If It’s Not Simple, It’s Bullshit

There’s not much in Stoicism that’s particularly groundbreaking: Focus on what you can control. Be a good person. Manage your emotions. A lot of the famous Stoic quotes are pretty basic too: Epictetus : “It’s not things that upset us, it’s our judgement about things.” Marcus Aurelius : “You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” Seneca : “We suffer more often in imagination than in reality” The elementary school-level simplicity isn’t a bug. It’s a feature: There’s a great line in Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle : "Dr. Hoenikker used to say that any scientist who couldn't explain to an eight-year-old what he was doing was a charlatan." A lot of complicated stuff isn’t actually complicated...it’s made to seem that way so no one will notice that it’s actually bullshit. A lot of philosophy is badly written...because if it wasn’t, people would actually understand what the “philosopher” was saying and laugh them out of a job. What the Stoic writings are about is not impressing anyone, nor making the reader feel like a genius for getting all the way through. No, they are designed to be short and to the point. No puffery. No throat-cle…