On Evil — Post 8: The Purse
“It is not things themselves that disturb us, but our judgments about them.” — Epictetus
On Evil
On Evil — Post 7: The Man Who Knew
“Philosophy teaches us to act, not to speak. Its demands are these: each person should live to the standard he himself has set; his manner of living should not be at odds either with itself or its way of speaking.” — Seneca, Epistulae Morales, Letter 20 (Graver and Long, p. 73) When my son was … Read more
On Evil — Post 6: The Late Fee
“… cruelties are practised in accordance with acts of senate and popular assembly, and the public is bidden to do that which is forbidden to the individual. Deeds that would be punished by loss of life when committed in secret, are praised by us because uniformed generals have carried them out.” — Seneca, Letter XCV … Read more
On Evil — Post 5: The Corruption of Good
“No one can rob you of your faculty of volition.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 11.36 (quoting Epictetus) Volition Every situation presents us with an opportunity. You may not always get to choose the event but you do get to choose your reaction to it. The consequences feel more severe when we feel like we have … Read more
On Evil — Post 4: The Job Description of “Evil”.
“When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil, and they have recognized the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own – not of the same blood or … Read more
On Evil — Post 3: Black Swans and Hindsight Bias — When Rarity Fades
“Any assessment we make is subject to alteration—just as we are ourselves.” —Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5:10 Events That Stop Time How do we make sense of rare, extreme events that we’ve interpreted as evil? I mean the events that stop time. The ones that make the news anchors go quiet for a moment as they … Read more
On Evil — Post 2: Nature Doesn’t Apologize
“Nature is pliable, obedient. And the logos that governs it has no reason to do evil. It knows no evil, does none, and causes harm to nothing. It dictates all beginnings and all endings.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6:1 The Scene I want to start with a nature analogy that will help me keep my … Read more
On Evil — Post 1: No One Does Evil Willingly
“Nothing that goes on in anyone else’s mind can harm you. Nor can the shifts and changes in the world around you. Then where is harm to be found? In your capacity to see it.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4:39 The Claim I don’t personally believe that people do “evil” in general—much less willingly. I … Read more