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April   24th

A   PRODUCTIVE  USE FOR CONTEMPT

“Just   as  when    meat    or  other   foods   are set before  us  we  think,  this    is  a   dead    fish,   a   dead    bird    or

pig;    and also,   this    fine    wine    is  only    the juice   of  a   bunch   of  grapes, this    purple-edged    robe    just

sheep’s wool    dyed    in  a   bit of  blood   from    a   shellfish;  or  of  sex,    that    it  is  only    rubbing private

parts   together    followed    by  a   spasmic discharge—in    the same    way our impressions grab    actual

events  and permeate    them,   so  we  see them    as  they    really  are.”

—MARCUS AURELIUS,   MEDITATIONS,    6.13

here is one Stoic exercise that might well be described as contemptuous expressions. Stoics use an
almost cynical language as a way to dismantle some of the fanciest or most coveted parts of life.
Marcus’s joke about sex—why would he say something like that? Well, if you take a second to consider
sex in such an absurd light, you may be less likely to do something shameful or embarrassing in the pursuit
of it. It’s a counterbalance to the natural bias we have toward something that feels really good.
We can apply this same way of thinking to a lot of things that people prize. Consider that envy-
inducing photo you see on social media—imagine the person painstakingly staging it. What about that job
promotion that means so much? Look at the lives of other so-called successful people. Still think it holds
magical power? Money, which we want more of and are reluctant to part with—consider how covered in
bacteria and filth it is. That beautiful, perfect person you’re admiring from afar? Remember that if they’re
single, other people must have dumped them at some point. There must be something wrong with them.
This exercise won’t turn you into a cynic. But it will provide some much-needed objectivity.