📚 8 Books mentioned in "How Stoicism Can Beat Your Social Media Addiction | Jonathan Haidt" of The Daily Stoic

We read his book, Deep Work, in my flourishing class at NYU.

Jonathan Haidt mentions that he utilizes the book 'Deep Work' by Cal Newport in his 'Flourishing' course, where he teaches techniques for enhancing focus and attention. This indicates that the book plays a significant role in his discussion about the importance of concentration and how to counteract the attention-fragmenting effects of social media.

► Watch this excerpt

To have news from far-flung provinces, to have endless correspondence, and to feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders—to read Meditations, you're like, 'This is not good for a person to be in this position.'

In this segment, the podcast host references 'Meditations' by Marcus Aurelius, discussing how the emperor dealt with stress and the burden of information overload. This perspective relates to the challenges posed by social media, which is a central theme of the episode.

► Watch this excerpt

I think one of the most fascinating quotes in Meditations is when Marcus says, 'You obviously love yourself more than other people.'

The guest references a quote from Marcus Aurelius's 'Meditations', discussing how individuals often prioritize others' opinions over their own self-assessment. This quote serves as a segue into the conversation about the negative effects of social media.

► Watch this excerpt

One interesting passage in Marcus Aurelius' 'Meditations' is when he says, "Today I escaped anxiety."

The discussion centers on a passage from Marcus Aurelius's book 'Meditations', where he reflects on the Stoic concept that anxiety is an internal struggle that can be overcome through deliberate mental effort. This connects to the episode's overarching theme of employing Stoicism in everyday life to better manage emotions, particularly in the context of social media.

► Watch this excerpt

I started rereading Stoicism at the same time as I was working on the book The Coddling of the American Mind.

In this segment, Jonathan Haidt discusses how he was rereading Stoicism while concurrently working on his book, 'The Coddling of the American Mind'. This reveals a link between his exploration of Stoicism and the ideas presented in his book.

► Watch this excerpt

At the same time, I was writing The Coddling of the American Mind, which was all about what was happening to Gen Z and young people.

Jonathan Haidt discusses his book 'The Coddling of the American Mind', which addresses the challenges faced by Gen Z and young individuals. This mention highlights the book's relevance to the themes explored in this podcast episode.

► Watch this excerpt

But what's happened is, as I say in 'The Righteous Mind', we evolved for small-scale societies that are deeply religious, that circle around sacred objects to make us stronger, especially in battles against other groups.

Jonathan Haidt references his book, 'The Righteous Mind', discussing how our minds have evolved for small-scale, religious societies. He ties this idea to the tribal nature of modern politics and the challenges it presents to democracy, which is an essential aspect of his commentary on contemporary society.

► Watch this excerpt

The 'stronger' piece is about emotional strength, often leaning on Stoicism—especially the wonderful book, The Stoic Challenge, by William Irvine, which everyone loves.

Jonathan Haidt highlights William Irvine's book 'The Stoic Challenge' as an essential guide for developing emotional strength. He emphasizes its usefulness in his course and acknowledges its value in applying stoic principles.

► Watch this excerpt