Episode 13: Friendship
What does a good friendship look like? Who should we admit into our circle of friends? Which qualities should we look for in people? How should we engage with our friends? What are some benefits of social relationships? How can we share our thoughts and feelings with friends? How many friends should we have? Should we, after failure to acquire good relationships, isolate ourselves and give up? I'll discuss these items and more today alongside passages from Seneca's Letters From A Stoic. My Stoic Philosophy series explores the philosophical tradition of Stoicism with goals to inform, empower, and help others benefit from practical wisdom. Stoic Philosophy was popularized by Ancient Greek and Roman thinkers including Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca. For the Stoics, a main focus in life is pursuing virtue to attain a well-examined life through practical applications of Philosophy – acting with good character, using reason to form accurate careful judgments about the world, and having contentment through casting away anxiety and certain desires. Stoic writers focus on many perennial human concerns and urge people to take action applying what they learn to everyday life. Self-improvement is central to Stoic thought – strengthening and improving one's mindset in order to have a better quality of life. Even though many Stoic writers are centuries removed from us, their wisdom endures and is extremely relevant to our time. Find Justin Vacula online and listen to past content: Main website: http://www.justinvacula.com SoundCloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/justinvacula YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/justinvacula Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/justin-vacula/stoic-philosophy Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/justinvacula Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/justinvacula Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/justinvacula Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/justinvacula Support: Donate: http://justinvacula.com/donate/ Like, share, subscribe! Epictetus' Discourses: https://www.amazon.com/Discourses-Epictetus-Handbook-Fragments-Everymans/dp/0460873121/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1478049820&sr=8-2&keywords=epictetus+discourses Marcus Aurelius' Meditations: https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493590216&sr=8-1&keywords=marcus+aurelius+meditations Seneca's Letters to a Stoic https://www.amazon.com/Senecas-Letters-Stoic-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486811247/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1493590249&sr=8-3&keywords=seneca+letters+from+a+stoic Stoic Philosophy – Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/stoicism/ Massimo Pigliucci's Stoicism blog: https://howtobeastoic.wordpress.com/ Stoic Philosophy Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Stoicism/