When I first became involved with teaching Stoicism, I noticed that the audience at talks and conferences was quite a mixed bunch. At first there were mainly classicists and academic philosophers and then psychotherapists like myself, and some research psychologists, became interested in Stoic philosophy. Then I began to notice quite a few life coaches […]
Category archives: Socrates
Free Socrates Comic Strip
I’ve just added my new Socrates web comic strip to the free Crash Course in Socrates. This course is suitable for everyone. If you want to quick introduction to Socrates, this is definitely the best place to start. You’ll also get some bonus resources including the new Socrates comic strip, famous quotes, recommended reading lists, […]
The Stoic Philosophy of Michael Cohen?
What does Michael Cohen’s sentencing statement in court today have to do with Socrates or Stoic philosophy?
Book Review: Does Happiness Write Blank Pages? by Piotr Stankievicz
Does Happiness Write Blank Pages? On Stoicism and Artistic Creativity is a new book by Piotr Stankievicz, a Polish poet and philosopher. He’s also a member of the Modern Stoicism team responsible for organizing Stoicon and Stoic Week. Does Happiness Write Blank Pages? tackles the question of whether Stoicism, as a philosophy of life is […]
Socrates the Pimp and the Celestial Art of Love
“It seems to me that in writing about the deeds of truly good men, it is proper to record not only their serious activities, but their diversions too.” That’s the opening line of Xenophon’s Symposium, a dialogue about the philosopher Socrates and his friends attending a drinking party. It’s a philosophical dialogue about the nature […]
Socrates and Theodote the Courtesan
Xenophon says that for a time an exceptionally beautiful courtesan (hetaira) called Theodote lived in Athens, who had attracted a lot of attention. She had become something of a celebrity, highly sought after as a model for painters. One of his friends mentioned to Socrates that her beauty was “beyond description”. Socrates replied that in […]
Video: Four Emotional Resilience Strategies from The Stoic Socrates
Short video about four resilience strategies described by Socrates in Plato’s Republic Book 10.
Video: The Choice of Hercules
Releasing a video today of me reciting The Choice of Hercules the famous speech of Prodicus, retold by Socrates, which inspired Zeno to embrace the life of a philosopher and then to go on and found the Stoic school.
Athens: The Delphic Oracle
Today, I visited the Delphic Oracle. I asked her if there was anyone wiser than Socrates. I just wanted to double check, to make sure. Well, that’s what I’m going to tell my seven year old anyway. 😉 There’s so much to say about the importance of this site for the history of philosophy… I […]
Athens: Visiting Plato’s Academy
Today I visited the archeological site of Plato’s Academy. Around twelve years after the execution of Socrates, Plato founded a philosophical school in the suburb of Athens known as the Academy, after which it took its name. His school must have consisted of one or more lecture halls. It was located in public grounds, basically a […]