The Stoic Question: Philosophy and Psychology

In this episode, I read an exclusive excerpt from my latest book, Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor , published by Yale University Press, as part of the Ancient Lives Series. The book is a philosophical biography of the Roman emperor, which contains many references to the Meditations and how his philosophy shaped his life. You can help it reach a wider audience by pre-ordering now from Amazon , B...

In this episode, I speak about Socrates with Armand D'Angour, professor of classics at Oxford University. He is the translator of How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking ( 2021) and the author of Socrates in Love: The Making of a Philosopher (2020), among other works. Thank you for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life. This post is public so feel free to share it. Highlight...

In this episode, I speak about Clarity and Wisdom with executive coach, Jim Vaselopulos. Jim is co-host of The Leadership Podcast. We discuss his new book, Clarity: Business Wisdom to Work Less and Achieve More . Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Highlights * What is clarit...

In this episode, I speak about Stoicism and Buddhism with Matthew Gindin. Matthew is a former Forest Monk in the Thai Buddhist tradition.  He taught meditation practices for 15 years, and has written extensively for Tricycle: The Buddhist Review .  He is now the author of the Philosophy As Therapy newsletter on Substack. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To r...

In this episode, I talk to Ryan A. Bush, author of Designing the Mind: The Principles of Psychitecture and the forthcoming Become Who You Are: A New Theory of Self-Esteem, Human Greatness, and the Opposite of Depression. Bonus: Ryan is generously offering listeners two free ebooks from his website , called the Psychitect’s Toolkit and The Book of Self Mastery . Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Lif...

Elliot Chung, a student at Phillips Academy Andover, interviewed me recently for his new Philosophy for the Modern Mind podcast, and we decided to share our conversation on this podcast as well. We talk in particular about how Stoicism could be of practical benefit to young people, and the challenges they face today. Thank you for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life. This post is public...

How to drink like a Roman emperor, if that emperor is Marcus Aurelius. In this episode I explore the relationship between Stoic philosophy and the Twelve Step Program of Alcoholics Anonymous, discussing how Stoicism can help those suffering from alcoholism, as well as their friends and families. I spot parallels between the Twelve Step advice and Stoic teachings, and give examples from the life of...

In this episode, I talk with Marc J. Victor, about Stoicism and politics. Marc is an attorney in the US, where he is a certified Criminal Law Specialist, and president of the Attorneys for Freedom law firm. He is also an activist and founder of the Live and Let Live global peace movement. Thank you for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life. This post is public so feel free to share it. Hig...

In this episode, I talk to Robin Waterfield about the life and philosophy of the Greek philosopher, Plato. Robin is a British classicist who has translated many works of Plato, Xenophon, and other Greek writers. He is also the author of several books, including the recently-published Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy , the first full-length modern biography of Plato in English. Robin is also a...

In this episode, Donald talks with Michael Tremblay. Michael is the co-founder of the Stoa Meditation app and co-host of the Stoa Conversations podcast.  He has a doctorate in philosophy from Queens University in Ontario.  His research has focused on moral education in the Stoics, and philosophy as a way of life.  He’s also a wrestler and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Stoicism: Philosophy a...

In this episode, Donald talks with Matthew Sharpe.  Matt is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Deakin University in Australia.  He’s spoken at Stoicon in Athens.  He is the co-author of Philosophy as a Way of Life , and one of the translators of The Selected Writings of Pierre Hadot: Philosophy as Practice . His most recent book is titled Stoicism, Bullying, and Beyond: How to Keep Your Head Whe...

In this episode, I chat with J.W. Bertolotti host of the In Search of Wisdom podcast, and founder of the Perennial Leader Project . Josh was one of the speakers at our Stoicon-x Military event a few years ago. We’re both very active on Substack now, Josh at Perennial Meditations so I thought it would be a great opportunity to reconnect and chat about philosophy as a guide to life. Highlights * How...

This is the famous speech, which we’re told inspired Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, to embark on a life of philosophy. He came across it in Book Two of Xenophon’s Memorabilia Socratis , where Socrates is portrayed reciting a version of it, which he learned from the celebrated Sophist and orator, Prodicus. It’s an exhortation to philosophy, which uses the legend of Hercules as an allegory to illust...

In this episode, I answer questions about Stoicism, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), and emotional-resilience from Valentin Lehodey, a digital journalism student at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Highlights * What is Stoicis...

This is the audio of an interview I gave recently for Book Club with Kaiden Kelly , talking about How to Think Like a Roman Emperor , Verissimus , and Stoicism, self-help and modern psychology. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thank you for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as...

Donald discusses what Stoicism teaches us about anger and how it can actually help us in practice today. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Highlights * Why anger is a problem * What the Stoics say about anger * Ways in which Stoicism can help us manage anger * The benefits...

In this episode, I discuss and recite one of the most important philosophical speeches in history — the Great Discourse or Great Speech of the Sophist Protagoras, from Plato’s dialogue Protagoras . This speech contains some remarkable imagery and ideas, which clearly foreshadow many later ideas about social virtue and politics in Greek and Roman philosophy, from Socrates to the Stoics, and beyond....

In this episode, I chat with Anya Leonard. Anya is the founder and director of Classical Wisdom , a website and online community dedicated to bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds. She also recently published a children’s book about the ancient Greek poetess, called Sappho: The Lost Poetess . Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and suppor...

This is my attempt to provide a short and simple introduction to Stoic practices, which anyone can begin using right away. It includes: * Brief introduction to Stoicism and dispelling the most common misconceptions * Two basic concepts: * The dichotomy of control * That it’s not things that upset us but rather our judgments about them * Three basic practices: * Objective description * Contemplatin...

This podcast episode contains the audio recording from a conversation about Marcus Aurelius, and the history of Roman Carnuntum. I spoke with Eduard Pollhammer, the scientific director of the Carnuntum Archeological Park, at the Museum Carnuntinum in Austria. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free...

In this episode, I chat with Alexandra Hudson, writer, popular speaker, founder of Civic Renaissance , a publication and intellectual community dedicated to beauty, goodness and truth, and author of The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves , a forthcoming book from St. Martin’s Press. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive...

NB : This episode contains a recording of a guided relaxation technique, which you should not listen to while driving. I created this recording for my psychotherapy clients, many years ago, but wanted to make it more widely available. It’s a short and simple exercise, about thirteen minutes in duration. This is the approach that I found to work best for the majority of people. Stoicism: Philosophy...

Re-reading a newspaper article that I wrote at the start of the pandemic about how Marcus Aurelius used Stoicism, in the Meditations , to cope with the Antonine Plague . It struck me that, in part at least, the Meditations can be seen as Marcus’ notes to himself on coping with the psychological and moral challenges of the plague — or, if you like, as a manual for coping Stoically during a pandemic...

This podcast episode contains the audio recording from a conversation about Marcus Aurelius, which I had with Markus Wachter, the CEO of the Carnuntum Archeological Park, at the Museum Carnuntinum, in 2019. I was visiting Austria for around a week, doing research for my books on Marcus Aurelius. The audio was recorded live in the main hall of the reconstructed Roman villa in the archeological park...

In this episode, I chat with Massimo Pigliucci, Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York, part of the team responsible for the Modern Stoicism organization, and author of several books on philosophy, including How to be a Stoic and, more recently, The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches us about Our Search for Good Leaders .   Stoicism: Philosophy...