“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
“reason tends to be the servant rather than the master of desire.” — William B. Irvine Desire 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 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 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
“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
“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
“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 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
“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
“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
“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
“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 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
“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
