Tag: stoics

• Quotes Relating to Reading, Learning and Truth

  Whilst they maybe a few notiable exceptions, reading is essential to our growth.

  Marcus Aurelius (121-180 BCE) was the Roman emperor from 161 to 180 at the time when the Roman empire was at its peak. He was a Stoic philosopher and a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors. There were not many good Roman Emporers.

  He could read and write Greek. In his book Mediations which is still read by many as a guide to great leadership. This book was intended for his personal use only.

  One memorable quote (of many) is:

  Do what nature demands. Get a move on - if you have it within you  - and do not worry whether anyone will give you credit for it. And do not go expecting Plato's Republic; be satisfied with even the smallest progress, and treat the outcome of it all as unimportant. Book 9-29

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  11 May 2026

• Historical Advocates of Plant Based Diets

  Whilst they are in the minority of the general population, there have been advocates for diets devoid of animal products for centuries in populations such as ancient Rome and the Italian Renaissance.

  In The Republic, Book 2, Plato describes a “rustic picture” of a way of life. The inhabitants “spend their days in houses which they have built for themselves; they make their own clothes and produce their own corn and wine. Their principal food is barley-meal and flour of wheat, and they drink in moderation. They live on the best of terms with each other, and take care not to have too many children. […] They will have salt and olives and cheese, vegetables and fruits, and chestnuts to roast at the fire.”

  Plato continues that those “who want the comforts of life”, will create a state where “living in this way we shall have much greater need of physicians than before. […] Then a slice of our neighbours’ land will be wanted by us for pasture and tillage, and they will want a slice of ours.”

  Sotion of Alexandria was a 1st-century Roman stoic philosopher who is best known as a teacher of Seneca the Younger.

  Sotion believed that avoiding animal flesh was beneficial for the soul and body and that killing of animals is immoral.

  Some 500 years later, in Plutarch’s Morals. Vol. V, Plutarch writes at great length against the mistreatment, exploitation and killing of animals.

  “But for the sake of some little mouthful of flesh, we deprive a soul of the sun and light, and of that proportion of life and time it had been born into the world to enjoy.”

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  20 January 2026

• Pop Psychology, Alice and the Concept of Evil

  Pop psychology has a habit of taking ideas from psychology and science and transforming them into half-truths – ideas that can be simplistic and misleading.

  Some examples include ego and intuition.

  With the help of Alice (from Alice Through the Looking Glass), we will also explore the concept of EVIL.

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  19 March 2021