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PODCAST

John Vespasian

JOHN VESPASIAN is the author of sixteen books, including “When everything fails, try this” (2009), “Rationality is the way to happiness” (2009), “The philosophy of builders” (2010), “The 10 principles of rational living” (2012), “Rational living, rational working” (2013), “Consistency: The key to permanent stress relief” (2014), “On becoming unbreakable” (2015), “Thriving in difficult times” (2016), “Causality: Aristotle’s life and ideas” (2024), “Foresight: Schopenhauer’s life and ideas” (2024),

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All Episodes

4:53

Impact of Aristotle’s theory of justice

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/18

The justice definition given by Aristotle in “Nicomachean Ethics” is simple, but accurate and profound. A person behaves in accordance with justice only if he has “an habitual disposition to render to each person his due.” The definition demands giving consistently and regularly to each person his due, not only occasionally, not only from time to time. Aristotle’s predecessors such as Socrates (469-399 BC) had not been able to come up with such a complete definition. Despite his focus on

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16:53

Aristotle’s theory of the four causes

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/18

In this article, I present one of Aristotle’s key contributions to philosophy. Aristotle’s theory of the four causes seems at first sight very easy to understand, but if you dig into the details, you will see its epochal consequences. It changed human mentality, and in doing so, it changed the course of history. The four causes, and in particular the final cause, can dramatically change your life for the better. Aristotle adopted a systematic approach to studying the world. His theory of the four

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5:59

Aristotle’s views on knowledge and learning

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/18

In contrast to his predecessors, Aristotle (384-322 BC) built his theory of knowledge on empiricism. The main principle of empiricism is that knowledge can only be gained from sensory experience before it can be assessed and refined. Aristotle taught that humans start at birth with a blank mind (a blank slate) and will acquire knowledge through interactions with the external world. In his early period (before 347 BC), Aristotle had endorsed Plato’s theory of innate knowledge. Plato had taught

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6:40

Aristotle’s views on education

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/18

Aristotle (384-322 BC) outlined his philosophy of education primarily in his works “Eudemian Ethics” and “Nicomachean Ethics.” His work “Politics” also contains some statements on education, as part of Aristotle’s views on governance and social organisation. The Aristotelian formula for education revolves around the concept of virtue: the purpose of education is to equip students with physical, moral and intellectual habits enabling them to achieve “eudaimonia.” How should we translate the Greek

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7:06

Michel de Montaigne and intellectual curiosity

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/13

When people nowadays speak about curiosity, they usually mean the open, random, wide-range interest in a multiplicity of subjects. They mean the curiosity of children exploring their environment in a disorderly, superficial, inconsistent manner. Renaissance authors such as Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) employed a different definition of curiosity. They carried out research in a multiplicity of subjects, but in the pursuit of a tightly defined goal. Their efforts were neither disorderly nor random

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5:56

Michel de Montaigne and cultural identity

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/13

In his essays, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), addresses frequently the subject of cultural identity. I can summarise his conclusions in two sentences. First, he acknowledges that each culture has its own rituals, likes and dislikes. Second, he rates those differences as minor if compared with the traits shared by humans in all cultures. Montaigne underlines the second aspect in his essay titled “That we all love and cry for the same thing.” He is conveying the idea that human emotions (joy,

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7:07

Errors in Montaigne’s views on cultural identity

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/13

Despite his erudition and hard work, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) never grasped the need for an objective morality. I find in his essays a relentless effort to obscure ethical truths in order to preach moral relativism and contorted ethical equality. Montaigne employed ethical fallacies as arguments once and again; he employed “universal emotions” to call for ethical indifference, and “diverse cultural identity” to call for empathy towards immorality. His essay “That men through various ways

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6:52

Michel de Montaigne and political philosophy

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/13

I can summarise in three sentences the political philosophy of Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). He outlined his political ideas in several essays, giving many historical examples, but the ideas themselves are straightforward. First, when good people govern, everything will be fine, irrespective of the political system. Second, even the very best political system can be abused by bad people. Third, since it is inevitable that, now and then, some bad people gain political power, abuses can be

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6:48

Michel de Montaigne and the nature of personal growth

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/13

“The best human attribute is rising after every downfall,” wrote Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). Like no other author before the Renaissance, Montaigne devoted two decades of his life to identifying the keys to personal growth, and recording them in his essays. The above citation is taken from Montaigne’s essay “That no man should be called happy until his death,” which is one of my favourites. However, recommendations on personal growth can be found in every essay he wrote. Montaigne regarded

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5:15

Michel de Montaigne’s advice on personal growth

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/13

“Let us allow fortune to do her thing, and she will then give us the chance to do ours,” wrote Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) in his essay “That no man should be called happy until his death.” Montaigne is not telling us that human life is shaped by luck and that we should be happy with our circumstances. Neither is he implying that we are all doomed to a short, miserable life in which countermeasures are pointless because death is awaiting us at the end of the path. I regard the following twin

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6:31

Schopenhauer’s views on the nature of evil

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/11

The philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) about the nature of evil stands in sharp contrast to other thinkers. For Schopenhauer, evil is a natural phenomenon. It’s the inevitable outcome of the will (“life force”) when left to operate freely. Schopenhauer attributes evil to the life force that prompts all living creatures to secure their survival and reproduction, seek pleasure and maximise short-term gains. This life force doesn’t care about risks, costs, and consequences. According to

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6:05

Schopenhauer’s views on religion

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/11

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) deployed large efforts to study Christianity and Eastern religions. His goal was to draw the best ethical advice from religion. When I say “best advice,” I mean practical, tangible, hands-on advice. I find it remarkable that Schopenhauer devoted long years to studying religion. His theory of the will (“life force”) has no direct connection to religion and his ethics are equally far from divinities and devotionals. The key idea in Schopenhauer’s philosophy is that the

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6:40

Schopenhauer’s views on genius

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/11

For Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), creativity is the key element in genius. However, Schopenhauer defined creativity in an unusual way. He wasn’t referring to the ability to create new concepts by recombining existing ones. No, he was referring to the rare ability to come up with breakthrough, surprising ideas. His theory of the will (life force) doesn’t attribute creativity to nature. Schopenhauer viewed the will as a wild, blind force that drives all living creatures to secure their reproduction

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5:44

Schopenhauer and the problem of evil

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/11

The problem of evil was addressed by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) by referring to the theory of the will (“life force”), which constitutes the pillar of his philosophy. Schopenhauer defined the will as the force driving living creatures to secure their survival and reproduction, and seek pleasure. According to Schopenhauer, the will creates endless human desires. As soon as one desire is fulfilled, another one arises. It is simply impossible to satisfy them all. As a result, frustration and

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6:00

Schopenhauer’s views on intellectual pursuits

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/11

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) devoted his whole life to intellectual pursuits. In particular, he gave extensive thought to their contribution to happiness. Schopenhauer outlined his philosophy in “The world as will and representation,” a book he published in 1818. The essential insight of the book is that the will (“life force”) is driving all living creatures to secure their own survival and reproduction. In addition, the will is pushing animals and humans to seek short-term pleasure without

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6:58

Schopenhauer’s influence on literature

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/11

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) never wrote any novels and deeply disliked those written by his mother, Johanna. She had attained notoriety by her romantic novels and reciprocated his son’s literary dislike by calling his essays uninteresting. However, the novels written by Johanna Schopenhauer were quickly forgotten, while Arthur Schopenhauer’s works attracted growing interest. Eventually, his ideas have influenced authors and shaped their novels. Schopenhauer’s influence on literature has taken

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6:20

Aristotle’s views on friendship

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/04

Aristotle addressed friendship in his “Nicomachean Ethics.” He viewed friendship as indispensable for leading a happy life, but identified three types of friendships: those based on utility, those based on pleasure, and those based on shared values or virtues. The latter is by far the most valuable. Friendships of utility are based on mutual interest. People collaborate with each other for a myriad of reasons, which are not necessarily linked to business or making money. Business partners constitute

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9:07

Aristotle’s four key contributions to philosophy

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/04

Aristotle (384-322 BC) made four decisive contributions to philosophy. First, in metaphysics, he refuted Plato’s theory of forms. While Plato had believed in a world of pure abstractions (which he called “forms”), Aristotle emphasised observing the material world. Second, Aristotle came up with the concepts of substance and form. He asserted that each item is composed of substance and form. Substance refers to its underlying essence, and form to its individual characteristics. The combination of

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6:43

Key ideas in Aristotle’s teachings on logic and...

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/04

The philosophy of logic and reason developed by Aristotle (384-322 BC) is different from computer logic, religious logic, and other types of logic that have existed in history. There are three distinct features that render Aristotelian logic unique. I’m going to present those three features, one by one. First, Aristotelian logic is linked to language. I would go even further and specify that it is linked to human language. Humans have ways of thinking that are very different from those of computers

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7:13

Aristotle’s thoughts on tragedy and literature

John Vespasian ·

2025/11/04

Aristotle (384-322 BC) outlined his thoughts on tragedy in his work “Poetics.” He regarded tragedy as an art form evoking pity and fear, leading the audience to gain emotional resilience and wisdom. The process of gaining resilience and wisdom from tragedy watched on stage is called “catharsis.” The key plot element in a tragedy is that the hero (who is essentially virtuous) ends up destroying his life due to a judgement error. Aristotle considered the plot structure crucial for delivering the

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