Fear Death? Try Tylenol.

​A study suggests that acetaminophen not only blocks physical pain, it can help with the existential variety as well! I'm always fascinated by any new knowledge of how our bodies experience emotion. I find it particularly exciting when something as abstract as "existential dread" is swayed by a slight chemical change. Of course, as a practicing Stoic, I believe the more satisfying means of addressing death is to realize it isn't an evil. But hey, if a Tylenol gets you through the day, I'm all for it! 

Scorn death: Either it finishes you, or it transforms you.
-Seneca

Michel Daw on Indifference

Michel Daw, stoic teacher, wrote a great piece on indifference titled, The Truth about Stoic Indifference. Linking to it is my Stoic Saturday action.

The thing is, I was actually writing my own post on indifference when Mr. Daw posted his thoughts in our G+ Community. He said much of what I wanted to say, and better, so I'm sitting this weekend out in deference.

Stoics use the term indifference differently than most. In Stoicism, there is the moral sphere of virtue and vice and then there are indifferents. These indifferents, in themselves, have no moral value. So indifference is not a posture that we hold towards the world, it's a category that we use to evaluate our environment. Some things are indifferent, some aren't. Anyway, check out Michel Daw's post, he knows what he's talking about.