“Throughout the millennia and across cultures, those who have thought carefully about desire have drawn the conclusion that spending our days working to get whatever it is we find ourselves wanting is unlikely to bring us either happiness or tranquility.” — William B. Irvine Copy Share Image
“Pre-Socratic philosophy begins ... with the discovery of Nature; Socratic philosophy begins with the discovery of man's soul."3” — William B. Irvine Copy Share Image
“According to Seneca, “A man is as wretched as he has convinced himself that he is.” He therefore recommends that we “do away with… — William B. Irvine Copy Share Image
“For the Stoics, however, the near impossibility of becoming a sage is not a problem. They talk about sages primarily so they will have… — William B. Irvine Copy Share Image
“Indeed, pursuing pleasure, Seneca warns, is like pursuing a wild beast: On being captured, it can turn on us and tear us to pieces.… — William B. Irvine Copy Share Image
“Your primary desire, says Epictetus, should be your desire not to be frustrated by forming desires you won’t be able to fulfill.” — William B. Irvine Copy Share Image
“reason tends to be the servant rather than the master of desire.” — William B. Irvine Copy Share Image
“Whenever you undertake an activity in which public failure is a possibility, you are likely to experience butterflies in your stomach. I mentioned above… — William B. Irvine Copy Share Image
“They warn us to be careful in choosing our associates; other people, after all, have the power to shatter our tranquility—if we let them.” — William B. Irvine Copy Share Image
“Stoic tranquility was a psychological state marked by the absence of negative emotions, such as grief, anger, and anxiety, and the presence of positive… — William B. Irvine Copy Share Image
“Before Socrates, philosophers were primarily interested in explaining the world around them and the phenomena of that world—in doing what we would now call… — William B. Irvine Copy Share Image
