Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Category: Introversion

  • Idle Talk and Idle Thought

    If you aim to avoid idle talk, then you ought also aim to avoid idle thought. A maxim to mind: Avoid the near occasion of useless conversation. This applies both to conversation with others and with oneself. The latter is avoided by internal situational awareness which is classically enjoined by: Guard the mind. Not easy.…

  • How Much Bad Behavior Ought We Tolerate from Our ‘Friends’?

    The following arrived on Christmas Eve: Apatheia, Ataraxia, and Holiday Spirit I was wondering if you had any advice for those struggling to maintain their Stoic calm as Christmas approaches. Alas, I am one of those souls this year. I will not burden you with the details, but it seems the holidays also bring out…

  • Out of Sight, Out of Mind

    Out of sightOut of mindOut of range Of the illWill and thoughtOf  others.

  • The Introvert Advantage

    Currently atop  the Substack pile.  With a little help from Kafka, Heidegger, Schopenhauer, and Einstein. ……………. Thomas writes (12/29), A very nice note for the (nearly) new year. It took me decades to realise I am one of those who was nearly socially self-sufficient all his life – no school yard bullying ever touched me,…

  • To be Alone is Bliss

    Your invitation's kindSo I hope you won't mindIf your party I miss.To be alone is bliss. Your friends are such a boreAnd idle talk's a choreThey will be good to miss.To be alone is bliss. 

  • The Introvert Advantage

    Social distancing?  I've been doing it all my life. O beata solitudo, sola beatitudo!  Happy solitude, the sole beatitude. How sweet it is, and made sweeter still by a little socializing. Full lockdown?  I could easily take it, and put it to good use.  It provides an excellent excuse to avoid meaningless holiday socializing with…

  • The Art of Life: Among ‘Regular Guys’

    Among regular guys it is best to play the regular guy — as tiring and boring as that can be. Need relief? Strictly limit your time among regular guys. But mix with them a little lest you be hated for being 'aloof,' or 'unfriendly.' As long as one is in the world, one must be…

  • Arizona Governor Issues Stay-at-Home Order

    Here: Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday issued a statewide "stay-at-home" order to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, preventing Arizonans from leaving their residences except for food, medicine and other "essential activities." The directive, which also allows for outdoor exercise, will take effect upon close of business Tuesday [3/31] and apply through at least April…

  • Sweet Solitude

    Patrick Kurp of Anecdotal Evidence is an introvert too, not that I am surprised: Our time has come – introverts, that is. We who are happiest with our thoughts, who shun the mob, for whom “social” is code for “tedious,” who never exchange high-fives or fist bumps, who remain in our rooms with Pascalian contentedness,…

  • Moods

    There is an analog of contagion in the spread of attitude. Moods are socially transmissible.  Which do you carry? Which do you avoid? Voluntary social self-quarantine is something to consider. Thus spoke the introvert.

  • Are You an Introvert? Take this Test!

    This is a re-post from April 2012 with minor edits and additions. ………………………… The bolded material below is taken verbatim from Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking (Crown 2012), p. 13.  I then give my responses.  The more affirmative responses, the more of an introvert you are. 1. I prefer one-on-one…

  • The Introvert Advantage

    We introverts make up about a quarter of the population. No surprise, then, that we are poorly understood.  We are not shy or anti-social. Extroverts abuse us, but there is no need to reply in kind since the present turn of events will do the job for us. They will suffer. We will have no…

  • Pascal Weighs in on the Wuhan Flu

    "All of a man's problems derive from his inability to sit quietly alone in his room."   An exaggeration, no doubt, but curiously apropos at the present time.  More on Pascal in my Pascal category. Thomas Merton wrote a very good book, The Silent Life. Had he been more assiduous in the living of that life…

  • Introverts and ‘Social Distancing’

    We introverts need our solitude, and in a world lousy teeming with extroverts, we can easily see the bright side of the 'social distancing' that prudence demands in the face of the Wuhan Flu. It offers us a good excuse to avoid idle talk and social dissipation. "I really would love to attend the block…

  • Advice for Introverts

    Relations with extroverts should be left at the superficial level. Never seek  a deep relation with a person who is surface all the way down.