Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens

2026-04-25 · 34 min · episode 2981 · 20 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ references Meditations book

0.72

evidence rules-v5
Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens Most people read Marcus Aure
→ references A guide for the perplexed book

0.66

evidence rules-v5
urelius: Philosopher-King (2025), and he is also the author of Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed , Epictetus’s Encheiridion: A New Translation and Guide to Stoic Ethics , and S
→ discusses Society & Culture concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Society & Culture
→ discusses Business company

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Business
→ discusses Education concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Education
→ references dailystoiclive.com website

0.38

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens": https://dailystoiclive.com/
→ references dailystoic.supercast.com website

0.38

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens": https://dailystoic.supercast.com/
→ references Dailystoic⁠ website

0.38

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens": https://youtube.com/@DailyStoic/videos
→ references williamostephens.com website

0.38

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens": https://williamostephens.com/

Entities found in this episode

websites 8

mentioned dailystoiclive.com website

0.45

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens": https://dailystoiclive.com/
mentioned dailystoic.supercast.com website

0.45

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens": https://dailystoic.supercast.com/
mentioned Dailystoic⁠ website

0.45

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens": https://youtube.com/@DailyStoic/videos
mentioned williamostephens.com website

0.45

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens": https://williamostephens.com/
references dailystoiclive.com website

0.38

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens": https://dailystoiclive.com/
references dailystoic.supercast.com website

0.38

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens": https://dailystoic.supercast.com/
references Dailystoic⁠ website

0.38

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens": https://youtube.com/@DailyStoic/videos
references williamostephens.com website

0.38

evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens": https://williamostephens.com/

books 5

mentioned Meditations book

0.85

evidence rules-v5
Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens Most people read Marcus Aure
mentioned A guide for the perplexed book

0.77

evidence rules-v5
urelius: Philosopher-King (2025), and he is also the author of Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed , Epictetus’s Encheiridion: A New Translation and Guide to Stoic Ethics , and S
references Meditations book

0.72

evidence rules-v5
Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens Most people read Marcus Aure
mentioned Marcus Aurelius book

0.72

evidence rules-v5
author of Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed
references A guide for the perplexed book

0.66

evidence rules-v5
urelius: Philosopher-King (2025), and he is also the author of Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed , Epictetus’s Encheiridion: A New Translation and Guide to Stoic Ethics , and S

concepts 5

mentioned Society & Culture concept

0.50

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Society & Culture
mentioned Education concept

0.50

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Education
mentioned According to William O. Stephens concept

0.42

evidence rules-v5
Why “Meditations” Needs a New Name—According to William O. Stephens
discusses Society & Culture concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Society & Culture
discusses Education concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Education

companys 2

mentioned Business company

0.50

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Business
discusses Business company

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Business

Episode description as stored

Most people read Marcus Aurelius the wrong way. In this episode, Ryan sits down with philosopher William Stephens to discuss why the title " Meditations " may be misleading, what these writings were actually meant to be, and how that changes the way we read them today. William O. Stephens is a philosopher specializing in Stoicism, ethics, and ancient philosophy. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and spent over 30 years teaching at Creighton University, where he is now Professor Emeritus. His work spans topics like friendship, ecology, and human nature, with a focus on Stoic thought. His latest book is Marcus Aurelius: Philosopher-King (2025), and he is also the author of Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed , Epictetus’s Encheiridion: A New Translation and Guide to Stoic Ethics , and Stoic Ethics: Epictetus and Happiness as Freedom . Check out more of William Stephens' work at https://WilliamOStephens.com/ 📚 Grab a copy of Marcus Aurelius: Philosopher-King by William Stephens LAST CHANCE | Grab your ticket to the live Q&A with Ryan on April 27 👉 https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/meditations-month-2026 Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you ! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/ 🇺🇸 USA dates: Portland, Oregon - June 8 San Francisco, California - June 11 Minneapolis, Minnesota - August 18 Chicago, Illinois - August 19 Detroit, Michigan - August 20 🎙️ AD-FREE | Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/ 🎥 VIDEO EPISODES| Watch the video episodes on The Daily Stoic YouTube channel : https://www.youtube.com/@DailyStoic/videos ✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.