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In this episode, the gents discuss the institution of marriage and the virtue of chastity, including her role inside and outside matrimonial covenants. Show Highlights: What is the virtue chastity? The common misconception that chastity only refers to celibacy. What does a rightly ordered sexual appetite look like? What is marriage? The traditional understanding of marriage. The role of sex and chastity within marriage. The four aspects of marriage. Marriage as a 'type' of Christ and the Church. Chastity in single people and married people. Examples of 'unchastity.' Why chastity is important in dating/courtships. Resources: The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis Catechism of the Catholic Church About our Sponsor: Covenant Eyes is a screen monitoring and accountability platform for all your devices which will help you kick your porn addiction once and for all. Stephen personally used this to help him break free of the vicious cycle of addition. The resources provided by Covenant Eyes also help you identify triggers, form healthy new habits, boost your confidence, and restore hope so that you can live the life you want to live. Our followers can get 30 days FREE by using the promo code "VIRTUE" at checkout. --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you will receive an invite to by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email (hosts@vitalmasculinity.org), Twitter (@theVMPod), or Gab (@vitalmasculinity). --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents take a short break from their series on Eros and the Four Loves to discuss ways to handle stress. Show Highlights: How stress can be good for you. Hormesis and antifragility. Avoiding vs. combatting stress. Advice on how to mitigate and avoid stressors. View the full show notes here. About our Sponsor: Covenant Eyes is a screen monitoring and accountability platform for all your devices which will help you kick your porn addiction once and for all. Stephen personally used this to help him break free of the vicious cycle of addition. The resources provided by Covenant Eyes also help you identify triggers, form healthy new habits, boost your confidence, and restore hope so that you can live the life you want to live. Our followers can get 30 days FREE by using the promo code "VIRTUE" at checkout. --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you will receive an invite to by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email (hosts@vitalmasculinity.org), Twitter (@theVMPod), or Gab (@vitalmasculinity).6xgment names before you publish --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents discuss continue their exploration of distortions of eros, the third love, by examining the opposite approaches advocating a Victorian puritanism and a more open and promiscuous stance. Show Highlights: How do Christians properly view the body and natural desire? Why is a promiscuous worldview incorrect? What do the Victorians and Puritans get wrong about a prude and rigid treatment of eros and sex? What a properly ordered eros or desires look like. Why sex and pleasure are, at a base level, good until they become corrupted. Is eros mainly an evolutionary appetite? Does this carnal element of eros make it dangerous? Why our view of Eros and sexuality need not be restrictive if ordered properly. View the full show notes here. Resources: The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis About our Sponsor: Covenant Eyes is a screen monitoring and accountability platform for all your devices which will help you kick your porn addiction once and for all. Stephen personally used this to help him break free of the vicious cycle of addition. The resources provided by Covenant Eyes also help you identify triggers, form healthy new habits, boost your confidence, and restore hope so that you can live the life you want to live. Our followers can get 30 days FREE by using the promo code "VIRTUE" at checkout. --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you will receive an invite to by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email (hosts@vitalmasculinity.org), Twitter (@theVMPod), or Gab (@vitalmasculinity).6xgment names before you publish --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents discuss the issues with PUA and the Red Pill movement, discussing how each are distortions of eros.  Show Highlights: What is a pick-up artist? What is the Red Pill? Why do more men seem attracted to these movements/philosophies? The relationship between evolutionary psychology and the Red Pill. The problems with making sex your top priority.  The manipulative nature of these philosophies. What do these both get right? What do these both get wrong? View the full show notes here. Resources: The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis About our Sponsor: Covenant Eyes is a screen monitoring and accountability platform for all your devices which will help you kick your porn addiction once and for all. Stephen personally used this to help him break free of the vicious cycle of addition. The resources provided by Covenant Eyes also help you identify triggers, form healthy new habits, boost your confidence, and restore hope so that you can live the life you want to live. Our followers can get 30 days FREE by using the promo code "VIRTUE" at checkout. --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you will receive an invite to by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email (hosts@vitalmasculinity.org), Twitter (@theVMPod), or Gab (@vitalmasculinity). --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents explore two modern distortions of Eros or romantic love: hookup culture and casual dating. Show Highlights: Recap of the definition of eros. Becoming worthy of your love. Dating and discernment of marriage. Defining casual dating. What is friendship "with benefits"? Transactional sex and hookup culture. Physical love over all else -> the credo of the modern world. The damage that comes from hookup culture. The subordination of love to pleasure. Related Episodes: Masculinity and Femininity: Biological Differences Masculinity and Femininity: Psychological Differences Resources: The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis View the full show notes here. About our Sponsor: Covenant Eyes is a screen monitoring and accountability platform for all your devices which will help you kick your porn addiction once and for all. Stephen personally used this to help him break free of the vicious cycle of addition. The resources provided by Covenant Eyes also help you identify triggers, form healthy new habits, boost your confidence, and restore hope so that you can live the life you want to live. Our followers can get 30 days FREE by using the promo code "VIRTUE" at checkout. --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you will receive an invite to by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email (hosts@vitalmasculinity.org), Twitter (@theVMPod), or Gab (@vitalmasculinity). --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

This week, Stephen and Brian sit down with Professor Scott Yenor of Boise State University to discuss his new book The Recovery of Family Life. Show Highlights: Why do we need to recover family life right now? What is the "rolling revolution?" How has feminism mixed with other cultural and political aspects to get us here? What is the end goal of feminism and the rolling revolution? Is there one? Why haven't conservative and traditional institutions done more to stop the transformation of family life? How do we fix this as a society? The pros and cons of legislating a new pro-family society. How each man can fight back and help reclaim a healthy, stable, traditional family life. View the full show notes here.  Resources: The Recovery of Family Life by Professor Scott Yenor Exclusive Patron Content: On our patron-only question, we discuss Professor Yenor's run-in with the cancel culture mob, how he handled it, and his advice for how we can react and respond to those that seek to cancel us for the opinions we hold or the life we live. Sign up for our Socrates Tier at $5/month for access to this and more! About Scott: Scott Yenor is a PhD and tenured professor of political science at Boise State University, as well as a Senior Fellow at the Claremont Institute. He has authored multiple books and also writes at multiple sites Keep in Touch with Scott: Website YouTube Book Website --- Give us a like, follow, subscribe, and leave us a rating and review - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe.  You can learn more about our mission and find more content at our website at vitalmasculinity.org or at our Patreon page. Connect with us on Twitter or Facebook and sign up for our newsletter as well to stay on top of all our latest content. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents begin an analysis of C.S. Lewis' third love, eros, and explore why this is more than pure romance or only about sexuality. Show Highlights: Is eros just about sex? The relationship between eros, lust, and sexual desire. Pleasure vs. Person focused loves. The human aspects of eros. Friendship vs. eros. Does eros aim at happiness? Why this love should not become a god. Resources: The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis About our Sponsor: Covenant Eyes is a screen monitoring and accountability platform for all your devices which will help you kick your porn addiction once and for all. Stephen personally used this to help him break free of the vicious cycle of addition. The resources provided by Covenant Eyes also help you identify triggers, form healthy new habits, boost your confidence, and restore hope so that you can live the life you want to live. Our followers can get 30 days FREE by using the promo code "VIRTUE" at checkout. --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you will receive an invite to by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email (hosts@vitalmasculinity.org), Twitter (@theVMPod), or Gab (@vitalmasculinity). --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents wrap up their discussion on friendship by investigating limits and ends of these relationships. Show Highlights: Defects in relationships. Self-imposed limits. Physical, Mental, and Spiritual limits to friendship. What happens when virtuous friendships turn bad? Friendship and the innermost self. Man's helplessness and friendships. How friendship ultimately respects the personality of the individuals. Why these limitations are "God's occasion." Resources: The Art of Being a Good Friend by Hugh Black The Four Friendships by Kevin Vost About our Sponsor: Covenant Eyes is a screen monitoring and accountability platform for all your devices which will help you kick your porn addiction once and for all. Stephen personally used this to help him break free of the vicious cycle of addition. The resources provided by Covenant Eyes also help you identify triggers, form healthy new habits, boost your confidence, and restore hope so that you can live the life you want to live. Our followers can get 30 days FREE by using the promo code "VIRTUE" at checkout.  --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe.  Check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you will receive an invite to by signing up for our newsletter.  You can also contact us via email (hosts@vitalmasculinity.org), Twitter (@theVMPod), or Gab (@vitalmasculinity).  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents continue discussing The Art of Being a Good Friend, focusing on the art of protecting and restoring your friendships. Show Highlights: The deepest tragedy of life. How some friendships wither or die. Money's dangerous role in friendship. The harm of gossip, envy, and poor breaches of trust. How healthy conflict can actually strengthen your friendship. Protecting against purposeful dissension. How should you recover from breaches of trust? The why's and how's of reconciliation. Resources: The Art of Being a Good Friend --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Also, check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you can do by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email or Twitter (links are on our website). We look forward to continuing the conversation with you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

Brian returns in this episode, for a further discussion on 'equal' and 'unequal' friendships via the lens of Aristotle and Cicero. Show Highlights: Friendship of Equals vs. Friendship of Unequals. Why you need to recognize friendship disparities in order to have a virtuous friendship. Aristotle's comparison of friendship to political systems. Father - Son dynamics. Husband - Wife dynamics. Brother - Brother dynamics. Friendship within families. Why blood is thicker than water. Relative strength of bonds. Priorities of friendship compared to other relationships. Resources: Interlude: Nice Guys --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Also, check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you can do by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email or Twitter (links are on our website). We look forward to continuing the conversation with you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, Stephen muses about the Christmas in the Trenches during WW1 and what it can tell us about kindness, affection, and true brotherhood. Show Highlights: The Christmas in the Trenches The nature of enemies and rivals. Is it possible for us to be everyone's friend? Should we try to be everyone's friend? A redux of the kindness vs. niceness debate. Self-respect and justice towards self. The damaging push towards inclusion at the expense of exclusivity. The dilution of friendship through false affection. What do you think? Do you agree with Stephen's assessment? Send us your thoughts via Twitter or on our website. --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Also, check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you can do by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email or Twitter (links are on our website). We look forward to continuing the conversation with you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this special episode, the gents revisit the COVID-19 Pandemic and various responses to it. Show Highlights: Where are we 9 months in? 15 days to slow the spread/flatten the curve? The role of prudence and personal responsibility vs. government mandate. The vice of double standards. Personal responsibility and the rise of "mask Karens." Our duty to authority. Courage, justice, and resistance. Resources: https://thefederalist.com/2020/11/18/major-study-finds-masks-dont-reduce-covid-19-infection-rates/ https://thefederalist.com/2020/10/29/these-12-graphs-show-mask-mandates-do-nothing-to-stop-covid/ (includes NEJM study) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scenarios.html#table-1 (see Scenario 5 in Table 1) https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4695 https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/16/fauci-why-still-need-masks-social-distancing-after-covid-19-vaccine.html https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/which-covid-19-vaccines-are-connected-to-abortion https://thehill.com/news-by-subject/healthcare/528619-pfizer-chairman-were-not-sure-if-someone-can-transmit-virus-after https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/michelle-malkin/michelle-malkin-covidgate-corruption-clinical-trials-part-one https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/michelle-malkin/michelle-malkin-covidgate-part-two-clinical-trials-and-crusader-bias https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/michelle-malkin/michelle-malkin-covidgate-part-3-attack-informed-consent --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Also, check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you can do by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email or Twitter (links are on our website). We look forward to continuing the conversation with you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents continue to discuss the book The Art of Being a Good Friend by Hugh Black, elaborating on ways to cultivate and maintain good friendships. Show Highlights: Why does friendship require intentionality? Affability and being friendly. The responsibility of being a friend. How is friendship like a habit? The necessity of cultivating 'sympathy '. The Golden Rule. Reciprocity, mutual confidence, and faithfulness in friendship. Aspects of loyalty. How human friendship leads to love for God. Resources: The Art of Being a Good Friend by Hugh Black --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Also, check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you can do by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email or Twitter (links are on our website). We look forward to continuing the conversation with you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents kick back and discuss a whole range of topics: Show Highlights: Recap of Thanksgiving. What are we grateful for? Big project teaser. Commentary on current events. --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Also, check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Facebook group to continue the conversation. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents discuss the book The Art of Being a Good Friend by Hugh Black, weaving in themes on friendship and the Four Loves from the previous episodes. Show Highlights: Expanding on the appreciation of friendship. Friendship in the heroes of history. How does friendship enlighten you? What does that mean? Friendship is a gift of God. Why do you need humility and selflessness when you are trying to be a good friend? Resources: The Art of Being a Good Friend by Hugh Black --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Also, check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you can do by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email or Twitter (links are on our website). We look forward to continuing the conversation with you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents continue to discuss philia, or friendship, the second love in the C.S. Lewis/Ancient Greek hierarchy of love. This discussion focuses on Cicero's take on friendship in his classic work De Amicitia.  Show Highlights: Greek vs. Roman Virtue. Why are good friends virtuous? The relationship between amicitia and amor. Honor and friendship. The "first law of friendship." Three erroneous principles of friendship. Limits and guides to friendship. The importance of loyalty. How does affability help define good friends? The foundation of friendship. New vs. Old Friends. --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Also, check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you can do by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email or Twitter (links are on our website). We look forward to continuing the conversation with you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents continue to discuss philia, or friendship, the second love in the C.S. Lewis/Ancient Greek hierarchy of love. This discussion focuses on C.S. Lewis' opinion of friendship and how he wrote about it in his seminal work The Four Loves. Show Highlights: Why did the ancients revere friendship? What does it mean that friendship is the least "natural" love? The relationship between Romanticism, Naturalism, and our modern beliefs on friendship. C.S. Lewis' (likely) take on Aristotle's three types of friendship. Friendship and Companionship. How does friendship arise? Signs of a good friendship. Misconceptions of friendship. Friendship and homosexuality. Distortions of philia. In-group vs. out-group mindsets. --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Also, check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you can do by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email or Twitter (links are on our website). We look forward to continuing the conversation with you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

This week, the gents have a conversation with Nick Jamell of Conversation of Our Generation about how a man can discuss politics virtuously. Show Highlights: Why are political discussions so difficult to navigate nowadays? How the personal became the political. Are there times when it is prudent to not discuss politics? False courage and standing up for one's beliefs. Are our differences that pronounced? What happens next? --- About Nick: Nick is the founder of Conversation of Our Generation, a website and podcast dedicated to having dialogues about important issues through the lens of philosophy, politics, and the reading of our intellectual forefathers. Keep in Touch with Nick: Blog Podcast Twitter: @ConOfOurGen; @NickJamell Facebook: The Conversation of Our Generation --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Also, check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you can do by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email or Twitter (links are on our website). We look forward to continuing the conversation with you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, the gents discuss philia, or friendship, the second love in the C.S. Lewis/Ancient Greek hierarchy of love. The focus of this is on the Aristotelian conception of friendship and the three types of philia. Show Highlights: Who needs friends? Why do we need friends? The three causes of love. Friendships of utility. Friendships of pleasure. Friendships of virtue. Similarities and differences between the types of Aristotelian friendship. The roles duration and absence play in strengthening friendship. The act of friendship vs. the "state" of friendship. --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Also, check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you can do by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email or Twitter (links are on our website). We look forward to continuing the conversation with you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support

In this episode, Brian muses about virtue in politics: Show Highlights: What level of importance should politics have in our lives? How can we act virtuously in regards to politics? Why don't we have more virtuous candidates? How can we get them? What do you think? Do you agree with Brian's assessment? Send us your thoughts. View the full show notes here. --- Please like, subscribe, and leave a rating and review. Be honest - this feedback is crucial to helping us improve the quality of our show and reach like-minded men across the globe. Also, check out our website at vitalmasculinity.org and apply to join our active Discord chat group which you can do by signing up for our newsletter. You can also contact us via email or Twitter (links are on our website). We look forward to continuing the conversation with you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vitalmasculinity/support