Timeless voices of the past

Anyone who knows me personally is likely to know that I love my food. I have never been a particularly frugal person, but when it comes to food I am especially prone to splurge. I have never regretted spending significant amounts of time and money on food. I remember cringing and pitying a famous bodybuilder - who I have enormous respect for, given his dedication and the resulting success - when he said in an interview that food, for him, is not particularly enjoyable, but just a means to an end, his physique. This is certainly understandable, given that he has very specific goals, and it can be interpreted as a stoic way of eating, removing any external emotional attachments to the food eaten. I have decided to take a different approach to "stoic eating". I will continue to enjoy my food, because it is undoubtedly one of the great pleasures in life. That said, I have found myself eating far too much and too often, mostly because of boredom, not because of hunger. This ha...

Took a break from ancient philosophy because, hey, it ain't easy. I have been reading mostly Korean contemporary literature as well as food related books. I was tempted to write about them here, but I feel like it's not the place for it. I am also taking a break from stoicism. Something about Seneca's letters burned me out... must be the discontinuity. I will, however, come back to it at some point. For now, though, I will start reading "The Republic" by Plato, which is supposed to be the founding stone of Western philosophy. Will post some time in the next few days!

The first book chosen this year is not actually a book, but a series of letters sent by Seneca to his friend Lucilius. Apparently, Seneca is what is known as a later stoic, meaning that there were others before him. I will perhaps read works by early stoics if my current study of this philosophy piques my interest, but Seneca will do to kick it off (I remember reading about Seneca's stoicism in Nassim Nicholas Taleb's work). Why stoicism? What is it, and what is its relevance to life in 2017? There are many ways to define stoicism, but it is often misunderstood as a bunch of cold, dry people with no emotions. I do not know enough about stoicism to fully rebuke this misconception, but I feel it's an unfair reputation. From what I have read thus far, stoics seem to acknowledge feelings, yet they do not let these cloud their judgment and their pursuit of a virtuous life. In fact, stoics seem to have a fairly simple recipe to happiness: virtue. This simplification comes in h...