Bite-sized New New-Stoicism, ep. 5

Now, don't get me twisted, bruh! When I say that The Four Vices are irrational, I don't mean that whoever feels that way is silly or ridiculous. By irrational, we mean to say that people have those feelings without thinking them through. That is really the whole point of this series: you've got to think things through. That's what I mean by "rational."

So, let's say something happens. Your body reacts to it. You react to your body with an emotion... Then what? Well, then you must re-direct your feelings towards The Four Virtues, which are:

• Wisdom: It's the ability to discern (or value) what is true, correct, or durable. It's accumulating this knowledge for yourself.
• Prudence: It means to demonstrate foresight, precaution and discretion in the actions you take; it means to abstain from acting carelessly or recklessly. It is closely related to the concept of Temperance (moderation) and gives rise to the virtuous attitudes of abstinence, chastity and modesty.
• Courage: It's the mental strength that allows you to endure pain or adversity with determination.
• Justice: It's the defense of any one thing that agrees with what is morally correct, especially unbiased interactions and fair recompense according to honor, to discretion, or to the law.

Whoa! When you read them like that, it sounds so lofty and highfalutin that surely no one can possibly achieve these goals, am I right? And it's true that it is very, very difficult to act according to The Four Virtues all the time, but that's why they are the ideals. They may rarely be a destination we reach, but they must always be our road map.

And, talking about road trips, which tools can help you to keep motoring along the road of life, trying to think things through to avoid reacting irrationally?

We'll talk more about that on the next episode. Today, I want you to look at those definitions closely, and figure out how many times a day you are acting according to The Four Virtues on purpose (or failing to do so.)

See y'all next time!