211031 What I learned in my studies this morning

Prepping for spooky
Night brings goblins, witches, ghouls.
It's time for candy!

 
Daily Stoic:

"All of us have been made by nature," Rufus said, "so that we can live free from error and nobly — not that one can and another can't, but all."

It is not Nature against which my philosophy strives, but man. 

In my studies, I must take care to evaluate carefully those ideas I entertain.  Too often, I've allowed myself to be taken in by the charlatan, the fast-talking flim-flam man.  Their proclamations, so self-assured and forcefully stated, convinced me I should believe. So I did. 

How many childish shifts from one system to another — Ugh. God Mooooooooom. I am NOT a communist. That was last week. I've grown now and am more muture. I'm an agrarian socialist now. Sheesh! — did I go through? 

(Though I can't remember ever actually going through a communist / socialist / Marxist period, it wouldn't surprise if I did.) 

I happily weather-vaned my way through life, leaning in to whatever ideology was currently in residence. 

Later, as I lived and gained experience, I slowly learned how to examine and evaluate ideas without accepting them. I could look at their logic, their framing principles, and their practical effects to decide their value to me without needing to accept them . . . until and unless they proved to be better than my current framework. If they were, or parts of them were, I'd adopt what I could and move on with a (hopefully) improved worldview and plan for my life. 

When philosophical conflict arose, it came from having accepted ideas which were popular among people, but unworkable in the real world. 

It wasn't me against (my) Nature.  It was me against bad ideas. There lay my troubles. And my path to improvement. 

Today's Meditation:

Today's Meditation II:

Daily Shakespeare:

Macbeth | Act 4 Scene 1