About: Van Bryan

Written by Van Bryan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom “It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly. And it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.” ~ Epicurus, The Principal Doctrines The philosophy of the hedonists, as discussed last week, seems appealing,

Written by Van Bryan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom At the opening of the Crito, a dialogue by the philosopher Plato, Socrates has been imprisoned. He is awaiting his execution for the supposed crimes of corrupting the youth and believing in strange gods. However, it is only by chance that Socrates is still alive, trapped in his

Written by Van Bryan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom  “If it were wrong to be extravagant, it would not be in vogue at the festivals of the gods.” ~ Aristippus (Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of Eminent Philosophers) We have seen, through our examination of ethical egoism last week, that some philosophers believed that the best life consisted

Written by Van Bryan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom There are a few advantages we have going for us when we study moral philosophy. The first is that moral philosophy (also known as ethical philosophy) is immediately applicable to our lives. The second is that many of the suppositions seem to be rather easy to confirm.

Written by Van Bryan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom You recall our mandate. At Classical Wisdom, we believe classical wisdom can ring true for modern minds. After all… No calamity has been so calamitous… no disaster so disastrous… and no idea so idiotic that it hasn’t happened at least once over the millennia. The ancients have