HOW TO BE GOOD

Being a group animal is something we Stoics want to excel at. Put two Stoics together in a pub and after a while the chairs may well be flying, but this is one of the things we all agree about: 

our only happiness lies in our own good behaviour. 

If this sounds weird to you, think about it: there are things that you can change, and things you cannot. Of the things you can change, which choice would make you feel best about yourself: a selfish one, or a morally upstanding one? Hiding in a cupboard and secretly eating a whole bag of sweets, or sharing the bag with your friends?

The selfish choice might seem tempting, but most of us would feel quilty afterwards (not to mention sick). And believe me, guilt is incompatible with happiness. Whereas the moral choice, however tough, will make us feel good about ourselves. Any psychologist will tell you that that's basically a very good thing. 

I call the feeling I have when I get it right and do the moral thing 'Stoic smugness'. I don't get to feel that smugness often enough, but I do know I want more of it.

So what makes a good person? And how do I become one?

Over the next few weeks, I'll be examining these questions for 'The Ethics Project' which I'm doing for my Stoic philosophy course.

So please stay tuned – updates and full explanations following soon!

Below you see a detail of the first painting. I just started with the colour; as you can see it's still very blotchy and uneven, and the eyes are a bit funny (still waiting for their layer of paint, after that the squint will be gone).