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Feral Librarian's avatar

I love that you mention temperance and wonder if it isn't time to dust the term off. For the longest time it meant abstaining from alcohol but also moderation or self-restraint. There is such wisdom in Stoicism. I'm curious if generally speaking women can benefit from it more than men in modern culture. As a male social worker I see so many men flock to it on YouTube as a way to suppress their emotions and it rarely ends well for them. On the surface it overlaps nicely with what some call toxic masculinity and leads them down a rule bound path with less moderation. Its hard to explain to those guys that it takes discipline to endure painful feelings without complaint. It is actually more stoic for them to feel more deeply but not be led by the emotions.

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Reena Kapoor's avatar

Excellent piece! Don’t know if you’ve read Jordan Peterson - he’s been so helpful to young men who are so badly lost in our culture too. He’s all about discipline.

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