The British philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) was one of the most influential thinkers on liberty, individuality, and freedom of thought. Mill believed that even our strongest convictions should be open to questioning. He argued that engaging with opposing views helps us understand our own beliefs more deeply. In his famous work On Liberty, he wrote: "He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that." — John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter II (1859). Mill challenges us to consider whether our beliefs are genuinely well-reasoned or simply ideas we've never seriously questioned. Imagine you strongly believe that success comes from hard work. Then someone argues that luck, circumstances, and opportunities play an equally important role. Would you genuinely consider their perspective, or would you instinctively defend your original belief? Mill argued that even when we're right, refusing to engage with opposing arguments can weaken our understanding. A belief that has never been challenged might simply be something we've accepted rather than something we've truly examined. But this also raises another question. If we constantly question everything we believe, can we ever be confident in anything? 💬 Let's Discuss - Have you ever strongly believed something, only to change your mind later? - Is being open-minded a sign of wisdom, or should some beliefs never be questioned? 👇 Share your perspectives, experiences, or questions below!

Starting THIS SUNDAY, our weekly Curiosity Meetings are becoming something more structured. We’re officially beginning a full Introduction to Philosophy course inside The Curiosity Club. Instead of each Sunday being a separate discussion topic, we’re going to work through philosophy step-by-step together, reading major thinkers, breaking down their ideas, and discussing how those ideas connect to real life. I’ve created a new classroom called 🏛️ Philosophy School for everything related to the course: https://www.skool.com/the-philosophy-academy-7958/classroom/112b5377?md=ed8975180fc44c36a67d717c4505c9b2 Our first unit will be: 🌿 Unit I — The Good Life We’ll explore questions like: - What makes a life worth living? - What is virtue? - What does it mean to live well? - What actually makes us happy? Each unit will take roughly 2–3 Sunday calls, so we can slow down and actually understand the material instead of rushing through it. Before starting, please make sure you read the “READ THIS FIRST” page in Philosophy School. It explains exactly how the readings, Sunday calls, discussions, and recordings will work. I’ve also already uploaded our first reading: 📖 Plato’s Apology — the story of Socrates being put on trial and defending the way he chose to live. (You do not need to finish the entire reading before Sunday). Since we’ll be exploring it over the next few weeks, just aim to read the first 5 pages or so before our first session. On Sunday, I will present and give everyone the context, break down what we’ve read, explain the important ideas, answer questions, and then we’ll discuss it together. And if you can’t make a Sunday call, don’t worry, recordings will be added to the classroom so you can follow along at your own pace. Really excited to start this next chapter with all of you. First Philosophy School session starts this Sunday!!!!!!!!

Imagine you had to choose between two lives. - In the first, you are extremely happy, comfortable, successful, and satisfied—but you are not an especially admirable person. - In the second, you are courageous, generous, honest, and principled—but your life involves more struggle, sacrifice, and unhappiness. Which life is better? Philosophers have disagreed about questions like this for more than 2,000 years. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Aristotle — Being good and being happy are not really separate Aristotle thinks the highest human good is eudaimonia, usually translated as happiness or flourishing. But he does not mean simply “feeling good.” A flourishing life involves actually living and acting virtuously over the course of a whole life. Courage, justice, friendship, practical wisdom, and good activity are part of what happiness is. He also admits that some external goods—friends, resources, decent circumstances—matter. Read: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book I (Focus especially on Book I, chapters 4–7). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Epicurus — Happiness is the goal, but pleasure does not mean endless indulgence. Epicurus says pleasure is the end of life, but famously clarifies that he does not mean constant partying, luxury, or sensual gratification. The happiest life is marked by freedom from bodily pain and mental disturbance, along with prudence, moderation, friendship, and freedom from unnecessary desires. Read: Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi everyone, it doesn't seem like anyone was able to join the kick-off call (which is totally okay!!!) -- it is very new and very short notice. I took that time to do a full video walkthrough of the community so you know all the fun things there is to do here. We will be having weekly meetings each Sunday at 11 am CST. If there is a different day or time that works better for everyone please share below and we can adjust so you can make it :-)

One thing I want this community to be is a place where we can talk about the questions that don’t always have easy answers. So I’m curious... What’s one question about yourself, life, relationships, meaning, success, happiness, etc...that you keep coming back to? Maybe it’s: - “Am I actually living the life I want?” - “How do I stop caring so much about what other people think?” - “What makes a meaningful life?” - “Who am I without everyone else’s expectations?” Or something completely different. Just share the question. I’ll read every response and some of these may become future discussions, lessons, or live calls in here. 👇 What question have you been thinking about lately?