Are you living an examined life?
Why did Socrates stress that the unexamined life is not worth living?
One of the ways we can live a more contemplative life is by adopting the ancient practice of journaling. In this week’s In Search of Wisdom episode, my guest Brittany Polat, the author of Journal Like a Stoic, explained this ancient practice's many benefits, specifically how we can live with greater acceptance and integrate practical wisdom in daily life.
The American writer James Miller explains in Examined Lives: From Socrates to Nietzsche that the works of Quintus Sextius influenced Seneca to adopt his daily routine of introspective self-examination.
In Seneca’s words,
Sextius had this habit, and when the day was over and he had retired to his nightly rest, he would put these questions to his soul: What bad habit have you cured today? What fault have you resisted? In what respect are you better?
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