Donald J. Robertson's Blog, page 59
April 25, 2018
Marcus Aurelius was born 26th April, 121 AD. So to celebrate his birthday, here are some links to free downloads related to Marcus Aurelius from my e-learning site: And I have a special announcement: my new book about his life and philosophy, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, has just been listed on Amazon. Although it’s not …
April 18, 2018
Three Ideas the Stoics Learned from Socrates
Socrates was a hugely important precursor of ancient Stoicism. We’re told that Zeno, the founder of the Stoic school, was inspired to become a philosopher after a chance reading of Book Two from Xenophon’s Memorabilia of Socrates. Emulation of Socrates as a role model was clearly central to later Stoicism and perhaps goes right back …
April 9, 2018
Why I am a Stoic and an Agnostic
Six years ago I wrote an article entitled “God or Atoms” about the question as to whether a modern follower of Stoicism can be an agnostic or an atheist. At the start I emphasized the following: None of these Stoics appear to have been agnostics themselves but others may have been. What matters is whether …
March 30, 2018
Parenting: What Socrates Said
According to legend, Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, was inspired to become a philosopher after reading Book Two of Xenophon’s famous Memorabilia of Socrates. The second chapter of this book portrays Socrates engaging in a short Socratic dialogue with his own son, Lamprocles. It may have been a conversation Xenophon actually witnessed, or heard about …
March 27, 2018
Four Stoic Meditation Exercises
One of the most popular downloads on my e-learning site is a PDF guide called the Stoic Therapy Toolkit. This is a five-page summary of a daily routine and some key Stoic psychological practices. Here are the four Stoic meditation techniques it includes: Premeditation of Adversity (praemeditatio malorum). Practice imagining different “catastrophes” that could befall you, …
March 22, 2018
Free Crash Course on Socrates
Introducing my new online mini-course about the life and teachings of Socrates, which is completely free of charge and designed for newcomers who want to learn more about his philosophy.
March 19, 2018
Three Sources of Joy in the Stoicism of Marcus Aurelius
Many people assume that Stoicism is synonymous with being unemotional. I think this is often because they confuse stoicism (lower-case), the “stiff upper lip” personality trait, with Stoicism (upper-case) the school of Greek philosophy. (Here’s an article explaining the difference.) In fact, the Stoics teach us how to replace unhealthy emotions with healthy ones, and …
March 18, 2018
Please Share: Socrates HD Wallpapers
Please feel free to download and share these beautiful Socrates HD wallpapers with quotes about his life and philosophy, specially created by our graphic designer, Rocio de Torres. Download my Wallpapers
March 17, 2018
Why everything isn’t totally indifferent to Stoics
One of the most common misinterpretations of Stoicism is the notion that Stoics believe all external things are totally indifferent. That’s arguably closer to the philosophy of the Cynics, or possibly of the Skeptics or even the renegade Stoic, Aristo of Chios, as we’ll see. For these philosophers, everything except virtue and vice is classed …
