Stoic Indifferents Explained: How to Want Without Suffering
About this episode
If only virtue is good, why does anything else matter? Why go to the gym, build a career, or plan for the future?
This is the question that confused me for about a year of reading Stoic texts, and the answer is one of the most useful distinctions in the whole philosophy.
In this episode I walk through two ancient Greek concepts, axia eklektike (selective value) and apaxia (disvalue), that explain how Stoics can prefer things without being wrecked by them. You will learn why indifferent does not mean do not care, how to tell the difference between rational preference and emotional attachment, and a simple question you can ask yourself today when anxiety creeps in.
If you have ever wondered how Stoicism avoids becoming cold or directionless, this is the episode.
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