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Letters
Letters
Act Cool • Amoral Letters • The Matter In Mind • Personal Impermanence • Legal Wrangle • Paradoxical Kant • History & Truth • Tallis? Bah! • Incalculable Computers • Everlasting Debate
Act Cool
Dear Editor: In Issue 80, Thorsten Botz-Bornstein’s article on being cool mentioned the Stoics’ attitude: “what depends on us are our impulses, passions, attitudes, opinions, desires, beliefs and judgments.” He omits perhaps the most potent influence we can have, that of our actions. According to Botz-Bornstein, the Stoics also dismiss what we have no influence over, such as the past. However, they knew that we’re the result of the past, and that it’s not uncool to be in touch with it; in fact, without interest in the past, we would all turn dumb. By knowing the past we can intelligently influence the future.
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