The Modern Stoic #3: Dying (And Living) Well - a podcast by Jon & Dre

from 2017-10-23T14:31:09

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You forget to look before crossing the street; your foot slips as you walk down the stairs... and it's all over. Are you ready? Can you be at peace with that?

The Stoics took care to remind themselves of death: Memento mori. In the cutthroat world of the Romans, this could be all too close, but we all so easily forget that death can turn up any moment.

And yet most people are caught between the fear of death and the unwillingness to live. We're too scared of losing things – possessions, jobs, relationships – to actually enjoy having them at all.

As Seneca hammers home, the secret to a good life is to remember death: that it will all be taken from us in an instant, so we'd best make the most of now.

What's the point of living a life worrying about something we cannot change? Seneca doesn't think it's worth the time at all... But Dre's still planning to live forever, and with advances in modern technology this could soon become a reality. What would that mean for our lives, friendships, values, and goals, though?

On the other hand, if this was the last day of your life, wouldn't you just eat ice cream rather than fulfil all your ambitions, only for them to vanish?

This episode, we get into some serious disagreements about whether there's any point in being afraid of death; we hear Jon's plans to wank on mountains and read an entire library; and Dre adamantly refuses to die.

Including:

  • Why most old people are dicks
  • Dre's plans for immortality and why you're too weak for it
  • Would there be any morality in a world without death?
  • Learning to be OK with being terrified
  • How long would you choose to live if you could remain physically 22?

Find Out More:

Be Silly. Be Kind. Be Weird.

Further episodes of Voices in the Dark

Further podcasts by Jon & Dre

Website of Jon & Dre