Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Aristotle and Plato ICYMI
This episode features Yale Professor Tamar Gendler discussing ancient Greek wisdom from Socrates' students Plato and Aristotle. It explores Plato's insights on controlling internal strife and Aristotle's concept of eudaimonia through virtuous habits and the "middle way."
Deep Dive Analysis
15 Topic Outline
Introduction to Ancient Greek Wisdom and Socrates' Legacy
The Chariot Metaphor for Internal Conflict
Aristotle: The Father of Positive Psychology
Eudaimonia: Spiritual Flourishing vs. Hedonistic Pleasure
Phronesis: Practical Wisdom as a Skill
Aristotle's Virtue as the 'Middle Way'
The Nicomachean Ethics and a Virtuous Life
Aristotle on the Three Kinds of Friendship
Applying Aristotle's Wisdom in Modern Life
Plato's Insights on the Divided Self
The Story of Leontius and Internal Strife
Plato's Chariot Metaphor: Reason, Spirit, and Appetite
Strategies for Controlling the Appetite Horse
Strategies for Training the Spirit Horse
The Enduring Legacy of Greek Wisdom on Self-Control
9 Key Concepts
Chariot Metaphor (Happiness Lab)
This metaphor illustrates the internal struggle of navigating life's complexities, likening the mind to a charioteer trying to get two powerful but mismatched horses (representing competing desires and emotions) to work in harmony towards a happy destination.
Eudaimonia (Aristotle)
Spiritual flourishing or well-being, a lasting and robust form of happiness distinct from short-lived hedonistic pleasure. It involves expressing virtue and reason, doing things that are good and virtuous, and cultivating a state where one takes pleasure in virtue.
Hedonistic Happiness (Aristotle)
Short-lived indulgence in physical pleasures like eating or sex. Aristotle contrasts this with eudaimonia, noting that while it's a part of being human, it doesn't lead to the deeper, more robust, and lasting thriving that constitutes true happiness.
Phronesis (Aristotle)
Practical wisdom, which is a skill-based understanding of how to do something, as opposed to merely theoretical knowledge. It is cultivated through the repeated practice of desired actions and virtues, leading to a self-reinforcing cycle of improvement.
Virtue as the Middle Way (Aristotle)
The concept that virtues are behaviors that are intermediate between two extremes. For example, bravery lies between the extremes of cowardice and recklessness, providing a clear and manageable path for self-improvement through small, consistent steps.
Divided Self (Plato)
The idea that within every human being, there are multiple parts (such as reason, spirit, and appetite) that often pull the person in different directions, leading to internal strife and tension. This is exemplified by Plato's story of Leontius.
Plato's Chariot Metaphor (Phaedrus)
A vivid analogy describing a human being as a charioteer driving a chariot with two horses: a noble horse (representing spirit, interested in honor and social interaction) and a wild horse (representing appetite, interested in fundamental physical desires). The goal is for the charioteer to control these horses to move effectively towards flourishing.
Horse of Appetite (Plato)
Represents fundamental physical desires shared with non-human animals, such as the desire for food, sleep, or physical pleasure. Plato suggests managing this part of the self primarily by avoiding temptations and blocking attention from them, using self-control as a last resort.
Horse of Spirit (Plato)
Represents the part of ourselves interested in honor, social interaction, and what others think of us. Plato suggests training this horse by cultivating habits that make virtuous actions natural and pleasurable, using argument, explanation, and social reinforcement.
8 Questions Answered
Ancient Greek thinkers, philosophers, and spiritual leaders figured out many important well-being lessons thousands of years ago that are not only relevant today but are also backed up by modern science.
Eudaimonia refers to spiritual flourishing or well-being, a robust and lasting form of happiness achieved by expressing virtue and reason, and taking pleasure in virtuous actions, rather than just short-lived hedonistic pleasures.
Phronesis is a skill-based understanding of how to do something, gained through practicing the activity about which one wants to make progress, rather than just theoretical knowledge.
Virtue is cultivated by acting in a moderate way, taking small, consistent steps towards a desired virtue (the 'middle way' between extremes), which then becomes self-reinforcing and pleasurable.
Aristotle identifies three kinds of friendship, with the deepest being based on mutual appreciation of one another's values, where friends support each other in cultivating practical wisdom and virtuous actions, acting as a 'second self.'
Plato explains that human beings are made up of multiple parts (reason, spirit, appetite) that often pull in different directions, leading to internal strife, as illustrated by the story of Leontius.
Plato suggests that the best way to control the appetite horse is to avoid temptations, and if avoidance isn't possible, to keep attention away from them, using willpower and self-control only as a last resort.
The spirit horse can be trained by cultivating habits that make desired actions natural and pleasurable, using argument and explanation, and finding social support to reinforce these virtuous behaviors.
20 Actionable Insights
1. Control Your Perception
Actively control how you represent the world to yourself by framing things as either within or outside your control, as this mindset can be self-fulfilling and reduce the impact of external factors like others’ disapproval.
2. Question All Beliefs
Regularly challenge every belief and assumption you hold, as per the Socratic method, to gain deeper understanding and avoid being too radical for your peers.
3. Pursue Virtuous Activities
Strive to spend as much time as possible engaging in activities that are good, virtuous, and pleasurable, by cultivating a character that takes pleasure in virtue, leading to lasting spiritual flourishing (eudaimonia).
4. Practice Desired Virtues
To achieve practical wisdom and become the person you want to be, consistently practice the virtues you wish to cultivate, as this self-education project builds the desired soul and makes virtuous activities pleasurable.
5. Act As Your Ideal Self
To cultivate virtues like justice, temperance, or bravery, engage in actions consistent with those virtues, as this practice makes them natural and reinforces the desired behavior.
6. Live a Moral, Connected Life
To achieve deep happiness (eudaimonia), live a moral life by doing nice things for others, fostering strong connections, and engaging in work that provides meaning.
7. Embrace the Middle Way
Cultivate virtues by finding the moderate path between two extremes (e.g., bravery between cowardice and recklessness), taking small, incremental steps towards the desired virtue without being overwhelmed.
8. Build Temperance Incrementally
Practice abstaining from pleasures in small steps to develop temperance, as this habituation makes it easier to continue abstaining and reinforces the virtuous behavior.
9. Control Internal Desires
Recognize that you have multiple internal parts pulling you in different directions; for flourishing, ensure your passions and desires (the ‘horses’) are controlled and pulling you in your desired direction.
10. Design for No Self-Control
The most effective way to achieve self-control is to proactively design your environment and situations so that you are not even tempted, minimizing the need to expend willpower.
11. Avoid Appetitive Temptations
To control the ‘appetite horse’ (physical desires), prioritize avoiding temptations altogether; if avoidance isn’t possible, divert your attention from them, and only as a last resort, rely on willpower.
12. Remove Access to Temptations
Physically remove or block access to temptations, such as putting your phone away, turning off Wi-Fi, or not keeping tempting foods in the house, to reduce the need for willpower.
13. Implement Pre-Commitment
Use pre-commitment strategies to avoid temptation, such as blocking access to tempting stimuli (like blocking ears) or physically restraining yourself from undesirable actions (like tying oneself to a mast).
14. Optimize Environment for Habits
Make desired actions easier and more automatic by setting up environmental cues, such as placing workout shoes or a gratitude journal where they are visible and accessible.
15. Train Your Spirit Horse
Control the ‘spirit horse’ (desire for honor, social interaction) by cultivating habits that make desired behaviors natural and pleasurable, as this part of oneself is trainable through argument and explanation.
16. Make Virtuous Habits Pleasurable
To train your ‘spirit horse,’ engage in virtuous activities (like gratitude journaling) consistently until they become pleasurable and naturally propel you towards your goals.
17. Cultivate Virtuous Friendships
Seek out and cultivate friendships based on mutual appreciation of deep values, where friends support and reinforce each other’s commitment to virtuous activities, helping you remain committed to personal growth.
18. Leverage Social Support
To stick to new virtuous or happiness-enhancing habits (e.g., exercise, meditation), find social support by engaging in these activities with a friend who can reinforce your commitment.
19. Practice Strength Dates
Schedule ‘strength dates’ with a friend to jointly pursue and enhance a specific virtue or strength, as this communal activity can give a nice boost to your well-being.
20. Establish Family Routines
Create consistent family routines, such as a regular dinner time, to foster connection and make desired social interactions feel natural and automatic rather than a conscious decision.
7 Key Quotes
Sometimes the most interesting answer is something that somebody gave 2,000 years ago or on a completely different continent or in a completely different context.
Tamar Gendler
The idea that the surface gives you one kind of information, but that assembling a lot of surface phenomena and then looking at what lies more deeply behind them gives you a deeper understanding is an incredibly important insight.
Tamar Gendler
We become builders by building and we become harpists by playing the harp... so too, says Aristotle, we become just by doing just actions, temperate by doing temperate actions, brave by doing brave actions.
Aristotle (quoted by Tamar Gendler)
Abstaining from pleasures makes us become temperate. And once we've become temperate, we're more capable of abstaining from pleasures. It's similar with bravery. Habituation in standing firm in frightening situations makes us brave. And once we've become brave, we're more capable of standing firm.
Aristotle (quoted by Tamar Gendler)
The young need friendship to keep them from error. The old need friendship to care for them and to support the actions that fail because of weakness. And those in their prime need friendship to do fine actions for they are more capable of understanding and acting when two go together.
Aristotle (quoted by Tamar Gendler)
Look for yourselves, you evil eyes. Take your fill of this beautiful sight.
Leontius (quoted by Tamar Gendler)
The more effective somebody is at what we think of as self-control and self-regulation, the more likely it is that they seldom put themselves into situations where they even feel tempted.
Tamar Gendler
2 Protocols
Plato's Strategy for Controlling the Appetite Horse
Plato (as interpreted by Tamar Gendler)- Avoid temptations by removing them from your environment (e.g., don't put tempting food in front of you, turn off Wi-Fi).
- If temptations are present, actively keep yourself from looking at them or focusing your attention on them.
- Only as a last resort, when avoidance and distraction are not possible, rely on self-control and willpower to resist the temptation.
Plato's Strategy for Training the Spirit Horse
Plato (as interpreted by Tamar Gendler)- Cultivate habits that align with the desired virtuous behavior.
- Make the desired actions natural and pleasurable through consistent practice and self-reinforcement.
- Engage in 'right association' or 'strength dates' by surrounding yourself with friends who support and reinforce your commitment to virtue and self-improvement.