01_WhatIsStoicism.md

What is Stoicism?

1. 3 parts - Logic, Physics and Ethics
2. Analogy
   1. Stoic Philosophy is like an egg:
      1. Logic is the shell.
      2. Ethics is the white.
      3. Physics is the yolk.
   2. Stoic Philosophy is like a human:
      1. Logic is the bones.
      2. Ethics is the flesh.
      3. Physics is the soul.

Logic: Judgements

1. Concerned with Knowledge and Judgement.
2. Truthfulness with what we say.
3. Rationality is one of the defining characteristics of human beings.
4. Logical consistency is given a lot of emphasis.
5. Make judgements of value and not only of matter of fact.
6. Our emotional lives are a product of the judgements we make.
   1. It's not things that upset us but our judgements about things.
7. Pay attention to our judgements: Slow down - try to open up some cognitive distance from when we experience and when we make a judgement.

Ethics: Virtue

1. Ethics is about value - what's good / what's bad / what we ought to do / not do.
2. Virtue and Value go hand in hand.
3. Anything that's genuinely good will always consistently benefit us.
4. Excellent Character / State of Mind.
   1. Rational
   2. Consistent
   3. Mentally Healthy
   4. Not overcome by emotional upheaval
   5. Moderate
   6. Courageous
   7. Fair and Just
5. No situation where having a calm / rational state of mind where things will get worse.
6. No situation where being anxious / irrational state of mind where things will get better.
7. Having good character will always be a good thing and not a bad thing.
8. Good character generates the happiness; if you are psychologically in a mess, nothing will make you happy.
9. Attend to yourself and your judgements - how you think about things before expecting happiness from other things.

Physics: Interconnectedness

1. Study of nature or what exists.
2. Interconnectedness: Single organic unity - we are all parts of something larger than ourselves.
3. Our well being depends on that interconnectedness.
4. None of us can survive on our own - we all rely on each other and nature.
5. We don't need to choose between our own interest and nature: these are the same.
   1. Selfishness = person hasn't grasped our interconnectedness.
   2. They don't understand how the world works.

Consistency

1. Psychological consistency is required.
2. All about having a consistent character that makes consistent judgements.
3. Making judgements consistently so that we develop the habit of thinking consistently.

Goals of Life

1. Zeno: The goal of life is to live consistently.
2. Pupil of his: The goal of life is to live consistently with Nature.
3. Pupil of theirs: The goal of life is to live consistently with what happens according to Nature.
   1. To embrace fate - what happens out of our control.
4. Rational, social, harmony with natural world and without complaint.
5. The Stoic Challenge:
   1. Pay attention to our judgements.
   2. Focus on what's inherently good.
   3. Understand that we are part of a larger whole.