The day is August 2nd, 1964. The destroyer USS Maddox has been sent on a mission near the coast of North Vietnam, in the Gulf of Tonkin, with the express purpose of provoking an armed response. Which it did. The outcome of the brief encounter was four dead and six wounded North Vietnamese sailors. No American casualties. The Johnson administration will later falsely claim that the confrontation was unprovoked and that it occurred in international waters.

Lyndon Johnson was up for reelection that year, and he wanted to escalate things in Vietnam to be seen as tough on communism. Apparently…

Nobody enjoys hardship. Or, at least, that’s what people are likely to say if asked: do you prefer to work hard or to dedicate yourself to some pleasure? But the issue is only superficially so straightforward. Let me prove to you right here that sometimes people prefer hardship to pleasure.

Consider again the question I have just posed: do you prefer to work hard or to dedicate yourself to some pleasure? The answer will depend on what kind of work and for what purpose I would have to carry it out, as well as on what sort of pleasure we…

Have you ever made a concept map? If not, you may be missing out on one of the most widely used and effective learning tools available today. A concept map is a diagram that helps you visualize your own understanding of whatever subject matter you happen to be interested in.

Although concept mapping can be done in a variety of ways, the typical structure begins with a core concept at the center top of the diagram. A number of high-level sub-concepts are then connected to the central one by arrows, often with words that help specify how the connections works…

Mark Manson, the author of the best-seller The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, has finally made it clear: he is not a Stoic. Indeed, he is annoyed by the number of people who read his books and come away with the notion that they are basically about Stoicism, with the addition of “a couple of cool stories and F-bombs thrown in to spice things up” (his words).

In an essay he posted on his web site, Manson details what he finds to be right about Stoicism, what he thinks is wrong, and why he prefers an eclectic approach…

As regular readers know very well, one of the foundational passages in ancient Stoic literature is found right at the beginning of Epictetus’ Manual:

Some things are up to us, while others are not. Up to us are opinion, motivation, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is of our own doing; not up to us are our body, our property, reputation, office, and, in a word, whatever is not of our own doing. (Enchiridion 1.1)

The passage introduces what is often called the dichotomy of control, though it should probably be renamed the dichotomy of responsibility, or the dichotomy…

In the “Critique of Pure Reason,” Immanuel Kant writes that “all the interests of my reason,” theoretical as well as practical, boil down to just three questions: “What can I know?” “What ought I do?” and “What can I hope for?” In these three questions, Kant delineated the whole scope of philosophical thought. (h/t to Tom Whyman for reminding me of this)

I don’t fancy myself a Kant, and in fact, I never warmed up to that particular philosopher, as brilliant and influential as he undoubtedly was. But when I encounter something like the above I can’t help but looking…

J. writes: I have recently learned that my father has moderate Alzheimer’s dementia. Having watched multiple family members die from this, I know there is the potential for a long, difficult road ahead. Do you have any writings related to this, or can you point me in the direction of some Stoic literature related to the topic? …

The time is 1979. The place Rome. I am a 15 year old who is participating in a sit-in organized by one of the anarchic factions of my decidedly left-leaning high school. A variety of topics are under discussion, ranging form American imperialism to the latest terrorist attack by the (ultra leftist) “Brigate Rosse” (Red Brigades). I am not myself a committed leftist, coming from a family whose political opinions range from none at all to moderate-boring to positively apologetic of fascism. But I am curious to see why my friends attend these sit-ins, so I go.

There are some…