"Nothing has happened which was not going to be, and likewise nothing is going to be of which nature does not contain causes working to bring that very thing about." The Stoics believed that we were responsible for our actions and that every action was fated. In this conversation, Michael explains how they made sense of those two ideas. We cover determinism, freewill, and moral responsibility in Stoicism. (00:54) Introduction (04:41) The Lazy Argument (07:03) Stoic Physics (15:56) The Argument f...
Nov 07, 2023•51 min
In this conversation, Caleb speaks with Jeremy Reid. Jeremy is an Assistant Professor in Philosophy at San Francisco State University. They talk about anger and forgiveness, using his excellent paper “Stoic Forgiveness” as a launching off point. This is an excellent conversation for understanding the Stoic view of anger and enriching it with their practical and compassionate take on forgiveness. Highly recommended. https://jeremywreid.weebly.com/ (00:30) Stoics on Anger (11:13) Why Do We Get Ang...
Nov 03, 2023•1 hr 10 min
“And what are we by nature? We are free, honorable, and self-respecting. After all, does any other animal blush or feel shame?” The fear of social disgrace, shame, can prevent us from living well. Yet, the Stoics argued that there’s a related emotion, a kind of self-respect, that can help us live more freely. In this conversation, Caleb and Michael discuss both. (00:06) Introduction (04:48) Shame as a Passion (15:47) Positive Shame? (17:19) The Role of Our Self-Image (25:40) Everyone's Guardian ...
Oct 31, 2023•50 min
“This day will end like all others.” “And after that?” In this conversation, Caleb speaks with Zena Hitz about her recent book “A philosopher looks at the religious life.” They discuss meaning, Christianity, and Stoicism. https://catherineproject.org/ (01:10) Wholeheartedness (06:59) Meaning (14:18) Abandonment (17:45) Devotion and Role Ethics (30:08) Service and Happiness (40:32) Freedom (44:33) Nietzsche *** Subscribe to The Stoa Letter for weekly meditations, actions, and links to the best St...
Oct 27, 2023•50 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael “It’s worse to be the thief, than the person who has their things stolen from them” In this conversation, Michael and Caleb talk about how Stoics think about anger, revenge, and justice. They cover common philosophical views of punishment – and note where the Stoics would disagree. This topic is important in many areas of our lives. It's about how we handle situations when someone ha...
Oct 24, 2023•54 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Caleb Ontiveros speaks with Dr. Steven C. Hayes , the originator of acceptance commitment therapy. Acceptance commitment therapy deeply influenced our programs at Stoa, so this discussion was an honor. In this wide ranging conversation, we cover how Steven thinks about “negative emotions” and cultivating wisdom in our technological age. A Liberated Mind (00:58) Introduction (04:51) W...
Oct 20, 2023•59 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael In this conversation, Caleb and Michael discuss the discipline of action. (02:30) Introduction (03:51) The Discipline of Action (08:16) Indifferents (12:59) Acceptance and Justice (19:54) The Seriousness of Action (27:05) The Sage (30:01) Choosing Between Indifferents (31:52) Reserve Clause (42:37) Praemeditatio Malorum (46:13) Clarify Your Roles (49:21) Challenges (56:09) Managing D...
Oct 17, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael In this conversation, I speak with Noah Rasheta about Buddhism. We talk about the key tenets of Buddhism, meditation, and even who shouldn’t be Buddhist. Noah has a clear and focused approach to Buddhism that I think you’ll find useful – whether or not you’re familiar with the philosophy. https://secularbuddhism.com/ (01:56) Introduction (03:56) Becoming Buddhist (05:19) Why Do We Su...
Oct 13, 2023•57 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael “ Would you have a great empire? Rule over yourself” In this conversation, Michael and Caleb discuss the Stoic discipline of desire. (02:05) Introduction (10:41) Mastering Desire (13:21) Stoic Theory of Happiness (15:43) Beginner vs Advanced (19:00) Love for Universal Nature (21:00) Mindfulness (25:37) Reinterpretation (28:26) Amor Fati (31:15) Attention (38:35) Circumscribing the Pr...
Oct 10, 2023•54 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael In this conversation Caleb speaks with Alexandra Hudson, the founder of Civic Renaissance and author of The Soul of Civility . They discuss why politeness is overrated, the Stoic theory of political change, numerous contemporary and classical role models – intellectual and political theory, and what it means to be a good citizen in the modern age. Pre-order The Soul of Civility (03:0...
Oct 06, 2023•50 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: stoameditation.com/course “The discipline of assent consists essentially in refusing to accept within oneself all representations which are other than objective or adequate.” In this conversation, Caleb and Michael discuss the discipline of judgement (also called the discipline of assent). It's all about how to think like a Stoic. (01:48) Introduction (07:49) Significance (14:30) Lines from Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus (19:32) Th...
Oct 03, 2023•54 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven Have you thought about the Roman Republic today? In this conversation, Caleb speaks with Josiah Osgood , a professor of classics and author of Uncommon Wrath: How Caesar and Cato’s Deadly Rivalry Destroyed the Roman Republic . They discuss Cato the Younger, Julius Caesar, and the lessons we can take from both men. (02:21) Cato's Rome (07:30) The Young Caesar and Cat...
Sep 29, 2023•55 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven This conversation covers the key ideas of Buddhism and compares it with Stoicism. This will be the first of many more conversations. We thought it was important to start with a 101. (01:49) Introduction (06:36) The Founding Parable (14:33) The 4 Noble Truths (20:07) The Middle Way (31:39) Buddhist Evolution (40:17) Stoicism vs Buddhism: Similarities (48:10) Stoicism...
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr 6 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven “If a text is not offensive to anyone, it probably isn't very important.” In this conversation, Caleb speaks with Jeremy Wayne Tate, the Co-founder and President of the Classic Learning Test . The Classic Learning Test is bringing back a focus on educating the whole human person by focusing on the great works and fundamental philosophical questions about how to live...
Sep 22, 2023•27 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven Does Contemporary psychology overlap with Stoic philosophy? In this episode, Michael and Caleb go through Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. It’s a seminal book in modern cognitive psychology and behavioral economics. Most importantly for our purposes, it’s discussion of two key thinking styles, can deepen one’s knowledge of Stoicism and, potentially, help ...
Sep 19, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven "Happiness, as the goal of life, can be understood as the highest expression of human nature, as encapsulating the chief markers of humanity at its best, namely rationality and sociability." In this conversation, I (Caleb) speak with Chris Gill. We kick off the conversation with topics from his most recent book Learning to Live Naturally: Stoic Ethics and its Modern...
Sep 15, 2023•50 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven What does a Stoic eat? How does a Stoic think about food? That's what Caleb and Michael discuss in this episode. Citing all 4 of the Roman Stoics, they cover how ancient Stoics thought about food and how that can shape our behavior today. (01:56) Intro (05:06) Musonius Rufus on Food (14:05) The Social Role of Food (19:09) Seneca on Food (24:53) Mythbusting (28:00) W...
Sep 12, 2023•47 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven “Iron sharpens iron” In this conversation, Michael speaks with Gregory Sadler. Greg is the Founder and President of ReasonIO , a company dedicated to making resources of contemporary and classical philosophy available and accessible to non-philosophers. I first encountered Greg through his popular YouTube channel , which has hundreds of videos breaking down the thin...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven The best skiers don’t study ancient skiers. The best physicists don’t turn to Ancient Greece in order to push their field forward. So why should philosophers look back at the work of the ancients? In this episode, Caleb and Michael wrestle with that question. Their answers may surprise you. (02:11) The Argument Against Studying Ancient Philosophy (07:00) Who is Actu...
Sep 05, 2023•43 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven “The central theme of Seneca’s tragedies is how to endure a world in which there is no justice, no safety, no guarantees—political or divine—of human dignity.” For this episode, I went to Sonoma County, California to speak with the poet Dana Gioia. Seneca was a brilliant philosopher and statesman, but not many know he was also a world-class playwright. Dana Gioia is...
Sep 01, 2023•1 hr 32 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven "They say that love is an effort to form a friendship because of an impression of beauty in young persons at their prime..." In this conversation, Caleb and Michael talk about the Stoics on eros and romantic love. First, they cover how the Stoics saw the nature of romantic love. Then, they look at what advice they have for us today. Finally, they end on the topic of...
Aug 29, 2023•52 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven In this conversation, Caleb speaks with Dr. Randolph Nesse. Randolph is the author of Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry. His work focuses on answering fundamental questions like why humans get sick and why we experience anxiety from an evolutionary perspective. This is an essential conversation for understanding the...
Aug 25, 2023•48 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven “Must I be wasting my time sitting in a corner when I might have been crowned at Olympia?” In this conversation, we discuss failure, how to avoid it, and how to deal with it when it happens. We end by revealing personal experiences with failure. “And what advantage does a wrestler gain from his training partner? The greatest.” (01:57) Introduction (10:40) How To Avo...
Aug 22, 2023•1 hr 2 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven Catherine Wilson is a Professor of Philosophy, currently at the City University of New York. She is the author of How to Be an Epicurean: The Ancient Art of Living Well , which covers Epicureanism, an ancient philosophy, as a way of life. In this conversation Michael and Catherine cover the basics of Epicureanism, a philosophical alternative to Stoicism based on min...
Aug 18, 2023•51 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven In this conversation, we review Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman’s Lives of the Stoics , focusing on their accounts of the big three Roman Stoics: Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. This is a great episode for getting a sense of the lives of key figures we talk about. Stoicism Applied course (02:54) Introduction (08:39) Seneca the Striver (24:00) Epictetus th...
Aug 15, 2023•52 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven Today’s Stoic revival is the second one. The first resurgence of Stoicism actually happened during the Renaissance. In this podcast, David Fideler and I discuss what Modern Stoics today can learn from the Renaissance Humanists. It’s a conversation that touches on history, education, and virtue ethics. It should be of interest to anyone who wants to increase the infl...
Aug 11, 2023•49 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven “You are mortal.” So whispered the slaves of triumphant Roman generals as they celebrated their return in a glorious parade. In this episode we discuss memento mori: Remembering the fact that you will die in order to live well. We discuss the Stoic view of death and why they argued that one should always keep death in mind. We end by summarizing the benefits and ris...
Aug 08, 2023•53 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven In this conversation, Caleb speaks with the investor, author, and philosopher Michael Gibson . You’ll hear why Michael thinks novelists are the successors of Plato, what some of the key entrepreneurial virtues he looks for are, how a philosopher like him ended up managing a sizable venture capitalist fund, and what his criticisms are of Stoicism in Silicon Valley. S...
Aug 04, 2023•53 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven In this conversation, Michael and Caleb talk about philosophy graduate school. We discuss the good, bad, and interesting. You’ll learn why we think it’s awesome, but fewer people should go to graduate school and whether we’d do the experience again. (01:31) Our Academic Stories (07:45) Logic in the Academy (12:52) Getting Paid $$$ (18:15) Custodians of Civilization ...
Aug 01, 2023•57 min
Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven In this discussion, Caleb speaks with Leo Konstantakos. Leo a veteran, professor of international relations and co-author of Being Better: Stoicism for a World Worth Living In. We cover how Leo came to see Socrates in a different light, Stoicism in ancient Sparta, and how the ancients viewed justice differently. We also lightly spar over whether someone can or shoul...
Jul 28, 2023•58 min
