Uploaded November 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
John Vervaeke explores the intricate relationship between beauty and stoicism. Vervaeke delves into the philosophical underpinnings of stoicism, focusing on its emphasis on beauty as a pathway to understanding reality and virtue. He articulates how stoicism aligns beauty with wisdom, offering insights into cognitive science, virtue ethics, and the transformative power of beauty in perceiving the world.
Resources:
Dr. John Vervaeke
Website: johnvervaeke.com
Patreon: patreon.com/johnvervaeke
Facebook: facebook.com/VervaekeJohn
X: twitter.com/vervaeke_john
YouTube: youtube.com/@johnvervaeke
The Vervaeke Foundation: vervaekefoundation.org
Books, Articles, and Publications
Saving Beauty - Byung-Chul Han: amazon.com/Saving-Beauty-Byung-Chul-Han/dp/1509515100
The Agony of Eros - Byung-Chul Han: amazon.com/Agony-Eros-Untimely-Meditations/dp/0262533375/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=56sfU&content-id=amzn1.sym.cf86ec3a-68a6-43e9-8115-04171136930a&pf_rd_p=cf86ec3a-68a6-43e9-8115-04171136930a&pf_rd_r=130-4407807-9949005&pd_rd_wg=A4fCG&pd_rd_r=54acdf8e-9307-4bf6-b86f-835d7f8194a9&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk
Zombies in Western Culture: A Twenty-First Century Crisis - John Vervaeke, Christopher Mastropietro, Filip Miscevic: amazon.com/Zombies-Western-Culture-Twenty-First-Century/dp/178374328X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2MDKFWSQS23VU&keywords=vervaeke+zombies&qid=1700183786&s=books&sprefix=vervaeke+zombies%2Cstripbooks%2C102&sr=1-1
On Bullshit - Harry G. Frankfurt: amazon.com/Bullshit-Harry-G-Frankfurt/dp/0691122946
The Catholicity of Reason - D. C. Schindler: amazon.com/Catholicity-Reason-Ressourcement-Retrieval-Catholic/dp/0802869335/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12NP2FFQDK6XX&keywords=schindler+catholicity&qid=1700184078&s=books&sprefix=schindler+cathlocity%2Cstripbooks%2C102&sr=1-1
Bearing Witness to Epiphany: Persons, Things, and the Nature of Erotic Life - John Russon: amazon.com/Bearing-Witness-Epiphany-Contemporary-Continental-ebook/dp/B007QWPYWE/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UH5C7IL17OL7&keywords=bearing+witness+to&qid=1700184140&s=books&sprefix=bearing+witness+to%2Cstripbooks%2C104&sr=1-1
The Experience of Meaning - Jan Zwicky:
On Beauty and Being Just - Elaine Scarry
Plausible Reasoning: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Plausibilistic Inference - Nicolas Rescher (Out of print)
Practical Induction - Elijah Millgram
Inference to the Best Explanation - Peter Lipton
On defining wisdom. The International Journal of Aging & Human Development McKee, P., & Barber, C. (1999).
Wisdom science in a polarized world: Knowns and unknowns. Psychological Inquiry, Grossmann, I., Weststrate, N. M., Ardelt, M., Brienza, J. P., Dong, M., Ferrari, M., Fournier, M. A., Hu, C. S., Nusbaum, H. C. & Vervaeke, J. (2020).
Time Codes:
00:00:00 — John Vervaeke introduces the theme of his talk: Why beauty is deeply implicit in stoicism, especially in its commitment to rationality and virtue to stoic principles
00:02:22 — Vervaeke discusses the cycle of self-deception and its reinforcement by societal bullshit
00:10:33 — Explanation of how our culture attempts to control appearances to make them easily accessible and superficial
00:17:06 — Discussion on the normative aspect of realizations and their implications for action and responsibility
00:23:44 — Exploration of the concept of 'musicality of intelligibility' and its relation to our perception of reality
00:35:45 — Discussion on the intersection of stoicism and cognitive science
00:39:22 — Examination of virtue as a form of wisdom and its beautiful appearance in various contexts
00:47:49 — Insights into the concept of joy and its distinction from pleasure, emphasizing a deeper connection to reality
00:49:08 — Question: Inquiry about whether the exclamation "wow" in response to elegance signifies awe and how this relates to beauty, plausibility, and recognition
00:51:27 — Question: Exploring whether stoicism's concept of dwelling on beauty is an intellectual or embodied relationship
00:52:27 — Inquiry: Recognizing the difference between triviality and plausibility
00:53:47 — Question: How to respond appropriately to someone spouting nonsense
00:58:29 — Question: What is the relationship between beauty and confirmation bias
01:00:47 — Question: Has the "smoothing" of reality led to societal disdain or denial of complex narratives, and can individual yearnings overcome this superficially created simplicity
01:02:57 — Question: What to do in cases in which authentic natural salient beauty is misleading
01:07:33 — Inquiry: Suggest ways to self-reflect and determine if one is being truthful or just spouting nonsense
01:10:02 — Inquiry: Requesting further insights on whether stoicism, often linked with beauty and perceived romantically, is a philosophy following Aristotle's path, a religion, something in-between, or if Stoics were deceiving themselves about their own practice
John Vervaeke explores the intricate relationship between beauty and stoicism. Vervaeke delves into the philosophical underpinnings of stoicism, focusing on its emphasis on beauty as a pathway to understanding reality and virtue. He articulates how stoicism aligns beauty with wisdom, offering insights into cognitive science, virtue ethics, and the transformative power of beauty in perceiving the world.
Resources:
Dr. John Vervaeke
Website: johnvervaeke.com
Patreon: patreon.com/johnvervaeke
Facebook: facebook.com/VervaekeJohn
X: twitter.com/vervaeke_john
YouTube: youtube.com/@johnvervaeke
The Vervaeke Foundation: vervaekefoundation.org
Books, Articles, and Publications
Saving Beauty - Byung-Chul Han: amazon.com/Saving-Beauty-Byung-Chul-Han/dp/1509515100
The Agony of Eros - Byung-Chul Han: amazon.com/Agony-Eros-Untimely-Meditations/dp/0262533375/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=56sfU&content-id=amzn1.sym.cf86ec3a-68a6-43e9-8115-04171136930a&pf_rd_p=cf86ec3a-68a6-43e9-8115-04171136930a&pf_rd_r=130-4407807-9949005&pd_rd_wg=A4fCG&pd_rd_r=54acdf8e-9307-4bf6-b86f-835d7f8194a9&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk
Zombies in Western Culture: A Twenty-First Century Crisis - John Vervaeke, Christopher Mastropietro, Filip Miscevic: amazon.com/Zombies-Western-Culture-Twenty-First-Century/dp/178374328X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2MDKFWSQS23VU&keywords=vervaeke+zombies&qid=1700183786&s=books&sprefix=vervaeke+zombies%2Cstripbooks%2C102&sr=1-1
On Bullshit - Harry G. Frankfurt: amazon.com/Bullshit-Harry-G-Frankfurt/dp/0691122946
The Catholicity of Reason - D. C. Schindler: amazon.com/Catholicity-Reason-Ressourcement-Retrieval-Catholic/dp/0802869335/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12NP2FFQDK6XX&keywords=schindler+catholicity&qid=1700184078&s=books&sprefix=schindler+cathlocity%2Cstripbooks%2C102&sr=1-1
Bearing Witness to Epiphany: Persons, Things, and the Nature of Erotic Life - John Russon: amazon.com/Bearing-Witness-Epiphany-Contemporary-Continental-ebook/dp/B007QWPYWE/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UH5C7IL17OL7&keywords=bearing+witness+to&qid=1700184140&s=books&sprefix=bearing+witness+to%2Cstripbooks%2C104&sr=1-1
The Experience of Meaning - Jan Zwicky:
On Beauty and Being Just - Elaine Scarry
Plausible Reasoning: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Plausibilistic Inference - Nicolas Rescher (Out of print)
Practical Induction - Elijah Millgram
Inference to the Best Explanation - Peter Lipton
On defining wisdom. The International Journal of Aging & Human Development McKee, P., & Barber, C. (1999).
Wisdom science in a polarized world: Knowns and unknowns. Psychological Inquiry, Grossmann, I., Weststrate, N. M., Ardelt, M., Brienza, J. P., Dong, M., Ferrari, M., Fournier, M. A., Hu, C. S., Nusbaum, H. C. & Vervaeke, J. (2020).
Time Codes:
00:00:00 — John Vervaeke introduces the theme of his talk: Why beauty is deeply implicit in stoicism, especially in its commitment to rationality and virtue to stoic principles
00:02:22 — Vervaeke discusses the cycle of self-deception and its reinforcement by societal bullshit
00:10:33 — Explanation of how our culture attempts to control appearances to make them easily accessible and superficial
00:17:06 — Discussion on the normative aspect of realizations and their implications for action and responsibility
00:23:44 — Exploration of the concept of 'musicality of intelligibility' and its relation to our perception of reality
00:35:45 — Discussion on the intersection of stoicism and cognitive science
00:39:22 — Examination of virtue as a form of wisdom and its beautiful appearance in various contexts
00:47:49 — Insights into the concept of joy and its distinction from pleasure, emphasizing a deeper connection to reality
00:49:08 — Question: Inquiry about whether the exclamation "wow" in response to elegance signifies awe and how this relates to beauty, plausibility, and recognition
00:51:27 — Question: Exploring whether stoicism's concept of dwelling on beauty is an intellectual or embodied relationship
00:52:27 — Inquiry: Recognizing the difference between triviality and plausibility
00:53:47 — Question: How to respond appropriately to someone spouting nonsense
00:58:29 — Question: What is the relationship between beauty and confirmation bias
01:00:47 — Question: Has the "smoothing" of reality led to societal disdain or denial of complex narratives, and can individual yearnings overcome this superficially created simplicity
01:02:57 — Question: What to do in cases in which authentic natural salient beauty is misleading
01:07:33 — Inquiry: Suggest ways to self-reflect and determine if one is being truthful or just spouting nonsense
01:10:02 — Inquiry: Requesting further insights on whether stoicism, often linked with beauty and perceived romantically, is a philosophy following Aristotle's path, a religion, something in-between, or if Stoics were deceiving themselves about their own practice
