1 Goal (Ethics).
10 random takeaways.
1.
Epicurus, from about 300 BCE, promoted the cultivation of friendships. He taught that friendship is life’s greatest good, more important than wealth or status. True pleasure comes from lasting contentment, shared trust, and mutual care. Friendship provides emotional security, practical support, and the calm needed for a tranquil, fulfilling life.
2.
Quote:
- Reinhold Niebuhr.
- 1930s.
Just like the Serenity Prayer Stoicism focuses on the Dichotomy of Control within the “good intent-good results” framework. The good intent, such as a thoughtful actions, lead to virtue and moral. There are elements beyond one’s control, like stormy weather, rolling dice, and a cosmic landscape. The central and only focus is on things that can control.
3.
From History: 6 Dec 1865
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, but it left one major exception: forced labor could still be used as punishment for a crime after conviction. That exception mattered. It ended chattel slavery, yet it also left a legal opening that shaped prison labor and later systems of coercion. Today we sill have forced prison labor including chain gangs.
4.
TST uses the Harm Principle as a common floor for protecting personal freedom while limiting harm. Borrowed from John Stuart Mill, it says people should be free to live in ways others dislike unless they harm others or the shared world. It is also a hook into utilitarian thought.
5.
Quote:
- Epicurus.
- circa 300 BCE.
Death does not have to be only a terror at the edge of life. It can become a teacher. To live better, use mortality to cut through distraction, soften fear, and focus your limited time on what is honest, meaningful, and worth becoming.
6.
From History: born 354
Lived from 354 to 430 CE, aged about 76.
Situational ethics reminds us that even in war, moral limits still matter. Throughout your life, when avoiding harm is not possible, the moral task becomes causing less harm. Although war is often immoral, Just War Theory exists to limit violence and discourage war crimes. Live your life with the principles of proportional force and avoiding unnecessary harm.
7.
Column summary:
Most of us in society too often forge a deep attachment to the world as we want it to be, not as it is. We ignore reality in favor of a central story. To overcome illusion, Copernicus showed how evidence and models can bypass entrenched assumptions and refocus attention on the pragmatic simplicity of scientific models.
8.
Quote:
- Epicurus.
- circa 270 BCE.
The Epicurus epitaph embodies the Epicurean focus on living for this life in this moment by accepting mortality and letting go of fear. It’s a profound expression of the Epicurean ideal: living in the present, free from anxiety about the past or future, and embracing the impermanence of existence.
9.
From History:
New Look
Fear-Based ethics within consequentialism has risks. Morality based on things like Karma and Divine Command Theory requires faith. They evoke fear and anxiety because right and wrong are no longer a thing, only fear exists. The fix is easy, even within fear-based ethical systems, the solution is to emphasize the intrinsic value of moral acts.
10.
TST uses Eternal Recurrence inside Authentic Self as a test for authenticity. It asks whether the life you are living is one you can affirm, not just endure. It is a common floor for testing your choices and a hook into Nietzschean thought. To live authentically, ask: would I choose this again?
The End. Refresh for another set.
Wisdom Builder
(c) 2025-2026 TouchstoneTruth.
Content and coding by Michael Alan Prestwood.
(c) 2025-2026 TouchstoneTruth.
Content and coding by Michael Alan Prestwood.
