Jim Mallard welcomes Tanner Campbell to the show. Tanner is a philosophy writer and podcaster who focuses on bringing the philosophy of stoicism out of the pages of history and modernizing it to a more practical and useful way of individuals living today.
During the interview, Tanner discusses his new book, Living Well: Stoic Ideas for a Better Life, and how stoicism can be applied to modern day situations. He shares some tips on how to live a more stoic life, including the importance of self-awareness, focus, and detachment. Zeno of Citium was a Greek philosopher who founded the Stoic school of thought in 300 BCE. He got the idea for Stoicism after he was shipwrecked and lost everything he owned. He went to the Oracle of Delphi for guidance and she told him to take on the power of the dead.
Zeno interpreted this to mean that he should study the great thinkers of the past and learn from their wisdom. Stoicism is a philosophy that emphasizes self-control, rationality, and stoic acceptance of the things we cannot change.
In the 300 BC, a man named Zeno of Citium had a dream in which the goddess Athena told him to become a philosopher. He took this to mean that he should become pale like the dead, as pale people at the time were often indoors reading books. He went on to found the philosophy of Stoicism, which is based on the idea that the only good is the development of a virtuous character. Stoicism quickly caught on, and Marcus Aurelius, who reigned from 160-180 AD, is considered the poster boy of Stoicism.
Tanner Campbell