Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor

The following is a short commentary on Donald Robertson's new book, Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor. From the book’s description: This novel biography brings Marcus Aurelius (121–180 CE) to life for a new generation of readers… as Robertson skillfully weaves together Marcus’s inner journey as a philosopher with the outer…

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Seneca’s Mental Remedies For Anger

One of the nice things about the morning time is that you have some distance from what lies ahead. You have a little space into which you can stretch. You can mentally reach into the day and prepare for what comes your way. It's difficult to feel anger, for example,…

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Give Yourself Permission To Practice Philosophy

One of the best TED Talks I’ve ever seen was by the actor Ethan Hawke. It’s called “Give yourself permission to be creative” and it’s all about the importance of expressing yourself and doing what you love. It doesn’t have the traditional TED feel due to the absence of a…

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A Stoic Response to Being Judged

It’s likely that today you’ll be judged in some form. Other people will have their say on your actions. It’s natural human behavior: we all rely on our reasoning skills, experience, and principles to determine whether we approve or disapprove of what others are doing. That point is worth remembering…

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Why Your Insignificance Isn’t A Bad Thing

We're so close to the stories we tell ourselves about our own lives that we often can't see beyond them. If you're like me, you've probably faced a problem that seemed to be the most important problem that anyone on the planet was facing at that time. You're so embedded…

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Being Stoic is a Refined Kind of Selfishness

If you’re anything like me, socializing can sometimes feel like the last thing you want to do. Maybe yesterday was littered with frustrating interactions or you know you’re going to bump into a difficult personality this afternoon. Whether today is one of those days or not, Seneca gave us good…

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