.” MenWarDoneGuyMy FavoriteFuneralHomelessVeteranKoreanTrue Story Author:Martin Sheen