Moral Letters

Moral Letters

This is a modern take on Seneca's Moral Letters to Lucilius. I use them as tools in the ongoing search for what it means to live a good life. Although Seneca's words have been mined for centuries, each generation keeps turning up gemstones. I seek to polish old stones to show them in a new light.
Aug
15
Skyscrapers lining Central Park in New York, with a view of the Essex House

119 - On Nature As A Guide - Moral Letters for Modern Times

A need arises naturally and is satisfied naturally. A luxury is fabricated and requires an elaborate system to create and maintain.
4 min read
Aug
11
A lake, bordered by reeds, with bare trees in the background. Autumn yellow and brown

118 - On Stepping Off The Treadmill - Moral Letters for Modern Times

It is certainly good to be confident in what you are doing because self-doubt is destructive of peace of mind. But it is better to first be self-critical and to reflect on what you are doing.
4 min read
Aug
08
Pine trees in foreground with brown-hued alpine mountains

117 - On The AI Philosopher - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Wisdom consists not just in making a correct decision, but in making it with understanding of the reason why.
4 min read
Aug
03
Mountain path on a hillside with imposing, brown-hued mountain in background

116 - On Slippery Slopes - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Can you tell me now which of your indulgences let grown into vices will be your undoing, or will you tell me that you are safe from all temptation?
4 min read
Aug
01
Dense thicket of reeds on the edge of a lake under a gray, clouded sky

115 - On False Fronts - Moral Letters for Modern Times

The magic of books is that they allow each reader to create magic in their heads. Sometimes it’s best left there.
4 min read
Jul
28
Light mist shrouding wooded mountains with a lake in the background

114 - On Slogans - Moral Letters for Modern Times

It is precisely when you find your emotions aroused by a small handful of words that you must force yourself to pause. Someone is almost certainly trying to manipulate your thinking for their own ends.
6 min read
Jul
25
Sailing ships in a harbor alongside pastel-colored European houses

113 - On The Independence Of Reason - Moral Letters for Modern Times

To ask whether reason exists independently is to question whether it depends on the person or on the situation.
6 min read
Jul
21
Stage on a lake show giant hands emerging from the water and a huge deck of cards

112 - On New Students - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Philosophy always welcomes new students.
2 min read
Jul
18
Orange sunset behind gray clouds over a placid ocean

111 - On Clever People - Moral Letters for Modern Times

We are distracted by surface appearances because they are the first things we see. You should seek to understand the deeper meaning, and to be aware that in the wrong hands words can hide as much as they reveal.
2 min read
Jul
14
Beach path between sand dunes leading to the ocean

110 - On The Value Of Wealth - Moral Letters for Modern Times

The true responsibility of parents is to raise their children to be capable of safely making their own way in the world, and not to remove every obstacle from their paths.
5 min read