Cicero wrote in Tusculan Disputations that we are born with the seeds of virtue which, if allowed to ripen, would lead us to a happy life (Cicero 227). However, as things are, we find ourselves in a world of "iniquity among a medley of wrong beliefs" that inhibits the ripening process (Cicero 227). The Stoics believed many of these iniquities and wrongful beliefs are the principal sources of unhappiness. In America today, some of these sources of unhappiness are manifest in the pursuits of wealth, prestige, power, and sensual pleasure, as well as the fear of unknown things, such as death. This thesis offers a solution to achieve greater happiness for those desiring to control their own destinies through reason, self-reliance, and will-power. This solution is to adopt and practice Stoic philosophy. This thesis first describes the ancient philosophy of Stoicism whose principle objective is to bring human felicity. Stoicism's fundamental themes could be that the world is as we make it, we should live in accordance with nature, and we can achieve happiness through virtue. The Stoics also believed that we are born with the ability to act enkratically, which enables us to practice Stoic salubrious beliefs. Through reason and other factors, such as intuition, imagination, effort, the ability to learn, experience, skill, and habit, this thesis argues that we can do what we will. With Stoic philosophy and enkrasia, this thesis concludes that many people can enhance their level of happiness.

Stoicism is a 2,300 year-old Greek and Roman philosophy that addressed human happiness. This book is a compendium of principal Stoic philosophers Cicero, Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius writings arranged by topic. On escape Seneca wrote whatever your destination you will be followed by your failings; on death Marcus Aurelius advised be content with your allocation of time; on happiness Cicero believed that a happy life depends on very little; and on suicide Epictetus suggested to quit the game when it no longer pleases you and depart. These are a few profound ideas from an ancient philosophy of life that explained things are what we make them; contentment does not come from externals; ambition, avarice and luxury impede happiness; use proper judgments; remain indifferent to matters outside choice; and pleasure and passion are the primary causes of human unhappiness. The writings of ancient Stoics reproduced in this book are as relevant today as they were millennia ago.

Graduate School is a memoir about an older person returning to school. It is about new beginnings, changing a way of living and adventurously pursuing a life passion by studying philosophy. It is about the struggle to get into graduate school, the challenges of learning again, the excitement of a fresh start in life and the happiness derived from studying the ancient philosophy of Stoicism. This is also a book about higher education in America today written through the lens of one who had experienced much of life—who has navigated the rough and tumble real world and entered an academic surreal world. This memoir evaluates controversial topics like feminism, socialism and liberal academic biases based on experience. In many ways, academia is an idealistic, make-believe cocoon. This book is also about those that inhabitant this world. It describes professors with liberal agendas, professors struggling to inculcate learning and idealistic professors endeavoring to impart knowledge. It is also about the college students and those who live at the periphery of academia. Foremost, this book is about ideas. It describes a student’s descent into the philosophies of free will, determinism, art and morality, theories of the mind, Stoicism and ancient history. A few redacted papers are included to illustrate the author’s ignorance, issues in graduate school and difficult ideas and concepts to master. One paper, for example, compares the decline of Ancient Rome with the decline of America today. While this book offers insights into many facets of graduate school, the central topic is how to achieve happiness in life. Some of its most important messages are that it is never too late to learn, that we compete against ourselves and not others and to always live life to its fullest, aim further than your reach and live life now because it is all we have.

A Reader's Companion II offers a look at 3,500 uncommon words for avid readers. The Reader's Companion series contains thousands of words and their definitions, helping to expand vocabulary, improve comprehension and increase reading speed. This is the second book in the series, and it includes literary, Latin, historic and philosophic words and phrases that advanced readers will commonly encounter. Some examples include: - Nouns including abulia, bellibone, distaff, dragoman, eschatology, flapper, quidnunc and schandenfreude - Literary adjectives such as chiliastic, scabrous, concomitant, eupeptic, purblind and noetic - Ancient words like anent and Boeotian - Philosophic concepts like counterfactual, the either/or fallacy and epiphenomenalism - Latin phrases like a fortiori, credo quia absurdum est, dum vivimus vivamus and ignis fatuus - Root words and derivatives including scrutable/inscrutable, eliminable/ineliminable and reck/reckless - Interesting people like Condillac - Word comparisons such as agnate and enate; cuckquean and cuckold; ethos, kakos and deilos; and exiguous, exegesis and exegete - Historic phrases like Acorn Eater and Lotus Eater

This is a book about the nature of law and its proposition is law should embody justice-but it does not. It does not because there exists a jurisprudential tug of war today between natural and normative law based on morality and non-natural and descriptive law that claims law is simply a social fact. American jurisprudence, perhaps for the first time in human history was founded on natural law. The Constitution embodied morality derived from the social contract which was derived in part from John Locke who believed the end of law is not to abolish or restrain but to preserve and enlarge freedom. But America is embracing non-natural law and the consequences have been unequal treatment under the law, erosion of the rule of law and injustice in the law. Americas judiciary is in turmoil and this book explains why. It does so by exploring contemporary philosophies of law, important moral theories including the social contract, the nature of justice as well as rights, legal reasoning, punishment, responsibility, procedure and evidence.

Emerson wrote that thinking is hard to do, which is why so few do it. Socrates asserted the unexamined life is not worth living, Franklin pondered prudentiality, Sartre examined the existentialist void, Bothius described the wheel of fortune, Cicero mused on old age, Shakespeare dramatized revenge, La Rochefoucauld unveiled vices tribute to virtue, Montaigne said no wind works for those with no port of destination and Sophocles explained it is a mistake to wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been. For millennia brilliant historic thinkers have pondered timeless truths about human nature. Many provocative and contemplative ideas have resonated through time, proving as meaningful today as in the past. This book offers a compendium of thought-provoking quotations along with cogent author comments. It is a celebration of thinkingand thought never goes out of fashion.

Stoicism changed the lives of its followers for the better and now it can do the same for you. Written in plain English, this book takes profound concepts and delivers them in bite-sized chunks anyone can understand, even if you're completely new to philosophy. Read now and discover for yourself what made the ancient philosophers so wise.