Comments on: Stoicism for Modern Stresses: 5 Lessons from Cato

By: Victor

Victor — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 20:07:23 +0000

You are absolutely correct PJN. Thanks for sharing the catholic (universal) truth. Those that seek will find. It is funny watching others develop lifestyles surrounded and aimed at the achievement of pleasure. Those that seek pleasure suffer want. Someone actually honest with themselves in a true search for truth will find it. Those with pride, will never, and quite honestly don’t deserve it. They will not be able to see. In a society built around individuality and self gain it is true that we are not all that different. For if truth between us is relative, I would recommend that relative to the same proportion as my DNA is the same as yours 99.9%. Yes, some of our truths may be relative (i.e. our personalities, strenghts, skills, talents), but relative to the same proportion our DNA is the same. For anger, and resentment will enter the wicked who see truth, but joy and happiness will enter the humble who see truth. There is only one truth that transcends all cultures, peoples and quite honestly all the “differences” that we have. That is the universal truth. The catholic one.

By: Matt Westerburg

Matt Westerburg — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:10:40 +0000

I’ve very much enjoyed reading about Seneca and Cato. Their form of practical philosophy is quite refreshing. Before this I had a negative opinion of philosophy. I saw them as tackling scientific questions with the wrong tools that required far too many assumptions.

I’ve just now started reviewing the material Timothy has put out. Quite fascinating to say the least. One thing does surprise me though. Cato seems to have a lot in common with many of Ayn Rands characters. Essentially he is like any of the protagonists in her books. It surprises me a bit that there is no mention of her works. I think she provides a more modern explanation of these philosophies. Although I can understand not mentioning her simply because she is quite controversial.

By: Conor

Conor — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 01:43:18 +0000

The Catholic Faith is the ‘pearl of great price’, and completes and synthesizes the works of the philosophers and ascetics the world over. No matter how suicide was ‘moralized’, by the stoics, I do not know….but no matter their justifications, it is objectively selfish and self aggrandizing. All the humility of Cato was to supplant his ego, and the tree (not being good), could not bear good fruit, and so resulted in the penultimate act of selfishness. ‘If you seek yourself, you will find yourself, but that to your own destruction’, (a Kempis). Despite all of this, I can still take from this article motivation towards more self-discipline, and the virtue of courage inthe face of adversity

By: Aryan N

Aryan N — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 11:00:14 +0000

Great Post. “The only reward for virtue is virtue” – not winning or losing. Success is a poor measure of virtue.

By: Mike Weeks

Mike Weeks — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 08:52:38 +0000

It reminds me of some of the processes in modern NLP that are designed to enable the user to have choose precisely the emotional response to the context they’re in, regardless of how ‘ bad’ that context is.
Has any modern day writer, extracted the patterns/processes from the philosophy?