Donald Robertson (Part 1) - On Stoicism and How to Think Like a Roman Emperor

Today&aposs guest is Donald Robertson, renowned expert on stoicism.

I was looking forward to this chat for a long time, and it does not disappoint. Stoics are mainly concerned with their wisdom and their character, and therefore process events that happen to them according to the effect of the event on their wisdom and character, first and foremost. This is an extremely powerful tool for dealing with life&aposs hardships, including the pandemic.

Donald is a writer, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist and trainer.  He’s a specialist in teaching evidence-based psychological skills, and known as an expert on the relationship between modern psychotherapy (CBT) and classical Greek and Roman philosophy. His therapy practice specialized for many years in helping clients with social anxiety and self-confidence issues. He is also the author of six books and many articles on philosophy, psychotherapy, and psychological skills training. His latest book How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius was #1 best seller in philosophy, and he&aposs also edited and written the introduction to Capstone Classics&apos new edition of The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.

In Part 1, we discuss:

What is stoicism?How stoicism deals with anger and our blind spotsDo people do wrong because they&aposre fundamentally bad?Moral blindness is a more severe disability than physical blindnessRehab and reform those who wrong vs. punishing themLies of omissionThe ideal stoic: someone mainly concerned about their wisdom or characterHow stoicism is growing in popularity, especially during the pandemicHow Greek tragedies would have been very different with wiser charactersHow blessings can be a curse and curses can be a blessingIs venting emotions healthy, or should we not let them bother us?The difference between grief and pathological depressionThere&aposs nothing anger can do that can&apost be done better with love and compassionCognitive distancing and the ability to consider multiple perspectivesThe four thoughts of wisdom

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Connect with Donald Robertson on Instagram @howtothinklikearomanemperor, Facebook @robertsontraining, on Twitter @DonJRobertson, and on his website, donaldrobertson.name

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Don&apost forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Saturday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy