The Daily Stoic

[boo]

“The human being is born with an inclination toward virtue.”
—MUSONIUS RUFUS, LECTURES, 2.7.1–2”

Musonius is basically saying people are generally born good. I think this is fairly true! I think its best shown by looking at children. Even at incredibly young ages, before one can really say that the child has been 'taught' to be good, children will share their toys, their food, and try to help eachother out. We're social animals and it feels good to make others feel good. (Speaking generally, for most people. Of course there are your exceptions with narciccists, sociopaths, and such but I don't want to get into the weeds there)

Materialism, selfishness, greed. These things I think are taught by our society. Our environments can shape us to be even more noble or to be greedy self-centered people. I think in the US today we definitely have a society that values the spectacle, that values being apart of, or BEING the spectacle. People will act out in a terrible manner just so they can be the center of attention. Fame has a high value, so if it comes even at a high cost, people will 'pay' for it. In our society and our economic and political systems, narcissistic (celebrity) traits are valued. Psychopath (political class) traits are valued. Greedy (investor class) traits are valued.

How can we develop systems that value positive traits? That make the nost noble of people rise up to the top of our celebrity and political class. What were some systems in history that arguably did this? Athenian democracy? US democracy pre-industrial revolution?

Im curious about some of your thoughts on this, and I might make a dedicated post on it later as I think its something worth discussing.

[gOO]

Education - Promote education that emphasizes not only academic knowledge but also moral and ethical values. Encourage critical thinking and empathy from an early age.

Media and Culture - Encourage media and cultural representations that celebrate virtues such as kindness, empathy, and community service. Positive role models in the media can significantly influence societal values.Children grow up with certain shit. We as adults can do our part to design better moral environments for the offspring we foster.
In doing so, we must be like Obi Wan, or an Old Wizard whose purpose is to equip the youth with the knowledge and tools they need to tackle scarier concepts they might not be mature enough for yet, and how to go about it proper. Maturity also can come in the form of taking acceptable and calculated risk, rather than being reckless or avoiding risk altogether. This process is necessary even to navigate social scenarios and relationships.

Political Reforms - Explore political reforms that limit the influence of money in politics, ensuring that political leaders are chosen based on their abilities, virtues, and commitment to the public good.

Economic Systems - Examine economic models that prioritize social welfare over profit maximization. Concepts like social entrepreneurship and conscious capitalism aim to balance profit motives with social and environmental responsibility.

Community Engagement - Encourage community-based initiatives that foster cooperation, compassion, and mutual support. Strong, interconnected communities often nurture positive values.

And then finally - Prevent me and anyone else from getting a hold of AI. We must THINK. You cannot allow me to get away with some of the things I did creating this post.(run it against an AI checker LOL)

Thinking back to the media example, there is a reason Animal Farm, Orwell 1984, Dune, Lord of the Rings, will be referenced for all time. These novels are FULL of politics. If you stripped the characterization and story away, you would have manifestos and worldviews and essays left behind.

Nobody likes lectures and essays unless they are the ones delivering them. We are inspired by stories and I think Ted Kazoinks shouldv'e tried that angle. But because he himself was a stupid bonehead professor, he really did believe lecturing is how people imbibe information. He couldve outsourced his bombings if he inspired people and enthralled them in another schizo fantasy sci fi world that oddly goes into the specifics of bombmaking and the US mail system. who knows.

What i do know is that when there is something genuinely entertaining and it had a paradigm payload tucked away in it, its like other peoples brains become reverse shelled into writing essays about it.

Make Education Entertaining again.
And then use good moral messages in the stories within the education system to reverse payload the youth into making a better culture as they grow up, as well as be more inquisitive members of the Cave Analogy, and see whats causing all these shadows and hallway-birds.

[boo]

Education - Promote education that emphasizes not only academic knowledge but also moral and ethical values. Encourage critical thinking and empathy from an early age.

Media and Culture - Encourage media and cultural representations that celebrate virtues such as kindness, empathy, and community service. Positive role models in the media can significantly influence societal values.Children grow up with certain shit. We as adults can do our part to design better moral environments for the offspring we foster.
In doing so, we must be like Obi Wan, or an Old Wizard whose purpose is to equip the youth with the knowledge and tools they need to tackle scarier concepts they might not be mature enough for yet, and how to go about it proper. Maturity also can come in the form of taking acceptable and calculated risk, rather than being reckless or avoiding risk altogether. This process is necessary even to navigate social scenarios and relationships.

Political Reforms - Explore political reforms that limit the influence of money in politics, ensuring that political leaders are chosen based on their abilities, virtues, and commitment to the public good.

Economic Systems - Examine economic models that prioritize social welfare over profit maximization. Concepts like social entrepreneurship and conscious capitalism aim to balance profit motives with social and environmental responsibility.

Community Engagement - Encourage community-based initiatives that foster cooperation, compassion, and mutual support. Strong, interconnected communities often nurture positive values.

And then finally - Prevent me and anyone else from getting a hold of AI. We must THINK. You cannot allow me to get away with some of the things I did creating this post.(run it against an AI checker LOL)

Thinking back to the media example, there is a reason Animal Farm, Orwell 1984, Dune, Lord of the Rings, will be referenced for all time. These novels are FULL of politics. If you stripped the characterization and story away, you would have manifestos and worldviews and essays left behind.

Nobody likes lectures and essays unless they are the ones delivering them. We are inspired by stories and I think Ted Kazoinks shouldv'e tried that angle. But because he himself was a stupid bonehead professor, he really did believe lecturing is how people imbibe information. He couldve outsourced his bombings if he inspired people and enthralled them in another schizo fantasy sci fi world that oddly goes into the specifics of bombmaking and the US mail system. who knows.

What i do know is that when there is something genuinely entertaining and it had a paradigm payload tucked away in it, its like other peoples brains become reverse shelled into writing essays about it.

Make Education Entertaining again.
And then use good moral messages in the stories within the education system to reverse payload the youth into making a better culture as they grow up, as well as be more inquisitive members of the Cave Analogy, and see whats causing all these shadows and hallway-birds.

In the first paragraph i knew it was an AI post and I was about to flame you until I skimmed to the second-half.

Youre spot on about stories. Story telling was the de-facto standard to teaching history and morals throughout antiquity. As our political systems evolved past Kings and Emporers, so too did our stories.

Captivating stories, whether in the form of an oral-retelling, book, movie, or game, stay in peoples brains a lot longer than some philosophical essay or political manifesto. In the latter cases, maybe a few excerpts, assertions, and main ideas stay with you, but in a good story you can remember all the beats start to finish.

Stories are essential. And its a shame that the stories of today, your Marvel movies, your Netflix originals, your Ubisoft games, are all sanitized slop. Yes, there is still media that is being created today that speaks truth in an entertaining way, but the things that have the financial backing to enter the noosphere never do.

Im going to try to improve my own skills as a writer. Only writing Ive really practiced has been forum essay posting. Im going to make a short stories thread later to get practice in.

[boo]

“Think by way of example on the times of Vespasian, and you’ll see all these things: marrying, raising children, falling ill, dying, wars, holiday feasts, commerce, farming, flattering, pretending, suspecting, scheming, praying that others die, grumbling over one’s lot, falling in love, amassing fortunes, lusting after office and power. Now that life of theirs is dead and gone . . . the times of Trajan, again the same . . ” - MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 4.32

I didn't know what 'Vespasian' and 'Trajan' are and was confused when I first read this, but googling it they were emporers of rome. Basically saying across generations, people behave the same. Maybe the methods there-within, the slang, the practices, and the traditions may change, the reasons for them are the same. I think this entry is especially poignant as the age of our civilization is much older. We really still are the same people. Our technology has advanced, but man is the same man as he was in the time of the Romans, and is the same man in the time of the Sumerians. Even when our social organization was tribal, all these things that people do people did.

I think the wisdom in this is it helps you take yourself less seriously. It lets you take yourself more lightly. It checks your ego. I think it contextualizes this great thing called life. I'm just a little speck in a little blip in time, but isn't it awesome to be apart of something so much larger than I? To be apart of this world and this global civilization that has been evolving for millenia before me? How cool is that. I think this perspective helps you appreciate even more the positive experiences of life, like Love and being with good friends. Even tragedy and adversity I may face, they are simply apart of life, its apart of the experience. And what a grand experience it is.

[masayuki]

“Fortune falls heavily on those for whom she’s unexpected. The one always on the lookout easily endures.”
—SENECA, ON CONSOLATION TO HELVIA, 5.3”

Shit happens, and if you don't think it can happen to you, you're fucked.
I think the truth of this is plain to see with those who have gone through the shits early in life, they are very resilient. They know that shit happens, and they stay alert for it. They can see the punches coming and roll with them. Those that can't anticipate, or even consider the possibility of, the punches coming their way, are absolutely wrecked by them.

[masayuki]

“As for me, I would choose being sick over living in luxury, for being sick only harms the body, whereas luxury destroys both the body and the soul, causing weakness and incapacity in the body, and lack of control and cowardice in the soul. What’s more, luxury breeds injustice because it also breeds greediness.”
—MUSONIUS RUFUS, LECTURES, 20.95.14–17”

Comfort breed complacency, amongst other things. We must always push ourselves to remain uncomfortable. Strong, intelligenet men can raise themselves up from uncomfortable, even dire, circumstances and find stability. Once such stability is found it is important to seek out discomfort, otherwise complacency and weakness is sure to follow.

[masayuki]

“How satisfying it is to dismiss and block out any upsetting or foreign impression, and immediately to have peace in all things.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.2”

To me this means "ignore all irrelevant things". There's so many irrelevant things vying for our attention or outrage, it will exhaust you if you let it. In many ways I live under a rock. The things I have no influence over I don't worry about, and stay mostly ignorant of. But its true to the saying "ignorance is bliss". A cultivated ignorance is a good balance, knowing what is, and what isn't, worth paying attention to.

[kjv]

Interesting thread, I see it's not really "Daily" but here is todays,

“Many times an old man has no other evidence besides his age to prove he has lived a long time.”
—SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 3.8b”

Meaning spend your time wisely. Live life. Live life fully. Do not let the years pass you by being a wage-slave or wasting your time doing Genshin dailies.

Like most wisdom it seems obvious but the hard part is integrating that wisdom into our own lives.