Seneca's VERY Non-Jewish Reason for Studying Physics and Metaphysics (Seneca: Letter #65 - On the First Cause)

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Synopsis: Today’s episode focuses on an unusual letter from Seneca in which he explains his motive for studying abstract philosophical questions about the universe. I was surprised that Seneca was even interested in such questions in the first place, but I was absolutely flabbergasted by the reason he gave for his interest in thinking about such questions. As this title implies, it was a very non-Jewish reason. His phrasing reminded me of a similar phrase used by the Rambam, which we discuss towards the end of the episode, but the differences between them are equally noteworthy.Sources:- Seneca: Letter #65; click here to access the full text of Seneca's letter- Aurelius: Meditations 9:40----------If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.----------Stoic texts:The Meditations of Marcus AureliusLetters from a Stoic Master (Seneca)The Discourses of EpictetusThe Enchiridion (Handbook) of Epictetus----------Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/rabbischneeweissBlog: https://kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmschneeweiss"The Mishlei Podcast": https://mishlei.buzzsprout.com"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: https://thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: https://rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: https://machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": https://tefilah.buzzsprout.comSupport the show