Listen "Happiness and Aristotle’s views on the nature of reality and existence"
Episode Synopsis
Consistency is the hallmark of philosophical truth; in a good system of ideas, each individual aspect matches the totality and the totality matches reality. Every application of true principles leads to the best possible outcome under the circumstances. John Vespasian explains that true philosophy operates through identity and causality. It does not depend on wishful thinking, magic, or hope. Aristotle in his “Nicomachean Ethics” called hope a “waking dream” in contrast to the predictability delivered by causality. Even small deviations from the truth will create a lethal lack of consistency. Any discrepancy will undermine effectiveness and motivation. For example, the Roman philosopher Seneca (1-65 AD) had adopted in many areas ideas similar to Aristotle’s, but failed to grasp the concept of causality. Just as Aristotle had done, Seneca recommended practising virtue, rationality, and accepting the natural order. The problem is that his definition of “the natural order” was vastly incorrect. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/happiness-and-aristotles-views-on-the-nature-of-reality-and-existence/
More episodes of the podcast John Vespasian
Michel de Montaigne and human nature
16/10/2025
Michel de Montaigne’s thoughts on friendship
16/10/2025
The essays by Michel de Montaigne
14/10/2025
How Michel de Montaigne wrote his essays
09/10/2025