Questions

All questions 36

• Why does Marcus Aurelius say death at its proper time is not an evil?

  A look at how Marcus Aurelius reasons from the nature of activity itself to the conclusion that a life's ending, when it comes in season, is not a harm.

• What does Marcus Aurelius say about anger being a form of weakness?

  Marcus Aurelius argues that anger is not strength but a kind of surrender, and that mildness is the truly manly quality.

• What does Marcus Aurelius say actually disturbs us, if not other people's acts?

  Marcus Aurelius locates the source of anger and grief not in what others do but in the judgments we form about it.

• What are Marcus Aurelius's nine or ten rules for dealing with someone who offends you?

  A walk through the nine considerations Marcus lists in Meditations 11.18 for facing someone who has wronged you.

• Why does Marcus Aurelius say wrongdoers act involuntarily?

  A look at how Marcus Aurelius grounds patience with others in the Stoic claim that no one does wrong on purpose.

• What is the ruling faculty and why does Marcus Aurelius call it invincible?

  A look at Meditations 8.48, where Marcus argues that the mind which wants only what it chooses cannot be beaten.

• How should you respond to someone who wrongs you, according to Marcus Aurelius?

  Marcus Aurelius argues that expecting wrongdoers not to exist is expecting the impossible, and that this recognition should make you milder toward the person who wronged you, not angrier.

• What does Marcus Aurelius mean when he says trouble is in your opinions, not outside you?

  A look at Meditations 9.13, where Marcus locates all his trouble not in events but in his own judgments about them.

• What does Marcus Aurelius say about being a part of the whole universe?

  Marcus Aurelius argues that seeing yourself as a part of the whole universe changes what you expect from life and how you treat other people.

• What does Marcus Aurelius say about the natural sympathy binding rational beings together?

  Marcus Aurelius argues that rational beings share one intelligent soul, the way all living things share one air and one light.

• How does Marcus Aurelius say we should relate to our own opinions to avoid pain?

  Marcus Aurelius traces the sting of pain back to the judgment we add to it, and shows what changes when we withdraw that judgment.

• What does Marcus Aurelius say about facing death naturally?

  Marcus Aurelius treats death as one more operation of nature, not a catastrophe, and asks you to wait for it the way you would wait for any other natural change.

• What does Marcus Aurelius mean by sticking to the first appearances?

  Learn why Marcus Aurelius told himself to report only what he saw, not the judgments he added to it.

• What does Marcus Aurelius say is the only true good for a human being?

  A look at Marcus Aurelius's claim that the only good for a person is character itself, and why he places justice, temperance, courage and freedom above everything external.

• What does Marcus Aurelius mean when he says the ruling faculty cannot disturb itself?

  A look at Meditations 7.16, where Marcus locates fear and pain not in events but in the judgments the mind makes about them.

• How does Marcus Aurelius use memento mori to curb desire for fame?

  A look at how Marcus turns the thought of death into a cure for caring what other people think of you.

• What does Marcus Aurelius say about the gods and providence in Meditations 6.44?

  A look at how Marcus builds a fourfold argument that leaves you secure whether or not the gods personally attend to you.

• What is Marcus Aurelius's practice of remembering death and forgotten fame?

  Learn how Marcus Aurelius used the fact that even famous names are forgotten to focus his attention on living well now.

• How does Marcus Aurelius distinguish real goods from what most people think is good?

  A look at how Marcus Aurelius uses a simple test, what you are still willing to hear, to expose the difference between real goods and popular ones.

• What does Marcus Aurelius say is truly indifferent versus in our power?

  Marcus Aurelius draws the line between what your mind does and what merely happens to you, and only the first counts as truly yours.

• How does Marcus Aurelius describe death in the Meditations?

  A look at how Marcus treats dying, not as an evil to fear, but as one more act of life to be done well.

• How does Marcus Aurelius explain suffering as prescribed by nature, like a doctor's remedy?

  Marcus Aurelius compares what nature brings you to a doctor's prescription: unwelcome, but fitted to your good.

• What does Marcus Aurelius say about death being natural rather than shameful?

  A look at how Marcus Aurelius argues that death is a natural process, not a disgrace, and why that reframing matters.

• What does Marcus Aurelius mean when he says things themselves do not touch the soul?

  A line from Meditations 5.19 on why events cannot reach your mind, and only your own judgments can.

• What does Marcus Aurelius mean by retreating into yourself for tranquility?

  Marcus Aurelius says the retreat people chase in the country or by the sea is available anytime, in your own mind.

• What does Marcus Aurelius mean by calling the universe a political community?

  A look at Marcus Aurelius's argument that shared reason makes all rational beings fellow citizens of one world state.

• According to Marcus Aurelius, what is the real source of feeling harmed?

  Marcus Aurelius locates harm not in events but in the judgment you form about them.

• How does Marcus Aurelius argue that only the present can be lost?

  A look at the logic behind Meditations 2.14: why you cannot lose the past or future, only the moment you are living now.

• Why does Marcus Aurelius say a man should not compete praise, power or pleasure with virtue?

  Learn why Marcus Aurelius refuses to let praise, power, or pleasure enter the same contest as the good functioning of the rational mind.

• What is Marcus Aurelius's method for analyzing impressions and events?

  A look at the method Marcus Aurelius uses in the Meditations to strip an impression down to what it actually is.

• How does Marcus Aurelius use the idea of imminent death to guide daily action?

  A look at how Marcus Aurelius uses the thought of death, not as dread but as a standard for how to act right now.

• Why does Marcus Aurelius say death and pain are neither good nor evil?

  A look at the Stoic argument in Meditations 2.11: if something happens equally to good and bad people, it cannot be what makes a life good or bad.

• What does Marcus Aurelius mean by reverencing the daemon within?

  Learn what Marcus Aurelius meant by the daemon within, and why guarding it matters more than judging others or reading the future.

• What are the signs of a person making progress in Stoic philosophy?

  A look at Epictetus's own checklist for a Stoic proficient, and why it looks nothing like confidence or moral superiority.

• What distinguishes the vulgar person from the philosopher according to Epictetus?

  Epictetus draws the line at one question: where do you locate benefit and harm, in yourself or in externals?

• What does Epictetus mean by things in our control and not in our control?

  A close look at the opening line of the Handbook, where Epictetus draws the line between what is up to us and what is not.