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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

7:41

Seneca’s formula for achieving tranquillity

John Vespasian ·

2026/01/02

The solution to worry must begin by understanding its cause and how it builds over time. Seneca grasped the nature of preoccupations better than most philosophers in history, but his recommendations need to be adapted to our century. Seneca attributed mental strain to the human tendency to go too far, run too quickly, and expect too much. He viewed peace of mind as the major goal of philosophy, but acknowledged the difficulty of giving up the desires that prevent tranquillity. We achieve

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10:09

Seneca’s advice on setbacks

John Vespasian ·

2026/01/02

In history, few philosophers have come with workable, solid advice about dealing with setbacks. Socrates (470-399 BC), Plato (427-347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC) had given little thought to this matter, concentrating their efforts on logic and epistemology rather than on human psychology. Seneca was the first philosopher in history to come up with a complete prescription for dealing with setbacks in all sorts of circumstances. He took the insights developed by Zeno of Citium (334-262 BC) and

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8:10

Seneca’s advice on dealing with uncertainty

John Vespasian ·

2026/01/02

Most philosophical doctrines are worthless for dealing with uncertainty. They fail to recognise emerging threats and, when people wake up, it’s too late to do anything. If we want to have a successful, happy life, we need to know what to do exactly in order to deal effectively with uncertainty. Seneca came up with the answer, although he failed to see the implications. He was too busy with his own problems and possessed only a limited grasp of economics. Let us review his insights and complete them

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7:25

Seneca’s mistake in the pursuit of wisdom

John Vespasian ·

2026/01/02

Seneca laboured intensively in the pursuit of wisdom. He devoted four decades of his life to reflecting and writing about philosophy. I would not question his dedication, but I cannot ignore the rather poor results he achieved. The fact that he ended up killing himself does not speak in his favour. Despite Seneca’s large efforts to acquire wisdom, we should not close our eyes to his errors. He gained important insights on Stoicism and made solid recommendations, but where did he go wrong? Why did he

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8:41

Seneca’s advice on making good decisions

John Vespasian ·

2026/01/02

The best advice provided by Seneca concerns the method for making decisions. His recommendations are condensing decades of philosophical reflection, and a profound knowledge of Ancient Greek and Roman history. Seneca’s advice is straightforward: Keep going in the right direction and do not dwell on difficulties and setbacks. He had seen too many of his friends choose unhealthy, self-defeating lifestyles for the sake of fitting in society. In doing so, those friends of Seneca’s had relinquished their

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8:35

Seneca on handling pessimism

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/18

Amongst all insights gained by Seneca, his recipe for handling pessimism is particularly remarkable. I find it perennial in its validity and universal in its applications. Few philosophers have analysed this issue as profoundly as Seneca, and even fewer have come up with useful recommendations. I can sum up Seneca’s recipe for handling pessimism in one brief metaphor. Instead of adopting a fearful, worrisome view of the world, we should imitate the insouciance of dogs, cats or any other wild

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7:07

Seneca on overcoming doubts and fears

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/18

I pity those who ignore the lessons from antique thinkers because they are leaving remarkable wisdom on the table. It is a sign of deep ignorance to categorise Socrates (470-399 BC), Plato (427-347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC) as impractical, and to sustain that their works are no longer worth studying. Curiously enough, Seneca often battled with prior Greek and Roman thinkers; he regarded their conclusions as superficial or incomplete, and claimed for himself the credit of having discovered a

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8:20

Seneca’s advice on staying calm under pressure

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/18

How many people do you know that are able to remain calm under extreme pressure? My guess is that you know very few. I can count those I know with the fingers of one hand. Serenity is not taught in school, and when people most need it, then it is far too late to acquire it. Seneca came up with effective strategies for staying calm under pressure, although, to be fair, I must point out that he built on the ideas of Zeno of Citium (334-262 BC), Cleanthes (330-230 BC) and Chrysippus (279-206 BC). The

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8:10

Seneca’s philosophy explained

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/18

Despite his extensive philosophising, Seneca never showed a systematic approach to philosophy. His Letters to Lucilius employ hundreds of times the word “virtue,” but do not connect it to metaphysics, epistemology, politics, aesthetics or to the Aristotelian tradition. Seneca was a gifted writer, but not a systematic thinker. His goal was to prevent misery more than to promote happiness. In his works, we are led to assume that he knew the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle, but he does very little to

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8:01

Seneca’s path to serenity

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/18

Amongst all paths to serenity, the one delineated by Seneca is the most straightforward. It rests on a single principle that can be applied to all problems and circumstances that we encounter in life. Seneca’s path to serenity has been proven effective through twenty centuries of experience. In contrast to the recipes given by Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) and Epictetus (55-135 AD), Seneca’s path can be summarised in one word: flexibility. Nowadays, most people regard themselves as flexible, but is

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8:00

Seneca’s teachings on justice

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/16

Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) had no understanding of the concept of justice, and what is even worse, he did not care. As a result, his version of Stoicism lost touch with the social and economic fibre of the Roman Empire. It would have been easy for Seneca to endorse the doctrines of Aristotle (384-322 BC) on justice. In the “Eudemian Ethics” and the “Nicomachean Ethics,” Aristotle considered justice a major virtue. A rational man aims at giving each person his due, Aristotle argued. Fairness and justice

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8:00

Seneca on dealing with heartbreak and grief

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/16

Romantic literature defends the thesis that it is better to go through ups and downs in life rather than leading a smooth and peaceful existence. I have my doubts about their exaltation of adventure, but when it comes to real life, none of us is afforded the luxury of perfect smoothness and peace. Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) was conscious of the detrimental role played by heartbreak and grief in human existence. Some men and women bring about their own misery, for instance because they engage in reckless

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7:05

Seneca on how to deal with disappointments

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/16

Disappointments can have dire consequences. I am referring to the victims of lies, deception or treason, to people who find themselves left behind when their rightful expectations crash. I pity those who prove unable to deal with disappointments and get back on their feet because their lives may be shortened. Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) provided excellent advice about how to deal with disappointments, but his insights are spread all over his writings. I regard the “Consolation to Polybius” as particularly

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6:52

Seneca’s letters on motivation

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/16

In our century, motivation seminars have become a sizeable industry. Companies send their employees to those seminars in the hope of increasing sales, productivity and innovation, but it is hard to keep people motivated month after month, especially during periods of economic stagnation. Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) didn’t invent the motivation seminar, but he achieved the same effect by writing letters and essays. If a friend had lost a beloved family member, Seneca would give him advice about how to regain

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6:58

Seneca’s approach to mental clarity

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/16

It is easy to keep a clear mind during a sunny day, when all elements are in our favour: good health, a regular income, old friends that appreciate us, and a loving family around us. It is a different story to keep our wits when things fall apart and keep getting worse. Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) devised the perfect recipe for staying calm and focused in times of trouble. I am convinced that his recipe works because, in history, many people had practised it successfully. I regard this aspect of Seneca’s

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7:01

Analysis of Schopenhauer’s views on ethics

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/09

The uniqueness of the ethical system put forward by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) becomes clear when we compare it with other philosophies. I regard it as particularly enlightening to compare Schopenhauer’s ethics with Taoism and Stoicism. Taoism was created in ancient China. It predicates harmony with nature, spontaneity, modesty, simplicity and steering away from violence. Lao-Tzu (6th century BC) preceded Plato by a century. After his death, his disciples put his teachings in writing. For

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7:11

Analysis of Schopenhauer’s views on solitude

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/09

Few philosophers agree with the positive views on solitude put forward by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860). I am going to make comparisons, identify the differences, and look for the truth. Aristotle (384-322 BC) acknowledged the value of solitude for learning and self-awareness, but considered it impossible for humans to reach their full potential without social connections. By “social connections,” Aristotle did not mean only family and friends; his definition of “social connections” encompasses

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6:02

Schopenhauer and the philosophy of education

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/09

Like most great philosophers, Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) considered education as a lifetime activity. Schooling is only the first step, however necessary, and should build at the same time the student’s character, knowledge, and skills. Schopenhauer was very precise in defining the purpose of moral education; the principal purpose is to help students build their self-awareness and self-discipline. Self-awareness enables individuals to perceive the influence of the will (“life force”), identify

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7:33

Schopenhauer’s teachings drawn from Buddhism

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/09

The possibility of drawing teachings from Eastern religion didn’t occur immediately to Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860). It does not appear in his early work “About the fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason” (1808) and only starts to take shape in “The world as will and representation” (1818). Schopenhauer grew acquainted with Buddha’s teachings in the years after 1815. Initially, he read extensively about the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the creator of Buddhism. The insights gained by

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6:34

Schopenhauer’s philosophy of art and beauty

John Vespasian ·

2025/12/09

Artistic contemplation plays a major role in the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860). Art conveys reality in an immediate manner, enabling humans to grasp crucial elements without need of complex explanations. According to Schopenhauer, artistic contemplation enables people to escape the dire influence of the will (“life force”) and increase their self-awareness. In his books “The world as will and representation” (1818) and “Parerga and Paralipomena” (1851), Schopenhauer shows how to

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