Philosophy
by William B. Irvine
What's your philosophy of life?
William Irvine, an American philosophy professor, asks what you most want out of life and how you plan to get it. Most people can't say. Without a philosophy of life, he warns, you risk what he calls misliving, spending your one life chasing things that weren't worth having.
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The first technique Irvine teaches. Now and then, imagine losing what you have, like your partner, your job or your sight. Epictetus advised remembering, as you kiss your child goodnight, that the child could die tomorrow. The aim is gratitude. You start wanting the things you already have.
Epictetus divided things into those up to us and those not. Irvine adds a third group. We have complete control over our goals and values, none over the weather, and some over whether we win a tennis match. Don't worry about the second. Most of life sits in the third.
Irvine's answer to the third group. You can't fully control whether you win a match, so don't make winning your goal. Make it playing as well as you can, which is entirely up to you. You'll still try hard, but a loss can't wreck your peace of mind.
The Stoics sometimes chose hardship on purpose. Seneca suggested spending a few days on scant food and in rough clothes, asking whether this was what you'd feared. Irvine's modern versions are small, like going out underdressed on a cold day. Choosing hardship now makes you less afraid of it later.
A goal for life
Without a clear idea of what you want from life, you'll spend it chasing things that don't matter.
Negative visualisation
Now and then, picture losing what you have. It makes you glad of it all over again.
Inner goals
When you only partly control the result, like in a tennis match, aim to play your best rather than to win.
The past
Accept the past as it is. Wishing it had gone differently only adds pain.
Discomfort
Go without small comforts on purpose now and then, so hardship won't scare you.
A story from the book
Irvine starts the story of Stoicism with a shipwreck. Zeno, a merchant, lost his cargo and ended up in Athens. In a bookshop he read about Socrates and asked where to find a man like that. The bookseller pointed to Crates the Cynic, who was passing. Zeno became his student.
One thing to try
Once a day this week, pick one thing you take for granted, like your partner, your knees or your morning coffee. Spend a minute imagining life without it, then go back to it. Irvine suggests doing this now and then, briefly, and not dwelling. Notice how the thing looks afterwards.
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. A Guide to the Good Life comes with a Name That Idea round to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appWhat's your philosophy of life? William Irvine, an American philosophy professor, asks what you most want out of life and how you plan to get it. Most people can't say. Without a philosophy of life, he warns, you risk what he calls misliving, spending your one life chasing things that weren't worth having.
Negative visualisation; The trichotomy of control; Internalise your goals; Voluntary discomfort.
Once a day this week, pick one thing you take for granted, like your partner, your knees or your morning coffee. Spend a minute imagining life without it, then go back to it. Irvine suggests doing this now and then, briefly, and not dwelling. Notice how the thing looks afterwards.
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from A Guide to the Good Life in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Name That Idea round to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
Man's Search for MeaningViktor E. FranklPut your effort into what's yours to control, your response.