The Rational Cosmos on Substack
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Is AI a New Lifeform? - A Stoic Reflection.
8 Jul 2026
Picture hand drawn in graphite by Whatever it does or does not do, artificial intelligence is here to stay. What it actually is or will become is probably best understood by first understanding what humans are. For we are living…
Stoicism and the Problem of Cultural Difference
2 Jul 2026
Picture hand drawn in graphite by Today, and probably for most of civilised and settled human life, there have been diverse views of the world and culture. Some look totally incompatible, not only because of the bridge of time, but…
What Is the Meaning of Life?
29 Jun 2026
Picture by What Is the Meaning of Life?What is the meaning of life is asking whether life has intelligible significance. Whether life can be understood as more than a sequence of events, feelings or reactions. A fact can have one…
Stoicism, Poverty and Resistance
23 Jun 2026
Picture hand drawn in graphite by One of the dangers with Stoicism is that acceptance can be mistaken for obedience.When we are poor or struggling, we first need to understand that... We may have no money, struggle for food, poor…
Stoicism: Oikeiōsis and the Roots of Virtue.
4 Jun 2026
Picture hand drawn in graphite by You have probably heard many times that oikeiōsis explains why we care. That we start from concern for ourselves and this expands outwards to others. That it is this that allows us to move…
STOICISM: Love, Fate and the Problem of Meaning
2 Jun 2026
Picture hand drawn in graphite by The problem with love is that is seams obvious until we ask the question of what is actually means.Today in English, love can mean erotic desire, friendship, family affection, moral concern, religious devotion or…
Stoicism and The Rational Cosmos
11 May 2026
Image hand drawn in graphite by The Rational Cosmos is an invitation to recover Stoicism as a complete discipline of life, thought and action. We begin with human beings as they are vulnerable, dependent, social, rational, limited in knowledge and…
Stoicism... What is Justice.
16 Apr 2026
Picture hand drawn in graphite by Justice in Stoicism really means something very different to what is suggested in modern times. Even though many do not see even that as Justice, Stoicism probably takes a different stance to most modern…
Stoicism and the Failure of Happiness
26 Mar 2026
Picture hand drawn in graphite by Sue DoodlebeeLife is a lottery for every one of us. Even if the universe remains anything but with its all determining causal chain. For us when we measure our desires against what happens it…