Book of the Week: A Guide to the Good Life
12 Sep 2016
This week I read A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine, because I wanted to find out if my life is wasted or not. Doesn’t everybody want the good life? Everyone needs a philosophy for life just like they need an investment policy statement. The book says that we have historically thought of stoicism in the wrong way and they are people who actually get joy out of life. The Greeks created schools of philosophy and the Romans marketed Stoicism to make it more attractive. Ancient ascetics are like modern day homeless people or is that the other way around. If you want to modernize Stoicism, just replace the explanations that invoke Zeus with evolution and you’ll be fine. After reading this book, you can enjoy the good life as a stoic, but don’t tell anyone about it. It is easier to practice Stoicism in stealth. Stoic Psychological Techniques
Around the world and throughout the millennia, those who have thought carefully about the workings of desire have recognized this—that the easiest way for us to gain happiness is to learn how to want the things we already have.
Negative visualization - Think about the bad shit that can happen. There’s a difference between contemplating and worrying. Just think about it for a little bit and bring yourself back to where you are now. You come back with more appreciation of what you currently have. I’m still alive and that’s great! The Trichotomy of Control - Things fall into three categories, things you have complete control over, things you have some control over and things you have no control over. You should have internal goals rather than external goals, because internal goals are things you have control over. Winning a race is external, but getting up at 6 AM every morning to do your best effort is internal. Fatalism - fatalistic with respect to the past and present, but not the future. Shit happens, don’t dwell on what could have been. Self-denial - willpower is a muscle that needs to be exercised. practice poverty. Seeking voluntary discomfort helps build up immunity to make you more resilient in the future. If you practice poverty, then when you finally are poor, it isn’t so bad. Fast for a day and when you’re hungry, it isn’t so bad. Mediation - self-reflection helps you make progress, because nobody is perfect. If you are willing to publish, you need to be willing to tolerate criticism. Stoic Advice
Sexual intercourse has never done a man good, and he is lucky if it has not harmed him. —Epicurus
The ancient philosophers gave lot of life advice. Do not seek fame or fortune, but it is okay if you obtain it. Other people are sources of joy and sorrow. A lot about life is about interacting with people. One way to control sexual urges is by decomposing things into their elements (lungs, excrement, phlegm, pus, and spittle). It is more effective than thinking about baseball. A stoic should be indifferent to both praise and insults. They think about the impermanence of the world and how some things don’t matter. They value their freedom and practice their right to die. Death panelsGlorious sunsets are okay. Happiness
People are unhappy, the Stoics argue, in large part because they are confused about what is valuable.
Politicians will tell you that if you’re unhappy, it is not your fault. It is the illegal immigrants. It is the free trade agreement that moved jobs overseas. It is the rich people hoarding all the wealth. It is government taxing you. It is the people who have a different skin color. It is the people who practice a different religion. It is the people who speak a different language. It is the ovarian lottery. It is the banks. It is big pharma. It is the Russians. It is the women who want equal pay. It is the alcohol-infused Stanford party culture. It is the white guy telling you how to eat Pho. It is the racist white girl, take your pick. It is the damn educated people. It is uneducated. It is the gun lobby. It is the homeless. It is the silicon valley workers. It is the hipsters, who have no culture of their own. It is the entitled youth. The unhappiest people never ask, is it me?