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do you do do you do do you Hi, I'm Peter Adamson, and you're listening to the History of Philosophy podcast brought to you with the support of King's College London and the Lever Hume Trust, online at

W.W. history of philosophy. net. Today's episode, Like a Rolling Stone, Stoic

ethics. Rolling Stone. Stoic Ethics.

I'd like you to imagine that you're walking along a railway line.

You're just out for a stroll listening to some philosophy podcasts on a portable audio device of your choosing.

Suddenly, your blood runs cold.

An innocent child is playing on the rails, and a train is bearing down on it at great speed, too fast to slow down in time.

Without a thought for your own safety, you rush forward instinctively,

snatch the child in your arms and leap aside with seconds to spare. The train hurdles

obliviously onward, but onlookers have witnessed your brave act. You are hailed

as a hero in the local community and use the brief weeks of fame to encourage

your admiring public to listen to this great podcast you've been enjoying lately.

It's a story with a happy ending. But does it have an unhappily confused middle section?

We spoke of your bravery, the heroism of your split-second decision to save the child.

But we also said you acted instinctively, without pausing to weigh

up the costs and benefits of your perilous undertaking. If this is right, why should we give you

credit for what you have done? You acted, we might say, automatically, and your dash towards the child was no less inevitable than the oncoming rush of the train. You are, it would seem, just the kind of person who reacts that way in these child threatened by train situations.

...