I noticed Admiral Stockdale’s obituary in the New York Times. Since obituaries give you more history than a newspaper should on any other page, they are often refreshing.

This one was surprisingly so. Stockdale was as far as I knew nothing more than the sad, confused butt of jokes. He was mercilessly mocked for his performance in the Vice Presidential debates in 1992. The reason that his obituary goes under the category of Philosophy is that it discusses his love of stoicism, and specifically the works of Epictetus. This led me to a google search, and this site:
Epictetus. Cool. It is hard for me now not to think that I owe my knowledge of this information to the Admiral.

I found the description of Stoicism to be very appealing, and reminded me of the ideals of my youth, sans Christianity. This made me think of Wes. Hey Wes, you out there? Further, it made me think that perhaps it appeals in the same manner as Objectivism, because it preys on the weaknesses in the character of the believer. Objectivism preys on logic, and this seems to prey on lack of passions(apatheia?). Perhaps I should resolve to use the word appealing, in reference to Philosophy only in a derogatory way?