Can reason and rational understanding alone lead to human flourishing?

This question has shaped Western thought since the Enlightenment, and no philosopher embodied this ideal more powerfully than Baruch Spinoza.

But is it enough? ...🧵
Baruch Spinoza was a 17th Century Dutch philosopher who attempted a total re-conceptualisation of God as a means to reconcile religion with the emerging scientific worldview.

Seneca was a Roman Statesman and Stoic philosopher who had the unenviable job of advising one of Rome's most bloodthirsty rulers, the Emperor Nero

Despite the challenges, his life and philosophy offer timeless lessons about navigating power, conflict, and adversity

A thread 🧵 1/ Learn to persuade others who don’t share your values, rather than compromise them

When he was first appointed by Agrippina to tutor her young son the future emperor Nero, Seneca quickly learned that this was a boy who did not like being told what to do.

Antonin Sertillanges was a French Dominican friar and theologian who wrote what might be the greatest guide to the pursuit of meaningful work ever published.

Here are just six principles from his masterwork, The Intellectual Life, that will transform how you think and work... 🧵
1/ You don’t need genius to achieve great things

“One does not need extraordinary gifts to carry some work through; average superiority suffices; the rest depends on energy and wise application of energy" he writes.

What is it about great art that moves us so profoundly? For the 19th Century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, the answer lies in its capacity to strip away the illusions of our everyday lives and to connect us with the fundamental truths of reality.

Here's why... 🧵 Schopenhauer, who was significantly influenced by Eastern religious teachings, believed all existence to be defined by a ceaseless and inescapable striving that is the root of all pain and suffering in the world.

Friends,

Life is very busy at the moment — full of good things but it's been hard to find the time to write as much as I'd like to.

I will get back to writing threads soon but in the meantime here's a megathread of some of my more popular posts in case you've missed any! 🧵

https://x.com/TheEudaimonist/status/1788647307572846611

The essays of the French Renaissance philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) are a veritable treasure trove of practical guidance, advice, and wisdom relevant to living a good life.

Here are six of my favourite insights... 🧵

Socrates’ warnings in Plato’s Republic that the excessive freedom demanded by democracy will inevitably lead to despotism is so relevant to today, it’s almost prophetic.

Humanity possesses so much wisdom, and yet we refuse to listen to it.

Any of this sound familiar? … 🧵 "The pursuit of freedom makes it increasingly normal for fathers and sons to swap places: fathers are afraid of their sons, and sons no longer feel shame before their parents or stand in awe of them."

Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Irish-born British statesman and philosopher, is often called the "father of modern conservatism."

His defence of tradition and gradual change remains an important counterbalance to the dangers of progressivism.

Let’s take a look at what he thought…🧵 "Society is... a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are dead, and those who are to be born."

The core principle at the heart of Burke’s philosophy is that society isn’t merely a contract between people living in the present...

In the Politics, Aristotle launches a scathing critique of Plato’s radical collectivist vision of a utopian political community— criticism that is still relevant today.

Here’s what the OG anti-communist had to say about the pitfalls of collectivisation. 🧵 (If you’re not familiar with Plato's Republic then you can read my summary of it here!)

https://x.com/TheEudaimonist/status/1779552473394348056

Benjamin Franklin (1706-90) identified thirteen virtues that he thought everyone should seek to master if they want to live a better and more prosperous life.

Let these be your guide... 🧵 I. TEMPERANCE

Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

Aristotle (384 -322 BC) famously wrote that “Man is, by nature, a political animal.”

But what did he actually mean by this?

Here’s a brief introduction to the main ideas in Aristotle’s Politics… 🧵 Before getting into Aristotle’s political thought, we must first understand something about his ethics, in particular the idea of telos, which we can think of as the ultimate purpose or function of a thing.

(The telos for a pair of scissors, for instance, is to cut things.)

Philosophers and thinkers often draw on mythology as a way to explore and develop their own ideas.

This isn’t just because myths provide rich and useful analogies (although they do).

It's because myths are narrative distillations of fundamental truths.

What do I mean?...🧵 Perhaps the most famous theoretical use of myth is in the concept of the “Oedipus Complex”, Sigmund Freud’s attempt to locate the origins of human neuroses in the unconscious mind.

Sophocles' dramatic masterpiece Oedipus Rex is perhaps the quintessential work of Classical Greek tragedy. Appalling and captivating in equal measure, it continues to fascinate and confound readers even today.

Here’s a brief guide to get you started with the play... 🧵 Written in the 5th century BC by the Athenian tragedian Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus (its Greek title; "Rex" is the more familiar Latin title) is the first in a series of three plays featuring the ill-fated King of Thebes (the others being Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone).

Cogito, ergo sum— I think, therefore I am— is probably the most famous line in all philosophy. Formulated in the 17th century by the mathematician and philosopher René Descartes, the cogito has had a profound impact on Western thought since.

But what does it actually mean? 🧵 Before getting to the cogito, we must first understand a little bit about the intellectual climate in Europe during Descartes’ time…

Roger Scruton (1944-2020) was one of the most brilliant and incisive defenders of what he described as “high culture”, the West's great repository of art, literature, and philosophy that functions to bind people together into an ethical community.

Here’s why it matters… 🧵 Unlike common culture, which can be thought of as the broad frame of reference that delineates the social identity of a group, high culture has a higher barrier of entry. Individuals must invest time, effort, and critical thought in order to apprehend its significance.

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle made lasting contributions across various fields, from ethics and politics to biology and physics. His insights continue to influence our understanding of the world.

Here are 5 nuggets of wisdom from one of history's greatest thinkers 🧵 1/ The purpose of life is eudaimonia.

Aristotle thought that everything in the world was driven by some unique purpose or function and that human beings were no different.

Comedy plays an essential role in the maintenance of a healthy democracy, something that no one understood better than Aristophanes, the ancient Greek playwright later dubbed the “father of comedy."

Here’s an introduction to his enduring legacy and why it still matters 🧵 Athens in the 5th Century BC was going through a period of unprecedented political, cultural, and intellectual flourishing. This era, known as the Golden Age of Athens, saw the development of democracy, the rise of philosophy, and remarkable achievements in the arts and sciences.

Most people have heard of Homer and are familiar with the epic poems attributed to him, The Iliad and The Odyssey.

But who was he? And why did this mysterious 8th century Mediterranean poet have such a profound influence on the development of Western civilisation? 🧵 Before we can get to Homer, we need to understand a little bit about the kind of world that he inhabited.

The period between 1100-800 B.C., the centuries prior to when the Iliad and Odyssey are thought to have first been written down, is usually referred to as Greek Dark Ages.

We typically think of figures like Galileo, Newton, or Bacon, as being the “fathers” of science and the scientific method, but few recognise the degree to which Aristotle had shaped the foundations of the discipline more than two thousand years earlier.

Here's how... 🧵 Born in Stagira in 384 BC, Aristotle arrived in Athens at the age of seventeen to study at the Academy of the legendary Athenian philosopher, Plato, where he would remain for twenty years, first as a student and then as a teacher himself.

These days when we hear the word ‘rhetoric’ we tend to associate it with shallow or deceptive speech. And yet, done properly and with integrity it’s an incredibly important skill to have.

Here’s an introduction to its ancient philosophical origins... 🧵 The formal discipline of rhetoric emerged in ancient Greece as a vital skill for public speaking and civic life. It was regarded as an essential part of a well-rounded education, allowing citizens to engage in persuasive discourse and shape the course of their society.

Hesiod is one of the two founding fathers of the ancient Greek tradition of poetry, myth, and culture (the other being Homer). A humble farmer by trade, his poetry remains a profound source of wisdom for everyday life.

A brief thread on his great poem Works and Days. 🧵 Works and Days is a non-narrative didactic poem meant to provide moral instruction and life advice. Unlike in Homer, where heroic warriors prize virtues gained fighting courageously in battle, Hesiod is far more concerned with the righteousness of man's daily toils.