Chris Gill explores passages from Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus which discuss how to develop a Stoic sense of purpose, how to incorporate Stoic value in one’s life, and how to develop emotional resilience.
Click here to listen to Chris’ talk and click here for a handout of the passages he discusses. The talk was followed by a Q&A session with Chris Gill and Gill Garratt.
With thanks to Cristobal at KCL for recording this talk, which was delivered in November 2013 as part of international Stoic Week.
I tried very hard to listen but there was so much extraneous guff, intro to the intro, interruptions, ums, errs, so etc that it became too painful, and I couldn’t wait any longer for some meaty content. I suggest that audios should be edited before putting them on the internet.
Sorry Elaine – I understand the frustration – academics are full of interruptions! I hope you appreciate though that I would not have time to edit it down (I manage this blog on top of everything else – PhD, teaching etc), but I did feel it would be of enough potential interest despite problems with the recording.
Thanks for all the work Patrick!
I felt very sorry for Chris with the constant interruptions but it was a shame you did not perservere Elaine as there was plenty of meaty content. Chris summed up so well the essence of Stoicism. Thank you Patrick for keeping us on track your weekly prompts are very much appreciated.
Thanks Angela for the kind words – glad you found the talk interesting!
I would echo Angela’s thanks to all concerned in making Chris’s talk and subsequent Q&A available. I accept the challenges that stoicism presents to one choosing this particular school of philosophy as a way of life – and found this recording most helpful. Thank you
I found the talk quite interesting.
It reminded me that Seneca encouraged his readers to find an overarching goal of life and act on it. He wrote: “Look at your goal, in everything you do, and then you will get rid of superfluous things.” (Epistulae Morales, III, 373). Not sure whether Epictetus was goal-orientated as well.
I agree with Angela–I found Dr. Gill’s talk succinct and enlightening. I haven’t listened to the Q&A yet; that’s on the agenda (and the ipod) for this afternoon’s walk. As long as the speaker is able to be understood, the value of having instant access to these kinds of events far outweighs any concerns about the audio editing. I’ve heard (and enjoyed) far worse. 😉
I thought it was wonderfully insightful. I think the reality of the externals actually added to the process. Perhaps that was due to my own experiences with a nasty bug which corrupted my gmail account this week. I found it disturbing until I drew on my Stoicism and acted appropriately. Thankfully all fine again and I have become very aware of having no control over the machine or others’ behaviour. My faith in ancient Stoicism remains intact. I took great value from the purity of this piece and it was the first time my attention has been drawn to “purpose” in ancient Stoicism. Thank you.
Patrick, a question, and I apologize if this has been covered elsewhere: Dr. Gill mentions a handout accompanying his talk. Is that handout by chance available here on the site in PDF form?
Thanks!
Oop.. sorry. Nevermind. I just saw the link to the handout. Thanks.