Episode 66 | William B. Irvine: A Guide to the Good Life (Stoicism and Stoic Exercises)

The Social Exchange

William B Irvine speaks with Zach Rhoads about his philosophy of life, stoicism, and he offers exercises for stoic practice (as per his popular books "A Guide to the Good Life", "The Stoic Challenge," and others).

Some relevant discussion topics from todays' episode:

- William's stumbling across (and landing on) Stoicism by way of Buddhism and a philosophy of life.

- A history of stoicism

- Tranquility and savoring life (the meaning of "a good life")

- Evolution, psychology, and human nature--- and how stoicism accepts and transcends these things. '

- Applied Stoicism (a view from above; negative visualization; voluntary discomfort)

- The caricature of the emotionless stoic

- The limitations of stoicism

- Cognitive behavioral therapies and addiction. And more topics .

I hope you'll enjoy episode 66!

(NOTE: Professor Irvine and I have disagreements about the fundamentals of drug addiction. We were short of time and it didn't feel worth our time (nor would it have been fruitful in the final minutes of our discussion) to debate these fundamentals, but perhaps this can be the topic of a future episode.

You can learn more about my views on drugs and addiction here: https://lifeprocessprogram.com

----------------------ABOUT TODAY'S GUEST--------------------------

Besides writing several books about stoicism and the philosophy of life, William Irvine is a philosophy professor at Wright State University. He has also written for the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Salon, Time, and the BBC, and appeared on podcasts such as The David Pakman Show, Happiness Lab and Sam Harris' "Waking Up" podcast (and several others).

You can find links to all of William Irvine's work at his web site: https://www.williambirvine.com/

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