It’s sort of obvious to point out the technology continues to change the way that we communicate. one of the most notable exceptions of this is chat GPT which if you haven’t started interacting with its highly recommended that you do so. It’s an AI language model that can have conversations and it has an enormous amount of information to contribute. It can play Act, answer questions, and even debate with you if you give it the right prompts and instructions. While the technology is a Marvel it also could have both positive and negative effects. In this article we want to review some of the potential ways that you could use technology to improve your stoic thinking.
Possible Positive Uses
Access to knowledge: one of the clearest advantages to technology is the enormous amount of information that’s if you’re disposable if you ask the right questions. Whether it be philosophy, business questions, or anything else that you might be interested in, this technology can present to you a perspective or analysis. It’s easier than ever to find out information and dig into it to improve our foundations of knowledge and develop a more stoic mindset. well not all the information is always correct, which is no different than if you’re getting information from a person, you can ask questions and ask follow-up questions as though you have a personal teacher that is not judging you.
Self-Reflection: This is one of the most interesting potential uses of the platform. It’s possible to ask it to play Devil’s Advocate so that when you make your arguments as to why you are feeling a certain way emotionally you can hear a rational counter argument to consider. This can grow your overall emotional intelligence by improving your empathy as well as putting you in the habit of self-reflecting on your emotional responses in a way that’s not quite as public as talking to other individuals. in a sense we can cultivate our emotional empathy in a sandbox and then apply it better to the world as a whole
Cultivating Virtue: This one really leverages the fact that these platforms have potentially ingested all the known classical works of the stoics as well as many modern thoughts on the subject. Something as simple as asking for feedback on what a stoic or Aristotelian virtue philosopher would say under a certain circumstance can serve as both an educational interaction as well as a continuous reminder. It’s possible then to delve deeper and ask for additional information or details on specific aspects that you potentially find challenging to come to terms with. To grow even more you can ask questions like who would disagree with this within philosophical circles. The desire to cultivate virtue is the first step but this provides tools that are always at your disposal to continuously improve.
Utilizing ChatGPT from a Stoic Angle:
There are a few things that you can use these platforms to do to help improve your stoic perspective.
Use it to exercise moderation and prudence: use the tool to seek advice and enrich your knowledge and perspective within any given situation.
Keep your emotions in check: leverage it as a personal therapist to get an outsider’s View. With the right prompts you’re probably going to hear things that your friends would say to you and while it certainly doesn’t replace the full empathy of another individual its always being available outweighs any negative.
Finally, Use it to Learn more about Stoicism and Leadership! ChatGPT is the best learning tool that humans have created since the printing press! The ability to interact, ask questions and delve into a topic is the next best thing to sitting down with an expert who is willing to put up with you at 10 PM on a weeknight when you are looking to resolve a concern.