Practicing a Stoic outlook everyday. New episodes arrive slowly, but they do arrive! Matt is the author of The Beginner's Guide to Stoicism. he/him
Portland, OR, USA
Joined November 2014
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Finally setting up an easy, one-stop spot for links to most of my accounts.
Link in bio. Also, right here. linktr.ee/imstoic
This could easily be an example leading into one of Epictetus's discourses
ALT Gabbie Hanna of @GabbieHanna tweets, "isn't it crazy how depending on your mental state you can either spill a glass of water and be like "HAHA OOPS CLUMSY ME" or spill a glass of water and be like "MY LIFE IS A FUCKING NIGHTMARE I DESTROY EVERYTHING I TOUCH NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE ME AND MY WET FUCKING FLOOR KILL ME"
Matthew J. Van Natta retweeted
I've got a big favor to ask!
If you've ever taken an academic class in which they used my videos, please let me know with a comment on this video. Same for instructors who use my videos in their classes. I'm trying to get some sense of how they get used
youtu.be/dbJDNQDV_i8 – at Milwaukee, WI
Matthew J. Van Natta retweeted
Massimo Pigliucci @mpigliucci wrote a great article in response to this comic talking about some of the worse forms of "bad stoicism":
figsinwinter.substack.com/p/…
Well worth the read.
Matthew J. Van Natta retweeted
Given the most recent misrepresentations of Stoicism that came out in the last few days, it might be time again to post this piece of reading recommendations for those who would like to actually understand what classic Stoics thought, taught, & lived by
medium.com/practical-rationa… – at Milwaukee, WI
Matthew J. Van Natta retweeted
I gave this talk "10 Stoic Stumbling Blocks" at the online Stoicon-X Norway in 2021. A lot of people interested in Stoicism get in their own way!
A thread about the topic, running through the transcript of the talk, which you can find here medium.com/practical-rationa… – at Milwaukee, WI
Foggy bike trip this morning. At points I had trouble seeing pedestrians that were on the same block as me. The fog was mixed with wildfire smoke, so I rode with a mask on again.
ALT Picture points down a fog covered street. Trees line both sides, there is a speed bump halfway up the road, and a street light can be seen casting light through the fog.
ALT Picture of a fog covered street before sunrise. Trees line both sides. Light for me. Street lamp can be seen at the farthest distance in the picture.
Matthew J. Van Natta retweeted
Teaching women to be fearful to the point that they feel as if sex is mandatory in order to keep themselves safe … Will not improve the character of men
Good thread on methods that can help support mental resilience
Cognitive reappraisal can rapidly and signficantly help you feel better during this pandemic. Your first reaction to this suggestion might be resentment; that's OK. This is still what works to help humans feel better. If you're ready, here's info: hks.harvard.edu/faculty-rese…
Matthew J. Van Natta retweeted
Someone just emailed me saying this article was the first thing they've read that really addresses how Stoic philosophy contradicts Jordan Peterson's writings and the problems Stoicism seems to highlight in his way of thinking, especially regarding anger.
medium.com/stoicism-philosop… – at Dearborn, MI
Wildfire smoke is moving into Portland and the wind is blowing pollen out of the trees so I was happy to have my @flo_mask while biking home from work.
ALT Selfie of a man wearing a bike helmet and also an air filtering mask.
Matthew J. Van Natta retweeted
trying to cheat on my philosophy final by texting my friend who took it last year: “hey man, how ought one to live”
In an upcoming book I used giving up a seat for someone in greater need as an example of basic decency but maybe I should have listed it as exceptional?
I haven't sent it off yet, but I just put the finishing touches on what will be my third book through Althea Press. It's taken all my after-work evenings and my weekends for quite a while, so it feels very good to be at a stage where time will open up again.
Matthew J. Van Natta retweeted
“I’m very concerned that our society is much more concerned with information than wonder, in noise rather than silence. How do we encourage reflection? … Oh my, this is a noisy world.”
Matthew J. Van Natta retweeted
If you need a little rational love in your life and you're looking for a guided meditation, I created one just for you!
youtube.com/watch?v=epjspt4x…
By the way, this is the first guided meditation I've ever done, so please let me know if you like it or have suggestions.
Matthew J. Van Natta retweeted
We must invest our hopes not in the things that happen, but in our capacities to face them as human beings.
-Keith Seddon, "Epictetus' Handbook and the Tablet of Cebes" p 59 (in commentary concerning Charter 8 of the Handbook)
Does anyone have any favorite, and short, Stoic quotes that you think aren't commonly known? I mean lines from actual practicing Stoics, ancient or modern. Not quotes that can be simply read AS Stoic.
Stoic practice exists to reshape our beliefs, each exercise requires active attention to Stoic principles and to our reaction to those principles. Without this, the exercises are Stoically meaningless.