“reason tends to be the servant rather than the master of desire.” — William B. Irvine Desire 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… — William B. Irvine Negative emotions 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… — William B. Irvine Careful 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 Nature 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 Desire 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… — William B. Irvine Butterflies in your stomach 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… — William B. Irvine Pursuing 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… — William B. Irvine Human condition 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… — William B. Irvine Suffering 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… — William B. Irvine Buddhism Copy Share Image
“If you refuse to enter contests that you are capable of losing, you will never lose a contest.” — William B. Irvine Contest Copy Share Image
“My time is coming, I told myself, and I must do what I can to prepare for it. T” — William B. Irvine Coming Copy Share Image
“The Stoics, as we have seen, thought tranquility was worth pursuing, and the tranquility they sought, it will be remembered, is a… — William B. Irvine Negative emotions Copy Share Image
“Throughout the millennia and across cultures, those who have thought carefully about desire have drawn the conclusion that spending our days working… — William B. Irvine Desire Copy Share Image
“According to Marcus, the biggest risk to us in our dealings with annoying people is that they will make us hate them,… — William B. Irvine Annoying people Copy Share Image
