Cristina Galafate
Updated Thursday, February 8, 2024-15:29
Pedro Vivar Why is classical stoicism in fashion today?
Patri Psychologist "The best advice to live with serenity is to stop running"
At only 13 years old,
Donald Robertson
(Irvine, Scotland, December 27, 1972) received an intellectual inheritance from his father when he died. "He left me some Masonic books, which I read, it was a normal thing at home, and I saw references to the four cardinal virtues of Greek philosophy, and names like Plato and Pythagoras."
With the intention of seeking guidance and making up for the lack of a
father figure
, he began studying religion and philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, but it was not until after graduating that he discovered the Stoics, while training as a psychotherapist.
Thus he found a practical
philosophy of life
, but also contemplative exercises, such as meditation, and it also turned out to be the inspiration for modern cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). "I did not have phobias or depression, I studied texts, discussed them, tried to follow some of their guidelines, and I also practiced daily techniques such as 'The view from above', which consists of imagining the
general panorama
as if we were looking at the events from the Mount Olympus".
Today, he teaches his patients everything that has been applied and has helped him. "People tell me they see it as a Western alternative to Buddhism and a secular alternative to Christianity." A Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health, he publishes
Think Like a Roman Emperor
.
The Stoic philosophy of Marcus Aurelius to master your emotions and govern your life
(Ed. Today's Topics) a manual to learn to think and act like the
best Roman emperor
there was.
Why do you think Stoic philosophy is so successful today? People feel bombarded by the
rhetoric of politicians
and influencers through social media and the media, and often look for a way to cope. the situation. Stoicism evolved, in part, as a way to confront the political orators and sophists of the ancient world, who tried to manipulate the public through persuasion. How can it help us in daily life? It teaches us to
think for ourselves themselves
, to gain perspective and avoid letting ourselves be carried away by strong emotions, such as fear or anger, which are easily manipulated by other people. There is criticism that the original authors are not read, including the 'corruption' that many people believe I dedicated myself to making a living from them by turning the teachings into a trend of Instagram quotes, what do you think of this popularization? I think it was inevitable that people would distort Stoicism as it became popular, and certainly people who have never read the Stoics speak often from them on the Internet, and they say things that are, sometimes, very twisted and contrary to what they really taught. I have known people who write books about Stoicism
without ever having read
the Stoics. What's the biggest perversion of this you've ever seen? A famous self-improvement influencer once offered to pay me to write scripts about Stoicism for videos, so he could pretend he knew about the topic, because his consultants Marketing told him that many of his audience were interested in philosophy, although he was not. Of course, these insincere people are going to want to
jump on the bandwagon
if they think it can benefit their business in some way. I declined. Do you think the classics are still being read? More than a million people on Facebook count Marcus Aurelius among their favorite authors, and publishers report that sales of Stoic classical texts have boomed. We must not let
charlatans distract us
: many more authentic people are also becoming fond of stoicism. A few months ago it went viral that men thought at least twice a week about the Roman Empire, as revealed by TikTok, why? Achaca?Many men admire ingenuity in problem-solving, and the Roman Empire is famous for doing so with—by modern standards—limited resources. People love to marvel at how Roman concrete mix was so durable, and stuff like that. However, Roman society, perhaps due to its martial nature, valued many character traits such as
honesty, integrity, courage, and self-discipline.
. People look around and strive to find qualities they can admire in politicians or celebrities, and they are drawn to the heroic virtues of older societies. This leads them, perhaps to the surprise of others, to find role models in figures such as the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Why did you choose Marcus Aurelius over, for example, Seneca? We know much more about his life. Furthermore, our main sources on Seneca are his own writings, intended for publication, which appear to present a rather selective and probably biased account of his own life and character. Seneca, unfortunately, was more mixed than Marcus Aurelius when it came to his character and morals. He worked, of course, as an advisor and speechwriter for Emperor Nero, who was considered a tyrant and opposed by most Stoics of the time. Seneca is never mentioned in any later Stoic writings, perhaps because they disapproved of his association with Nero. It is easier to study the biography of Marcus Aurelius in a more complete and rounded way, and provides a more coherent model, one might say, of Stoic virtue applied to his life. At what moments in life can it be useful to think like an emperor? Roman?One of the most famous passages in
Meditations
shows how Marcus Aurelius mentally prepared himself for the next day each morning, and many people who read it find inspiration for their own
self-improvement regimen today
. I would say, in particular, that Marco offers exceptionally good advice on how to deal with our own feelings of anger, a problem that he says he found difficult to overcome at first. Some people criticize such a straight life, because we have come to this life to dance. . Is there room for hedonism in this way of existing? I love this question because you will learn a dark fact from this biography: Marcus Aurelius loved to dance. As a young man he joined a religious dance group called the College of the Salii, or jumping priests, and became its leader. Marco often draws on his own experience to explain Stoic philosophy, and in the
Meditations
he refers several times to dancing, in a very insightful way, as well as to fighting, for example, which he also practiced. In fact, he addresses your question by saying that, although he learned a lot from both disciplines, he believes that our philosophy of life should be more like wrestling
than dancing.
. We can dance when life is going well, but there are, she says, inevitable psychological assaults, blows that we face, such as illness, betrayal, grief, etc. We have to prepare our emotional resistance in times of peace and stay alert. Otherwise, we risk being overwhelmed by adversity when it hits us. So we must be like a fighter who is alert and prepared for someone to hit him, because the assaults of fortune are real. Is there room for joy in Stoicism? Stoics think that we must learn to be grateful for pleasant things without becoming attached to them, learning to indulge in the best of human nature and our own improvement. Physical activity is as important as mental exercise for the Stoics. At what point does this dissociation occur in which it is thought that it is incompatible to have muscles and brain?Ancient philosophers often warned of the danger of becoming too absorbed in sport and exercise, if that meant forgetting to develop the brain. Maybe that was a bigger risk in the ancient world. They believed in moderate exercise, learning to control our desires, and having healthy bodies. The Stoics considered themselves followers of Socrates, who had a fantastic dialogue with a young man who neglected exercise. He, who was a very skilled military veteran, asks him if an illness like fever can impair our ability to concentrate and reason. He says yes, of course. So, Socrates leads him to recognize that if he wants to use his brain he must, in general, take good care of his physical form and his health, since
our mind depends on our body
. What is the teaching of Stoicism that you value most? The central doctrine of Stoicism is that
virtue, or excellence of character, is the only true good
. That basic principle guides Stoics through life, meaning they place more importance on their own character than on external things like wealth or reputation. I believe that this is the most valuable aspect of philosophy, and that everything else depends on it. If we realize that true fulfillment and happiness come from within, then we feel less attached to external things, like wealth, which are never completely under our control anyway. That gives the Stoics greater emotional resilience. Why should the 'memento mori' always accompany us? Seneca says that the famous saying inscribed outside the Temple of Apollo at Delphi in Greece, which read "know thyself," meant "know that you are mortal." Perhaps it was the first 'memento mori' that is known. This theme continues throughout ancient philosophy, with Socrates saying that philosophy itself is a preparation for dying. Ancient philosophers believed that
By contemplating our own mortality
, perhaps every day, we could emerge from a kind of trance. Perhaps this is why people who have had a brush with death or who have lost a loved one say that their priorities in life change as a result? They focus more on their core values and
worry less about superficial values,
such as wealth and status, even though society encourages us to value these things. Realizing this, the Stoics want us to imagine our own death, so that we can benefit from this change in perspective as soon as possible. Why do we continue to fail every January in our intention to be better and fulfill our purposes? We do what we want do. When we set our minds to something, we often try to force ourselves to do something we don't really want to do. We will only do it, and stick with it, when our perspective changes and it becomes something we really want to do. Change consists of finding ways to modify our perspective and our environment so that
healthy habits are more attractive to us and no longer seem like an obligation
. To do this you have to be creative.
Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius to Master Your Emotions and Rule Your Life
is published by Today's Topics and you can purchase it here