What do you think? Can ambition and wisdom coexist, or do we use philosophy to hide from hard work?

#Stoicism #Philosophy #Success #Ambition #PersonalGrowth #Mindset #Wisdom #SelfImprovement #Seneca #MarcusAurelius (6/6)

#Seneca hatte also kein Kopfkissen 😄 Herzerwärmende und ermutigende #doku https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/095837-000-A/die-kleinen-schueler-von-plato/

#Seneca wrote that "The body should be treated more rigorously, that it may not be disobedient to the mind.”

And so, after a wet walk through the woods (I'm still drying my chilled toes back at the office) I'm feeling pleased to have gone out in the rain today. It wasn't an arduous discomfort, and it resulted in a worthwhile experience.

Take care, y'all.

#stoicism #awalkaday #fungiverse #lichensubscribe #mosstodon #ferns

Fatalism

Fatalism is the philosophical belief that all events are predetermined & inevitable, making human “free will” basically irrelevant to the ultimate outcome.

Determinism, predestination, & fatalism are often used interchangeably. But there are nuances:

• Determinism: The belief that every event is caused by preceding events & the laws of nature. If you knew the position of every atom in the universe, you could predict the future. It’s about cause & effect.
• Predestination: A theological concept (like we saw with the Calvinists) where a sovereign God has decreed the end from the beginning. It’s about divine will.
• Fatalism: The belief that “whatever will be, will be” (Amor Fati), regardless of the causes or divine decrees. It suggests that even if you try to change the path, you’ll still arrive at the pre-set destination.

In the Greco-Roman world, Fatalism wasn’t a theory. It was a cosmic reality. The Greeks envisioned fate as 3 sisters: Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (the allotter), & Atropos (the unturnable, who cut the thread). Even the gods were subject to the Fates.

This created where heroism wasn’t defined by changing one’s fate. But by facing it with dignity. For example, Oedipus tries everything to avoid the prophecy that he’ll kill his dad & marry his mom. His very attempt to flee is what ultimately fulfills it.

The Stoics (like Seneca & Marcus Aurelius) practiced a form of “rational fatalism.” They compared humans to a dog tied to a moving cart. The dog can either trot happily with the cart (accepting fate) or be dragged kicking & screaming. The destination is the same. The only thing you control is your internal attitude.

The most famous challenge to fatalism is the Lazy Argument: If it’s fated that you’ll recover from an illness, you’ll recover whether you call a doctor or not. Philosophers like Chrysippus countered this by arguing that certain outcomes are “co-fated.”

It may be fated that you recover. But it’s also fated that you recover because you called a doctor. Your action is a link in the chain of fate, not an alternative to it.

In Islam, the concept of Qadar emphasizes a balance between divine sovereignty & human responsibility, folk traditions across the Middle East & South Asia have historically leaned toward a “written” destiny (Maktub – “it is written”). This perspective often provided a psychological cushion against the frequent tragedies of the medieval world, like a plagues or invasions.

American culture is infamously anti-fatalistic. The famous “American Dream” is built on the idea that you can pull yourself up by your own bootstraps & be the architect of your own destiny/fortune. However, fatalism does exist in American conscienceness in 2 specific ways:

• Literary Naturalism
  • In the late 19th & early 20th centuries, American writers like Stephen Crane & Jack London moved away from Romanticism toward Naturalism. They portrayed humans as “small, soft things” at the mercy of indifferent forces (biology, heredity, & environment). In Crane’s The Open Boat, the universe is depicted as a giant machine that doesn’t care if you live or die. This is “Modern Fatalism.”
• “Appalachian Fatalism
  • Often misunderstood as laziness, this fatalism was a cultural adaptation of the Appalachian region, dominated by dangerous coal mines & unpredictable poverty. If your life depends on a mine roof that could at any moment regardless of your skill, or a boom-or-bust economy you can’t control, a fatalistic worldview (“It’s in God’s hands”) becomes a survival mechanism to manage chronic stress.

In modern physics, the Block Universe theory (based on Einstein’s General Relativity) suggests that time is a dimension just like space. If the past, present, & future all exist simultaneously in a “block,” then the future is technically as fixed & unchangeable as the past. If using this view, our perception of “choosing” is just an illusion created by our movement through the time dimension. Essentially this is Scientific Fatalism.

The philosopher Karl Popper once joked that the fatalist is the person who looks both ways before crossing a 1-way street. Deep down, even those who claim the future is a fixed act, though their choices matter.

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#AmorFati #AppalachianFatalism #Atropos #BlockUniverse #BlockUniverseTheory #Calvinists #Chrysippus #Clotho #Determinism #Early20thCentury #Fatalism #Fates #FreeWill #Greeks #Islam #JackLondon #KarlPopper #Kismet #Lachesis #Late19thCentury #LazyArgument #LiteraryNaturalism #Maktub #MarcusAurelius #MiddleEast #ModernFatalism #Moirai #Naturalism #Oedipus #Predestination #Qadar #RationalFatalism #Romanticism #ScientificFatalism #Seneca #SouthAsia #StephenCrane #Stoics #TheOpenBoat

A Stoic’s Key to Peace of Mind: Seneca on the Antidote to Anxiety

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.themarginalian.org/2026/01/28/seneca-anxiety/

Warum zu viel Arbeit dich von dem Leben entfernt, das du dir gewünscht hast – Seneca – Von Jenseits des Geistes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YWRabzVxWY

Fühlst du dich ständig beschäftigt, aber innerlich leer? Dieses Video basiert auf den zeitlosen Gedanken des römischen Philosophen Seneca über Arbeit, Zeit und den wahren Sinn des Lebens. In einer Welt, die Produktivität über Präsenz stellt, zeigt uns Seneca, warum ständiges Tun oft nur eine Flucht vor uns selbst ist – und wie wir den Weg zurück zu einem erfüllten Leben finden können. Seneca warnt: Wer seine Tage mit Aufgaben füllt, ohne innezuhalten, lebt nicht bewusster – sondern verliert sich Stück für Stück. Dieses Video beleuchtet seine radikale Kritik am modernen Leistungsdenken und bietet tiefgründige Impulse für alle, die sich nach mehr Sinn, Ruhe und Selbstverbindung sehnen.

#Arbeit #JenseitsDesGeistes #Medien #Seneca #Video #Wissen

By choosing these small moments of resistance, you forge a shield against life’s true weight. Start with one ritual today and feel overwhelm loosen its grip. #Stoicism #Seneca #VoluntaryDiscomfort #Resilience #Mindfulness #SelfDiscipline #PersonalGrowth #StoicWisdom #InnerStrength #DailyRituals (7/7)

#UnaCitaDe ... Lucio Anneo Séneca

"Prefiero molestar con la verdad que complacer con adulaciones"

#filosofía #séneca #frase

Consistency is the quiet answer to loud doubt. Small, steady steps carve a new path forward. #Stoicism #Seneca #DisciplineOfConsistency #PersonalGrowth #Mindfulness #SelfImprovement #Philosophy #AncientWisdom #Resilience #InnerPeace (5/5)

Jemand mit (deutschem) #Wikipedia -Zugang sollte in dem Eintrag mal den Hinweis auf Una Chin-Riley hinzufügen: ⬇️

Im Übrigen: Gibt es eine Erklärung dafür, warum #StarTrek die Redewendung verkehrt herum benutzt? #Seneca

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_aspera_ad_astra

So, when loss hits, ask yourself: Are you truly accepting reality, or are you just scared to feel pain? Stoicism isn’t about hiding your humanity. It’s about carrying it with dignity.

#Stoicism #AmorFati #Philosophy #MentalHealth #Grief #Acceptance #StoicWisdom #MarcusAurelius #Seneca #RealStrength (4/4)

Ist nicht alles, … was man dir nehmen kann, im Zweifel weniger wert als das, was dir niemand nehmen kann? Und liegt wahre Freiheit nicht genau dort … jenseits von Besitz, Status und äußerer Macht? „Nicht auf die Größe des #Vermögen s, sondern auf die des #Geist es kommt es an.“ #Seneca 🖖

#mementomori
#estoicismo
#seneca
#carpediem

How does a “legitimate” wish for something new distinguish itself from an “illegitimate” one? https://jesperreiche.com/seneca-letter-2/ #seneca #philosophy

“The Real Reason Europe is Rearming: Germany’s Industrial Collapse”

https://senecaeffect.substack.com/p/the-real-reason-europe-is-rearming

This figure explains everything that’s going on in Europe. Germany is trying to stave off its industrial collapse by boosting military production and taking the whole European Union along the same road. It is a desperate attempt, unlikely to work because Germany doesn’t have the fossil resources it had in the 1930s, when the Nazi government used the same recipe to save the economy. In any case, the attempt will beggar the European citizens, who are going to lose the services that the state used to provide, as well as their savings.

#collapse #Germany #Seneca #SenecaEffect #Europe

I'm learning about Stoicism and Seneca is my homie.

#Motivation #MotivationalQuotes #MotivationalMonday #Stoicism #Seneca

Robert Burton …

… Falls jemand an meiner Materie und der Art ihrer Behandlung Anstoß nimmt und eine Begründung wünscht, kann ich mehr als eine liefern. Ich habe über die Melancholie geschrieben, um sie mir mit dieser Unternehmung (Anatomie der Melancholie) vom Leibe zu halten. Es gibt nämlich keine gewichtigere Ursache der Schwermut als den Müßiggang und kein besseres Heilmittel, als sich zu beschäftigen … Und wenngleich gilt: Sich mit Torheiten zu befassen, bringt wenig Nutzen, so heißt es doch auch beim göttlichen Seneca: Besser zweckloses tun als nichts.

#AnatomoeDerMelancholie #Autor #Literatur #Melancholie #RobertBurton #Seneca #Zitat

Men learn while they teach. (Homines, dum docent, discunt.)
-- Seneca (64 CE)

⬆ #Wisdom #Quotes #Seneca #Education #Teaching

⬇ #Photography #Panorama #Sunset #Clouds #Iowa

“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”
-Lucius Annaeus Seneca
#ai #synthography #nature #strength #quotes #philosophy #Seneca #arctic #mind

“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”
-Lucius Annaeus Seneca
#ai #synthography #nature #strength #philosophy #Seneca