What Precisely Is Stoic Virtue? How Can We Practice It Today? | America At 250 Conference Talk

Check out my Substack - https://gregorybsadler.substack.com/ The Philadelphia Stoa - https://philadelphiastoa.org/ Request personal videos on Cameo - https://www.cameo.com/gregorybsadler Support my work here - https://www.patreon.com/sadler or here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/a4quydwom Philosophy tutorials - https://reasonio.wordpress.com/tutorials/ Take classes with me - https://reasonio.teachable.com/ This is the recording of my invited talk at the America At 250: Stoic Virtue And The Future Of The American Experiment conference, hosted at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and organized by the Philadelphia Stoa. In this presentation, I lead the participants through a reconstruction of the Stoic doctrine of the cardinal and subordinate virtues. I make a case for why understanding what the subordinate virtues are is important for understanding the scope of the cardinal virtues and for application of Stoicism in practice. I then discuss where in Stoic texts we see subordinate virtues being discussed, distinguished, or referenced. After that, we use one cardinal virtue in particular, temperance, as a case in point, looking first at the fourfold distinction Arius Didymus makes into self-control, modesty, propriety, and orderliness. Looking at other Stoic authors, like Cicero, Seneca, Musonius Rufus, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, we discover not only that they talk about all of these subordinate virtues, but also add others to the scope of temperance, including simplicity, purity, and frugality. Another set of key issues explored in this talk is what virtues actually are for the Stoics, and how human beings develop them. Since virtues have cognitive, volitional, affective, and habitual dimensions to them, full development requires training, teaching, and exercise that addresses all of these dimensions. If you'd like to support my work producing videos like this, become a Patreon supporter! Here's the link to find out more - including the rewards I offer backers: https://www.patreon.com/sadler You can also make a direct contribution to help fund my ongoing educational projects, by clicking here: https://www.paypal.me/ReasonIO If you're interested in philosophy tutorial sessions with me - especially on Stoicism - click here: https://reasonio.wordpress.com/tutorials/ My videos are used by students, lifelong learners, other professors, and professionals to learn more about topics, texts, and thinkers in philosophy, religious studies, literature, social-political theory, critical thinking, and communications. These include college and university classes, British A-levels preparation, and Indian civil service (IAS) examination preparation (Amazon links are associate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases) #stoicism #virtue #philosophy #ethics #personaldevelopment #translation #morality #seneca #cícero #epictetus