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Plutarch

A Parable of Contentment and Happiness

“Who is rich? He who is satisfied with his lot.” — Ben Zoma *** A short parable on contentment today, from Plutarch’s Life of Pyrrhus, one of a series of biographies by the great …

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Bias from Association: Why We Shoot the Messenger

We automatically connect a stimulus (thing/person) with pain (fear) or pleasure (hope). As pleasure seeking animals, we seek out positive associations and attempt to remove negative ones. This happens …

Continue readingBias from Association: Why We Shoot the Messenger

The Stoic Reading List: Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus and More

You know the section of the book after the last chapter? The one that everyone ignores? That’s one of the first things I read as part of a systematic skimming, which allows me to get a feel for …

Continue readingThe Stoic Reading List: Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus and More

On Listening

Immediately to lash out in retaliation, however, and neither to listen nor be listened to, but to speak while being spoken to, is scandalous; on the other hand anyone who has acquired the ability to …

Continue readingOn Listening

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