I've been falling asleep to your podcasts since I was 17 years old. You've helped me discover so many philosophical ideas that I would've otherwise never encountered. Thanks for all that you do 🫡

Car broke down on the motorway a week ago. This podcast was helpful this week...

12:07 😂 You were missed, glad you're back!!!!

Hello Stephen, yours is the best short-form philosophy podcast I've come across.

Much love Steven! I originally came to your podcast because I was freshly riding the wave of Stoicism in 2020. My personal experience with this philosophy was originally keeping my emotions out of my choices but I was practically trying to be a “robot” in a sense, trying to rationalize some fairly odd behavior with reason without bringing in emotion. Now that I’m three years wiser, I learned that putting emotional perspective into my choices instead of my emotions controlling my actions had made me feel more complete in my day-to-day… all n all just wanted to show love for helping me out this early work morning, take care

Troy came out in 2004. Great episode! Thanks for the updated perspective on emotions in Stoicism. I also appreciate how you were able to weave in a new perspective on the social contract. Lots of great stuff in this episode!

Today, I was searching for some videos on KZfaq to practice my English listening skills because I'm trying to learn the language. I came across this particular video, and although I didn't understand 100% of what was said, I was able to grasp most of the main ideas thanks to your excellent diction and clarity when speaking. I, as non-native speakers, really appreciate that :). It was a great episode; I especially agree with the idea that modern philosophy should consider the best available scientific knowledge when it comes to understanding ourselves and the world around us.

Love your podcasts. I ve been bedridden and in and out of hospitals for the past two years and it helps keep my mind active. Your podcasts on deleuze were a great introduction and helped me get into him which now helps with my degree

I don't know Stoicism very deeply, but the understanding that I had of it, and the application of it that helped me was a lot, was more along the lines of: There are things that aren't worth ruminating on. It helped me cut way down on neurotic re imaginings. I slander people a hell of a lot less. ect. ect. I guess I mentally glossed over the whole "having the emotion at all in the first place is bad" part, probably because I wouldn't ascribe to it. I think there's a very important distinction between how we feel in the present and how we feel in the present about the past. Just found this channel, learning a lot, thanks!

I've delved into Nussbaum a little with her book "Hiding from Humanity". It's an interesting one because she targets disgust and its production of stigma. She concludes that disgust should not be a factor in morality in contemporary liberal societies because of how it has been associated with ostracism and prejudice against out-groups. However, a potential irony is that if disgust and tribalism are natural phenomena for humans, then trying to be rid of it or shove it away would be an instance of us hiding from our humanity. Fortunately, I think that disgust is a socially learned reaction and emotion, so it could be learned differently (although many in the biological and medical fields would disagree). I wonder how many other emotions are socially learned, like it seems that shame and guilt might be. How can you feel these emotions without having first been taught what a society considers right and proper? Maybe we moved beyond the tabula rasa idea too quickly. It's also interesting that Nussbaum seems to have made it a project to evaluate the emotions - which are good, which are bad, which can be tweaked or improved, which should be rejected. I'm unsure if anyone else has done it before in this way.

I didn't know Neo Stoics existed! But hearing this explanation really helps me feel more, well, compassionate towards the old and new version of this philosophy. Seriously, thank you for this. I originally followed because of your explanations of Byung-Chul Han, so glad to hear these podcasts of yours are willing to reference previous ones. It feels like a saga!

I've listened to all of your podcasts, all of R. Roderick's, and nearly all of M. Sugrue's and Staloff's. Theirs have been very well presented but often too abstract and esoteric (read professorial); yours are--by far--the most accessible to the average listener and, let's not forget ... fun! Bravo ... and thanks.

Hecuba was the wife of King Priam, as I recall...

This video opened my reasoning to a whole lot of things,I was personally weighed by my emotions always.After listening to this,it changed how I see things and people.I wish I came across You a while ago.

great to see your going back to ancient stoic and cynic philosophy.

Thank you so much for everything you do! I'm a huge fan. x

Love this. Missed you. Wishing you well

Glad to have you back Steven, been missing you!

"I actually can" - Immanuel Kant

I think that I have been asking myself questions and you have been answering them..

Glad to see you back!

Great episode, glad to see you back! 🎉❤

::handshake:: Dude, you're really smart like whoaaaaaaa.

Great episode Civvie! The fact that Strife is from 1996 is honestly mindblowing. Also, Beavis and Butthead clips are always welcome.

I like her ideas, sounds awefully familiar... something something to each according to their need

Thank you for all your hard work! I hope at some point you summarize the hundred schools of thought from early eastern philosophy 😊

Great to have you back, Stephen! Btw, Sam Harris did a podcast with Martha, and they clashed a little, don't know how much free time you have on your hands these days, but it was an intreresting conversation. Thanks for all the great content, you've been putting out for years now!

Hey man. Does this makes sense: all pursuits of meaning/goals are to distract ourselves from the thought of inevitable death. Therefore, all pursuits of meaning/goals are a cope. Only 1 goal is not a cope: pursuing immortality. Since it addresses the actual and only problem we are trying to avoid which is death.

Hope things are ok now. Was thinking the other day it's been a while since you had last posted. Glad your back and thanks for another great episode!

"The part of life we really live is small. For all the rest of existence is not life, but merely time." - Seneca

keep going ! love ur content

I never cease cracking up when seeing these silly , over-tatted post-modern stoics.

Emotions can suck/be annoying, but without them there's no point to anything beyond being a boring/bored hedonistic piece of sh*t

Just did a university philosophy assessment and now a new episode to celebrate lol

Our emotions make us truly alive. Use them as a tool to improve your circumstances in a kind and productive way. Compassion is the same thing as self interest for the wise.

"Feed me my bottle you pestilent swine!" I will find an excuse to use this somewhere.

Republicans and Jocko Willink say that, "If you help people by giving them money, you're really weakening and hurting them", but if that was true then Bangladesh and poor places should have the the strongest Olympians and the best business mogals, but it seems like that lack of aid to those countries weakens them. I think getting help and resources is preferable so long as people put them to good use, as opposed to making them tough it out on their own. "No one assends alone". (I could be wrong)

Compassion may not be painful in many ways. In our language, compassion is translated into caring rather than pain.

He's back! Hopefully, things are okay!

the more i listen to your stuff the more curious i am on your take on zizek...

they definitely WERE thinking about children....

Your voice is addiction

Ahem. FIRST!!!!

lol awesome channel, reason would say have no children at all tho guess that mother wasn't really thinking things through before she decided to Have more than one kid 😂

Martha is Queen , Queen of Lame Minds

the philosophy of the snowflake ❄️