Philosophy for the Workplace

  • Stay In Your Three-Foot World

    You keep lookin’ around, and none of that sh*t can help you. “My body was frozen against the rock face… ‘Hey, man,’ he said in a lazy, raspy voice.  ‘Just stay in your three-foot world.’  I was a couple of hundred feet up the rock face and I could barely think, let alone decipher his…

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  • That Second Tale Wherein Cometh A Wizard Unto Good Tim Half-Shaven

    When had grown young Timothe Half-shaven unto the strength of manhood, he were slight and lithe and blonde and he did sprout the fine stubble wherein young men oft take heart… upon the right half of his face only, but all the left half were silken smooth like an worn river stone, even like glass. …

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  • Jerry and Jankerson Make a Dollar

    A Story for the Covenant Christian Kids – By D.S Cook for Apostoic.com In the rolling countryside, there once lived twin brothers, Jerry and Jankerson. They were fond of one another; they played together well, shared their friends, and both were strong and healthy. One day, when they were eight, their mother said, “Boys, I…

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  • Of Square Pegs and Round Holes

    By S.D. Davis for Apostoic.com People have always asked me the same question.  Or more accurately, they’ve used a pretense to dismiss what matters most.  “Why does logic even matter?”  Among Christians the variant becomes, “Why does logic matter; since the gospel is what’s really important?” This question refutes itself.  Anyone who attempts to disprove…

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  • Why We Read Hosea

    Originally written 3/17/2019 Some weeks ago, Pastor (Paul Cook) asked for a show of hands– how many had read Hosea, with about 3 responding. As a man who’d named his daughter Ruhama, I could not help but feel grieved. When he asked if any wanted to bring a teaching– well this story had formed in…

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  • That First Tale of Tim Half-Shaven Wherein Doth Goode Timothe Earn His Namesake

    Long, long ago in a land far, far away there lived one Jim, an sheep herd.  Now Jim was a good man, being both kindly and wise, if not much learned after the manner of scholars and mages.  However, in such mean matters as the tending of beasts, the sowing of beans, or the mending…

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  • The Apple Sacks and the Red Herring: A Short Parable on Distraction Tactics, Anger, and the Cost of Folly

    By D.S. Cook for Apostoic.com An orchard town in the hills was famous for it’s rich harvest. Each year, the people worked together to bring in their abundant apples and carried them carefully into the storehouse against the winter cold. Every autumn, the town would choose one man to guard the building where the community…

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  • The Emperor and the Two Governors: A Christian – Stoic Parable of Sequence and Causation

    In the thirtieth year of his reign, Emperor Liang sat upon the alabaster throne in the Hall of Balanced Scales. Two provincial governors had journeyed a thousand miles to lay their quarrel at his feet. Governor Wei of the fertile Riverlands entered first. His robes were silk, his retinue numerous, hearty, and gracious. Behind him…

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  • The False Dichotomy of the King’s Alms-House: A Christian-Stoic Parable

    In a certain prosperous land, a king was moved by sympathy for the poor. Knowing that not all of his subjects were charitable of their own accord, he decided to centralize and mandate kindness. He built a great Alms-House to be filled with gold. “My kingdom will provide for its neediest!” The well-meaning king declared.…

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  • The Nominal Conquest Fallacy: Definition, Examples, and Why We Need This New Logical Fallacy in 2025

    First published: 3 December 2025Canonical URL: https://apostoic.com/nominal-conquest-fallacy/Author: Daniel Spencer Cook – Apostoic.com Nominal Conquest Fallacy – Formal DefinitionProposed name: Nominal Conquest (Latin nominalis “pertaining to a name” + conquestio “seizure”)Also known as: Fallacy of Nominal Conquest, Definitional Conquest, Lexical Conquest Fallacy Logical Form First Academic Definition (2025)The Nominal Conquest Fallacy occurs when an ideological movement deliberately…

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  • Squawkington and the Great Chicken Debate: An Apostoic Parable of Ad Hominem

    Once on a farm next to a busy highway, there lived a pompous rooster named Squawkington, who fancied himself a great thinker and philosopher. He was famous for his loud and annoying crow, which sounded nothing at all like a rusty gate slowly murdering a stuck pig. He was also famous for his unshakeable belief…

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  • The Parable of the Wandering Smith: A Christian – Stoic Tale

    In a trading village in the windy plains, Caius the blacksmith was a man of fire and iron. A handsome man with bright eyes, a charming smile, and strength born of a lifetime of physical labor, he was the envy of the village lads and ever the subject of interest for the young ladies that…

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  • The Song that Killed the Village: Forced Speech in the Workplace

    Elderglen’s pride was its nightly hymn. Every evening since the first stone was laid, they gathered in the square and sang the Truthsong, rooted deeply in the faith that bound them together. “We speak what is, we speak what’s real. Our voices joined, the truth we seal.” They sang of the blessings that kept them…

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  • Apostoic Advice to the Self: On Arguments

    Arguments reveal more than truth, they reveal the character. Will I be arrogantly right, humbly wrong, or the inverse? Will I lose while winning, or win while losing? Here is my recent counsel to myself, offered up for your critique and possible benefit. On insignificant arguments:When certain you’re right, don’t let it show. At least…

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  • 8 Church Fathers and Theologians that Held Deep Appreciation for Stoic Philosophy

    As a faithful follower of Christ and a devotee to His Church, I am sometimes questioned on my appreciation for the philosophy of Stoicism, and my addition of Stoic practice to my daily pursuit of goodness, justice, truth, mercy, and temperance. These questions are generally not reproaches, but genuine curiosity as to the fitness of…

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  • On Folly In Prosperity and Poverty: A Stoic’s Reflection

    The Rich and The Poor It is easy for a man who has much to criticize the habits of one who has little, and easy for a poor man to criticize the wealthy for the usage of what he has. It is not common to hear the poor criticizing the poor, or the rich the…

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  • Hammers and Nails: Stoic Wisdom from Marcus Aurelius for the Workplace

    “Every instrument, tool, vessel, if it does that for which it has been made, is well. Does the sun undertake to do the work of the rain? And how is it with respect to each of the stars? Are they not different and yet they work together to the same end?” These words from Marcus…

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  • How to Cultivate Calmness: Stoic Lessons from Socrates and Everyday Practice

    Dying well: Stoic Heroes Who Mastered Calmness Sentenced to death for crimes of speech, Socrates met his end at the bottom of a cup of poison after being convicted of impiety against the gods by a jury of 500 Athenians. A revered teacher and philosopher even in his own time, he had stood alone and…

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  • Why You Shouldn’t Care So Much About Your Job: A Stoic Philosophy Guide

    Stop Losing Sleep Over Work Stress with Stoicism If you are like me, you have lost more than a few nights of sleep over your job. Negative interactions, a boss that may be impossible to please despite your best efforts, reviews you disagree with, ever moving goal-posts, and stress-build up can send your head spinning…

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  • Stoic and Christian Values: Exploring the Overlap of Virtue and Resilience

    Letting Go Like a Stoic Saint: Detachment Done Right I get questioned sometimes on why my blog is titled “Apostoic.” Well, here goes. Stoic and Christian values, though born from wildly different worldviews, share a surprising overlap when it comes to building an unshakeable character. Both Stoicism and Christianity emphasize cultivating an inner strength that…

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