Choosing Your Counsel and Thoughts Wisely (Meditations 3.4)

Practical Stoicism

Evergreen Podcasts

Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.8 • 662 Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2025

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Tanner explores the rich insights of Meditations 3.4 by Marcus Aurelius, focusing on four main Stoic principles. Marcus warns against wasting time on unnecessary concerns about others, emphasizing opportunity cost and the importance of focusing on appropriate external and internal matters. Tanner also discusses the practice of habituating virtuous thoughts—those we would not be ashamed to express openly—as a step toward moral excellence. The meditation highlights the innate rationality within us, gifted by the Logos, and reminds us that our purpose is to act in alignment with justice and reason. Finally, Marcus advises caution in choosing whose counsel to value, urging Stoics to avoid being swayed by those who do not pursue Virtue themselves. MEDITATION TEXT “Do not waste the balance of life left to you in thoughts about other persons, when you are not referring to some advantage of your fellows—for why do you rob yourself of something else which you might do—I mean if you imagine to yourself what so and so is doing, and why; what he is saying or thinking or planning, and every thought of the kind which leads you astray from close watch over your governing self? [full meditation can be found at https://stoicismpod.com/far] — (Meditations 3.4) TAKEAWAYS — Every choice carries an opportunity cost; time spent on unproductive thoughts cannot be reclaimed. — Virtue begins with habituating honest and just thoughts that align with Stoic values. — Moral reasoning is not just an ability but the purpose of a rational being. — Stoics must be selective about whose counsel they value, focusing on those who align with Nature. LINKS — Go ad-free: https://stoicismpod.com/members — Join the Discord Community: https://stoicismpod.com/discord — Follow the print publication: https://stoicismpod.com/print — Take my free courses: https://stoicismpod.com/courses — Order my book: https://stoicismpod.com/book — Source Text: https://stoicismpod.com/far — Follow me on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/tannerocampbell.bsky.social — Follow me on YouTube: https://stoicismpod.com/youtube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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1:18.7	Welcome. Welcome back for Capton. I'm glad you're here. Today we'll be working through Meditations 3.4, which is a fairly long meditation, so this episode may be longer than what
1:24.6	you're used to. If you have to come back to finish, please do. That's what the
1:28.5	pause button is for after all. Before I get started, I'd like to give a shout out to Wyatt Bennett,
1:33.9	who has asked an excellent question to me via email. Wyatt, I'm going to get to it. Probably as a
	...

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