#011 Commit To A Character with Aristotle and William Beteet

“The good person must be a self-lover, for he himself will profit from doing fine things, and he will benefit the others.”

— Aristotle

In this episode we’ll explore how Aristotle and improvisation can help us navigate dating in the Age of the App; or at least how to stay sane in the process. Stand-up comic and men's dating coach William Beetet shares what he's learned about committing to a character and acting "as if" in order to improve his love life, and life in general. #TheHappierHour

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Pepperdine University (Go Waves!)

Previous episodes on LOVE:

William Beteet:

William Beteet's TEDx TalkITT: Someone's Going To Laugh When You Die
William Beteet on Quora

On Acting "As If":

Alfred Adler: "As people begin to act differently and to feel differently, they become different.”
Constantine Stanislavsky: applied the term acting "as if" to acting
Improvisation: Commit yourself to a character rather than a specific goal because character creates habits.

Aristotle on Philia ("brotherly" love) and the three types of friendships :

1. Utility

2. Pleasure

3. The Good

The Good is the best kind!
"Now it is possible for bad people as well [as good] to be friends to each other for pleasure or utility, for decent people to be friends to base people, and for someone with neither character to be a friend to someone with any character. Clearly, however, only good people can be friends to each other because of the other person himself; for bad people find no enjoyment in one another if they get no benefit." (Nicomachean Ethics)

Double texting (hint: it's not what Monica thought it meant!)

“He who hath many friends hath none.” Aristotle

"As it is not one swallow or a fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy." -Aristotle

“Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.” - Socrates

QUESTION OF THE EPISODE:

“How would your behavior change if you acted as if you were that person already?”

— QUESTION OF THE EPISODE

ABOUT WILLIAM BETEET

William Beetet is a former dating coach, graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law, and stand up comedian known for performing stand up comedy for 367 consecutive days. He has been the headliner comedian for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a producer of The Young Hustle Show at The Laugh Factory. His writing has been published in TIME, Inc. The Independent and Apple News. William has a loyal following on Quora and Youtube. His podcast is called the Lazy Philosopher because he “always thought of comedians as lazy philosophers. We get on stage say a premise, barely develop it by telling a couple jokes, and then move on.”