A Philosopher's Guide To The Good Life - Meghan Sullivan & Paul Blaschko - #419

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Bonjour, friends. Welcome back to the show. My guests today are Meghan Sullivan and Paul Blaschko. They're philosophy professors at the University of Notre Dame and authors. How to lead a good life is one of the biggest quandaries that humans struggle with. How to think about status and money and love and death are huge challenges. Today, we get to find out some of philosophy's answers to life's most fundamental questions. Expect to learn the role of truth in leading a good life, what history has to teach us about responsibility and agency, why Socrates was the world's first troll, why generosity is linked to fulfilment, what Marcus Aurelius says about fears of the future, Paul and Meghan's issues with stoicism and much more. If you haven't already, then don't forget to join the Modern Wisdom Locals Community where you'll get to connect with me and thousands of other people who listen to the show. There is discussion forums in there and we have threads about each episode and you get to hear about upcoming guests before anybody else. Head to modernwisdom.locals.com.
You can sign up for free and if you want to support the show, I thank you very much. You can do it through there as well. modernwisdom.locals.com. In other news, this episode is brought to you by Element. You do not need to have coffee first thing in the morning. You can get away with having salt in water. It will mean that you are optimally hydrated throughout the day. It is going to impact your adrenal system so that you can feel more awake in the morning. And when you finally do have your first coffee after 90 minutes, it genuinely makes an impact on you. It means you have less caffeine throughout the day. So your sleep is going to be better on a night. It's a win all round. I am not going back to having coffee first thing in the morning, even though I've started drinking caffeine again in 2022 There is no sugar, no coloring, no artificial ingredients, no gluten, no fillers and no BS. It's a single tear-off stick, right? You tear the top off, pour it into water, mix it. It tastes amazing. They're the exclusive hydration partner to Team USA Weightlifting and relied on by Navy SEALs and Marines and FBI sniper teams and the NFL and NBA plus tech leaders and everyday athletes around the world. Plus you get a free sample pack and all that you need to do is cover the cost of the shipping. So you can buy it and try it for eight days. You got all eight flavors, do it for a week and a day. And all you have to do is pay for the shipping. It's $5 in the US or £3.84 to the UK. Head to drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom or there is a link in the show notes below. drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom. Get yourself a new morning routine that involves not having caffeine. drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom. In other other news, this episode is brought to you by Pure Sport CBD. You might be anxious, stressed or struggling to focus. Pure Sport's ultra high quality CBD can help to relax your mind and soothe your body. You might have heard about the benefits of CBD and been interested in trying it, but not known where to start. Pure Sport has the highest quality anywhere that you can get. Every batch of products that they make is double tested by two separate third party companies. So it is always the highest caliber. They have a nootropic infused CBD blend, which means that you can add in extra natural ingredients. Their unwind, which is an amazing pre-bed routine, has valerian root and chamomile and lavender and vitamin B complex to help you get to sleep quicker, stay asleep throughout the night and wake up feeling more rested and revitalized in the morning. Also, they've got over a thousand reviews on Trustpilot, an average of 4.8 stars and they ship internationally. So no matter where you are, you can get the world's highest quality CBD direct to your door. On top of that, you can get 20% off all full priced items with the code MW20. Head to bit.ly slash CBD wisdom. That's bit.ly slash CBD wisdom. Code MW20 will get you 20% off and international shipping is available. But now it is time to learn about the Philosophers of History.
Paul and Meghan, welcome to the show.

**Meghan Sullivan** (4:19)
Thank you so much for having us.

**Paul Blaschko** (4:20)
Yeah, we're excited.

**Chris Williamson** (4:22)
My pleasure. So I want to start with a quote. Are you not ashamed of your eagerness to possess as much wealth, reputation, and honors as possible, while you do not care nor give thought to wisdom or truth or the best possible state of your soul? What's that mean to you?