Donald J. Robertson's Blog, page 57
June 18, 2018
What books to read next on Stoicism
People sometimes ask what books on Stoicism to read next after they’ve read the “Big Three”: Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. Of course, opinions are going to vary about this. There are lots of things we could suggest reading. Setting aside modern books on the subject, though, these are the first six I normally recommend… …
June 2, 2018
Why I don’t allow Trolling in my Stoicism Group
Every few weeks someone will post a comment in my Stoicism Facebook group that goes something along the lines of “If you guys are into Stoicism then I don’t see why you should censor posts just because they’re offensive.” Or they might just say “Suck it up” or “You guys aren’t real Stoics, you’re all …
Verbally Abusing People who are Interested in Stoicism
Every few weeks someone will post a comment in my Stoicism Facebook group that goes something along the lines of “If you guys are into Stoicism then I don’t see why you should censor posts just because they’re offensive.” Or they might just say “Suck it up” or “You guys aren’t real Stoics, you’re all …
May 31, 2018
May 23, 2018
New Course: How to Live Like Socrates
Announcing the launch of a major new online course about the life and philosophy of Socrates.
May 21, 2018
Stoicism and Parenting (Stoic Mums and Dads)
I have a seven year old daughter and since she was born I’ve been interested in how Stoicism relates to parenting. People sometimes ask me if there’s anything “out there” on Stoicism for parents. There are a growing number of resources online so I thought it was time to do a blog post listing some …
May 14, 2018
The Stoic Socrates: Four Emotional Resilience Strategies
There’s a remarkable series of passages in Plato’s Republic, where Socrates is portrayed describing four reasons why wise men don’t allow themselves to indulge in excessive grief when faced with misfortune. We can also view these as four cognitive (thinking) strategies for coping with adversity, and building emotional resilience. These appear to foreshadow Stoic advice …
May 6, 2018
Three Strategies of the Stoic Socrates
When confronted by the troubling behaviour of others, there were three main strategies or ideas that Socrates employed, which were later assimilated into Stoic philosophy. (If you want to learn more, incidentally, check out my free mini-course on Socrates.) 1. Other people’s behaviour is indifferent Socrates liked to remind himself and others that external events, …
May 4, 2018
Help Support the Modern Stoicism Non-Profit Organization
Hi everyone, Today we set up a new Patreon page for Modern Stoicism Ltd., the non-profit organization that puts on Stoic Week and the annual Stoicon conference. Modern Stoicism is an international philanthropic organization run by a multi-disciplinary team of volunteers. I was one of the original members who joined the project in 2012, when …
April 29, 2018
Was Socrates a Real Person? and Other Questions
I’ve noticed over the years that a surprising number of people out there are unsure whether Socrates actually existed or not. Some people who aren’t familiar with the classics are just curious about the evidence, which is understandable. Some people have the vague idea that he’s perhaps a character created by Plato. There are a …
