Donald J. Robertson
Goodreads Author
Born
in Irvine, The United Kingdom
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Influences
Stoicism, Philosophy, cognitive therapy
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Member Since
October 2011
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How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
15 editions
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published
2019
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Stoicism and the Art of Happiness
8 editions
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published
2013
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The Philosophy of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy
13 editions
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published
2010
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Resilience: Teach Yourself how to Survive and Thrive in any Situation
4 editions
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published
2012
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The Practice Of Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy
8 editions
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published
2012
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The Discovery of Hypnosis- The Complete Writings of James Braid, the Father of Hypnotherapy
by
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published
2009
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Marcus Aurelius in the Roman Histories
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Meditations: The Philosophy Classic
by
25 editions
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published
180
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Donald Robertson
and
1 other person
liked
Joeri's review
of
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius:
"This book serves as both an introduction to Stoic philosophy, as a useful self-help guide. It gives more attention to the latter, than the former, and would thus be more interesting for those that seek how to apply Stoic philosophy to their daily liv"
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Donald Robertson
liked
Mark Zodda's review
of
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius:
"Thought-provoking, worthwhile read. This is the obvious next book to read after Meditations as it builds upon that work to provide explanations and context. Highly recommended."
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Donald Robertson
liked
Ross 's review
of
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius:
"An introduction to stoicism through the lens of Marcus Aurelius. A succinct history of stoicism, and a brief but illuminating biography of Marcus. It’s a great way to dip your toe into the waters of stoicism and to gain an insight into how the most p"
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Donald Robertson
liked
Kyle Boomhower's review
of
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius:
"An exploration of Stoicism through the life of Marcus Aurelius. Part-bio and part-how-to-guide, this book was both engaging and practical. "
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Donald Robertson
rated a book it was amazing
Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius
by Ryan Holiday (Goodreads Author) |
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Donald Robertson
made a comment on
William Dury’s review
of
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
"
Epictetus is the author whom Marcus cites most frequently in The Meditations. At the start of the book he also mentions that one of the events in his
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Donald Robertson
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Donald Robertson
made a comment on
David’s review
of
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
"
It's not fictionalized. It's closely based on the surviving Roman histories of his reign, and other historical evidence.
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Donald Robertson
answered
Vinnie Vinculado's
question:
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Not for a while yet. It takes a long time to do the 250 pages of full colour artwork. It might be published around Fall 2021, perhaps.
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“From the moment we’re born we’re constantly dying, not only with each stage of life but also one day at a time. Our bodies are no longer the ones to which our mothers gave birth, as Marcus put it. Nobody is the same person he was yesterday. Realizing this makes it easier to let go: we can no more hold on to life than grasp the waters of a rushing stream.”
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
“The Stoic Sage, or wise man, needs nothing but uses everything well; the fool believes himself to “need” countless things, but he uses them all badly.”
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
“According to Stoic philosophy, when we assign intrinsic values like “good” or “bad” to external events, we’re behaving irrationally and even exhibiting a form of self-deception. When we call something a “catastrophe,” for instance, we go beyond the bare facts and start distorting events and deceiving ourselves. Moreover, the Stoics consider lying a form of impiety—when a man lies, he alienates himself from Nature.”
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
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“The Stoics adopted the Socratic division of cardinal virtues into wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation.”
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
“Wisdom, in all these forms, mainly requires understanding the difference between good, bad, and indifferent things. Virtue is good and vice is bad, but everything else is indifferent.”
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
“In typically blunt fashion he told them that sheep don’t vomit up grass to show the shepherds how much they’ve eaten but rather digest their food inwardly and produce good wool and milk outwardly.”
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
“This is illustrated by one of Aesop’s fables, which says that each of us is born with two sacks suspended from our neck: one filled with the faults of others that hangs within our view and one hidden behind our back filled with our own faults. We see the flaws of others quite clearly, in other words, but we have a blind spot for our own. The New Testament likewise asks why we look at the tiny splinter of wood in our brother’s eye yet pay no attention to the great plank of wood obscuring our own view (Matthew 7:3–5).”
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
“Freemasonry also celebrates the four cardinal virtues of Greek philosophy, which correspond symbolically with the four corners of the lodge: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance.”
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
― How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

A place where all Goodreads members can work together to improve the Goodreads book catalog. Non-librarians are welcome to join the group as well, to ...more

This club is about traditional Stoicism with the distinct purpose of enabling and promoting discourse on Stoic philosophy as a way of life.

I'll be available on Goodreads to answer questions about my book How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. Post ques ...more