The Principle of Charity: Assume the Best Interpretation of People’s Arguments

  The principle of charity is a philosophical principle that denotes that, when interpreting someone’s statement, you should assume that the best possible interpretation of that statement is the one that the speaker meant to convey. Accordingly, to implement the principle of charity, you should not attribute falsehoods, logical fallacies, or irrationality to people’s argument, …

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Lessons and Quotes from Machiavelli’s “The Prince”

  Niccolò Machiavelli was an eminent philosopher and diplomat in the Florentine Republic, between the late 1400s and the early 1500s. His renowned writing on strategy and politics led to the creation of the term Machiavellianism, which refers to the use of cunning and duplicity in statecraft and in general conduct, and he is sometimes …

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Lessons in Stoicism from Marcus Aurelius’s “Meditations”

  Marcus Aurelius was an eminent Roman emperor and one of the most influential writers on the topic of Stoicism, which is a philosophy that revolves around seeking virtue in life, without letting yourself be ruled by negative emotions. Aurelius’ writing on Stoicism is best represented in Meditations, a book which is frequently mentioned as one …

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