Donald J. Robertson

I recently had this conversation with Chris Williamson about Socrates, for his Modern Wisdom podcast. Hope you enjoy listening. Please share the link with your friends!

Highlights

• 00:00 Why Should We Care About Socrates?
• 07:50 Philosophy Before Socrates
• 14:42 Why Socrates Became a Philosopher
• 21:04 Main Principles of Socrates’ Philosophy
• 35:42 Why Some Find Socrates Annoying
• 45:35 Did Socrates Get Involved in Politics?
• 49:50 Socrates’ View of a Good Life
• 57:57 Why Socrates Was Executed
• 1:08:48 Links Between Socrates & Seneca
• 1:19:40 The Meaning Behind ‘Know Thyself’
• 1:26:11 Biggest Weaknesses of Socrates’ Philosophy
• 1:35:55 Why This Book Was Almost Impossible to Write
• 1:45:35 The Obstacle to Playing With Ideas in Today’s Society
• 1:54:14 What’s Next for Donald?

And should we all be studying the Socratic dialogues as well, if we’re really into Stoicism?

We can’t say for sure, IMHO, how “Socratic” ancient Stoicism was. Only roughly 1% of the ancient Stoic literature that once existed survives today and most of it comes from the late, Imperial period, i.e., Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. Moreover, there appear to have been distinct sects of Stoicism, which probably looked up to different figures. (Clearly, e.g., Seneca and Epictetus approach Stoicism in different ways, but we’re also told the Stoics divided into different branches.)

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Preorder my latest book How to Think Like Socrates today and you’ll be eligible to claim exclusive bonus content. (If you’re interested in getting a signed copy, you can preorder one from Porchlight — they will ship internationally.)

• Join me for an exclusive live Q&A on Zoom where we’ll dive deeper into the book. Tues 19th Nov at 6-7pm Eastern Time. NB: A recording will be available for playback if you’re not able to attend.
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My latest book, How to Think Like Socrates (St Martin’s Press), which will be released on 19th November, follows on from the success of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, by weaving together ancient philosophy and history, with modern psychology to provide a unique guide to self-improvement.  The book will be available in hardback and ebook, and an audiobook, which I will be narrating.  It has been selected by Barnes & Noble as a “Bookseller Favorite” and listed as one of their most anticipated philosophy books of the year.  

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What other authors are saying…

• “One of the best books ever written on the power and practicality of philosophy for a good and successful life! Highly recommended!” —Tom Morris, author of If Aristotle Ran General Motors
• “Wonderful . . . In our modern world that swirls with half-truths and disinformation, we need nothing less to awaken us from our illusions.” —Nancy Sherman, author of Stoic Wisdom
• “An intriguing and original book, engagingly written and highly accessible.” —Chris Gill, Professor Emeritus of Ancient Thought, Exeter University, and author of Learning to Live Naturally
• “A fresh and original introduction to the figure of Socrates, blending philosophy, history, and psychotherapy.” —John Sellars, reader in philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London and author of The Pocket Stoic
• “Don Robertson is your trusty and insightful guide to the life, times, and thought of the most important philosopher in the western tradition.” —Massimo Pigliucci, author of How to Be a Stoic