About: Jacob Bell

By Jacob Bell, Associate Editor, Classical Wisdom “If Chrysippus had not existed, neither would the Stoa.” This became a popular catchphrase of the Stoics. The Stoics viewed Chrysippus as a central figure in helping to establish the core doctrines and principles of Stoicism. Chrysippus is often hailed as the “second founder of Stoicism.” The Stoics

By Jacob Bell, Associate Editor, Classical Wisdom “Man is the measure of all things…” It is likely that you have heard this phrase uttered at one time or the other. It is an explicit declaration of relativism, and one of the earliest accounts of such a theory. It was Protagoras who made this statement. He

By Jacob Bell, Associate Editor, Classical Wisdom Mind and matter or physical and mental – these are distinctions that we are familiar with. We needn’t have studied philosophy extensively or have had any type of specialized training in order to recognize these terms. An example of this is when we hear the phrase “mind over

By Jacob Bell, Associate Editor, Classical Wisdom Imagine this… You are born into a political and social structure which has three classes. The class you are born into depends upon your lineage and will determine the career you have for your entire life. This structure is upheld by a noble lie which is embedded into

By Jacob Bell, Associate Editor, Classical Wisdom Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher that lived from 55-135 CE. He came before Marcus Aurelius and after Seneca. Epictetus was a slave for much of his youth and began studying philosophy under Musonius Rufus during his enslavement. He gained his freedom sometime after the death of Emperor Nero