Category: Seneca
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Seneca on how to live a good life
Since the mid-twentieth century, many philosophers are not employing the term “happiness” any more in their goal setting. They do no longer preach that happiness is the goal of human life because, I guess, they find it unattainable. Instead of happiness, they are employing the term “the good life” as something that philosophy can reasonably…
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Seneca: tranquillity in extreme situations
Philosophy becomes more convincing when it’s subjected to the test of extreme adversity. In order to gain wide acceptance, theoretical discussions need to be validated by experience, preferably on multiple occasions. Seneca came up with a compelling recipe for achieving peace of mind in times of turmoil; he told his readers to accept the inevitable,…
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Seneca’s specific advice on tranquillity
Although imperfect, the philosophy developed by Seneca concerning peace of mind is worth studying. It has been practised by thousands of people across the centuries, and still today, can prompt us to improve our lifestyle. Seneca believed that adversity, if faced properly, can help us become emotionally stronger. The difficult question, however, is how to…
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Seneca’s philosophy of tranquillity
It would be great if I could affirm that Seneca figured out the key to tranquillity. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. He did deploy extensive efforts in this area, especially in his treatise “On the Tranquillity of the Mind,” but he failed to identify a valid formula for peace of mind. Nonetheless, I find it…
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Seneca on the meaning of life
I find it unfortunate that most people will only inquire about the meaning of life when they are out of time. After making all sorts of mistakes and finding oneself in lethal danger, it doesn’t make a lot of difference whether you know the meaning of life. When the time is over, it is too…
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Seneca’s simple formula for happiness
I have a simple way to assess the soundness of philosophers and gurus. I just need to ask them one question: What is your formula for happiness? If they fail to give a convincing answer, I will immediately lose any interest in their doctrines. Seneca placed peace of mind at the centre of his philosophy.…
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Seneca on living without regrets
Living without regret is a crucial element of happiness, but it is easier said than done. Seneca devoted many pages to this subject because he was aware of the difficulty. It’s far from self-evident to let go of past mistakes, setbacks and defeats. Seneca devoted his essay “On Clemence” to praising the benefits of leniency…
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Seneca’s best advice on happiness
Although Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) never developed a solidly integrated philosophy of happiness, he did gain some insights that we can apply today. Those insights are based on common sense and have been proven true by the experience of twenty one centuries. Seneca noted that low-key, down-to-earth individuals tend to be happier than ultra-ambitious, bombastic,…
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Seneca on happiness
When it comes to happiness, I can summarise the ideas of Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) in a few words: On this subject, Seneca knew little, learned nothing, and could not care less. In fact, only his essay “On the Happy Life” revolves primarily around this goal, and the means to attain it. Am I being…
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Seneca’s errors about time management
Despite his remarkable philosophical and literary skills, the Roman author Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) made grievous mistakes in his approach to time management. I find it important to look at his mistakes because many people keep making those more than twenty centuries after Seneca’s death. What’s the underlying problem in Seneca’s errors about time management?…
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