The Discipline of Desire

For a Stoic, nothing can be traded if the price is the compromising of your character. Virtue is the highest good and should never be compromised. Not even when it comes to friendship or true love. Unlike in Hollywood movies, love does not conquer all in Stoicism. A true ...

The discipline of action tells us how to behave in the world. It is the result of proper understanding of ethics, the study of how to live our lives, and it draws on the virtue of justice.

A good character cannot be developed without a proper understanding and implementation of all three Stoic disciplines, which are:

1. The discipline of desire (also referred to as Stoic acceptance)
2. The discipline of action (known also as Stoic phil...

The discipline of assent tells us how to react to situations, in the sense of either giving our assent to our initial impressions of a situation or withdrawing it.

This discipline is arrived at via the study of logic – what is and is not reasonable to think – and requires the

Stoicism is about developing the tools to deal as effectively as humanly possible with the ensuing conflicts, does not demand perfection, and does not provide specific answer.

Those are for fools (Epictetus’ word) who think the world is black and white, good versus evil, wh...

Naturally, we are rational and social creatures and should apply reason to social living. We should treat other people as if they are our relatives. We are all in the same boat together. 

If there is one thing that philosophy ought to be good for, it is to make us better understand the human condition by showing us not only how to live to our best but to accept the fact that death is nothing to be afraid of.

Death itself is not under our control (it will happen one way or an...

People suffer from amathia – the wisdom to know what’s right and what’s wrong. Therefore, we shouldn’t blame but pity the wrongdoer.