A Field Guide to a Happy Life — Massimo Pigliucci
Main Take-Aways
- The only things truly yours are those that are entirely up to you. Everything else is on loan from the universe, and the universe may recall such loans at a moment’s notice, in any number of ways.
- Do not get upset. Instead, say to yourself, “This is the small price I pay in order to keep my inner peace and harmony with others.”
- Your freedom is in your hands: desire only what is up to you and be adverse only to things you can change for the better.
- Accept what happens with equanimity, because it is natural that it happens, and because it is in your power to decide how to react.
- Nothing in the world is evil, or for that matter, good. The world just is. It is up to you to decide what to do with whatever comes our way.
- You always have the option to remain silent.
- Instead of pontificating, act according to what you learned. That will be far more impressive.
- Be careful not to vomit in front of others some undigested principles, just so you can impress people. Instead, digest those principles slowly and surely, so they may result in what really matters: better behavior on your part
Part I – Betting on the Philosopher-Slave
- Stoicism will remain one of our most powerful tools for enduring life’s inevitable setbacks and for enjoying more deeply life’s many gifts–if we use humility and wisdom as our guides.
- Fundamental axiom of Stoicism: a good human life, what the ancients called a eudaemonic life, is one that is lived by applying reason to the betterment of society.
- One way to think and act like a Stoic is by using the four cardinal virtues:
- Practical Wisdom – The only think that is good is virtue, or excellence of character, and the only thing that is bad is vice, or defect of character. Everything else is “indifferent”.
- Courage
- Justice
- Temperance
- We are in charge only and exclusively of our deliberate judgments, our endorsed opinions and values, and our decisions to act or not. Nothing else.
- We need to cultivate the wisdom to be able to distinguish between what is and what is not under our control, the courage to tackle the first, and the equanimity to accept the second.
- Equanimity towards outcomes is the only reasonable attitude to cultivate.
- The Three Stoic Disciplines
- The discipline of Desire and Aversion.
- The discipline of Action.
- The discipline of Assent.
Part II – The Field Guide
- The only things truly yours are those that are entirely up to you. Everything else is on loan from the universe, and the universe may recall such loans at a moment’s notice, in any number of ways.
- If you focus your efforts on what is up to you, you will go through life with serenity, approaching all that comes with equanimity, never envying anyone, and never being disappointed by the turning of the cosmos.
- Shift your goals from the external to the internal. Your objective is not to hit the target, but to deliver the best shot of which you are capable.
- If a loved one dies before you do, tell yourself, “I have known all along that one of us had to go first, I am thankful of every moment I spent with them.
- What is actually yours then? The proper use, through your considerate judgement, of what life loans to you.
- Remember that for anything that happens to you, you will find the resources within you to deal with it.
- Do not get upset. Instead, say to yourself, “This is the small price I pay in order to keep my inner peace and harmony with others.”
- In general, if you wish people to be different from what they are, you are a fool.
- Your freedom is in your hands: desire only what is up to you and be adverse only to things you can change for the better.
- Touch everything lightly, enjoy it while it is within your reach, and do not regret when it is gone, since that is the nature of things.
- No matter what the universe has in store for you, it is up to you to make the best of it. Let it, therefore, happen as it may; you are ready.
- Your true country is the whole of the human cosmopolis, and that is where your first allegiance should lie.
- So, you did not get invited to a certain dinner party, or to be a member of a certain circle of people. If these are good things, then be happy that someone else got it and wish them luck. If they are not good things, then why are you complaining?
- You did not wish to pay the price and you wish to be admitted?
- Accept what happens with equanimity, because it is natural that it happens, and because it is in your power to decide how to react.
- Nothing in the world is evil, or for that matter, good. The world just is. It is up to you to decide what to do with whatever comes our way.
- Be a philosopher, not one of the crowd.
- It is your duty to act virtuously, regardless of whether your actions will turn out to your advantage or not.
- You always have the option to remain silent.
- Refuse, whenever possible, to take oaths. You need to reserve for yourself the option to arrive at your own judgement about things.
- Seek virtuous company, and be virtuous company.
- If someone speaks badly about you, or does not treat you right, you are not the one who suffers, unless you allow it.
- Most of the time, simply abstaining from judgement will actually be the better course.
- Instead of pontificating, act according to what you learned. That will be far more impressive.
- Be careful not to vomit in front of others some undigested principles, just so you can impress people. Instead, digest those principles slowly and surely, so they may result in what really matters: better behavior on your part
- The only thing to be proud of is your practice, day after day.
Part III – Stoicism 2.0
- In a sense, the Stoic philosophical recipe boils down to this equation:
- Logic + Physics = Ethics