Books

Vincent Di Norcia thinks about Roman Emperors, Peter Stone gives good reasons why inequality is bad, and Alan Shepherd scrutinises a new vision of society.

- Vincent Di Norcia, Peter Stone, Alan Shepherd

How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson

MARCUS AURELIUS (121180 AD) was a Roman emperor and a Stoic philosopher. He is perhaps best known for his Meditations, which are mostly reflections about his thoughts and feelings. Happiness, Aurelius wrote, depends on controlling how one thinks and feels: "You have power over your mind, not outside events beyond your control. Our life is what our thoughts make it."

In such matters, claims Donald Robertson, the author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: the Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, Aurelius followed the teachings of Epictetus, a Stoic thinker whose teachings focused on self-examination, controlling desires and feelings, considering the consequences of one's actions, dealing with adversity, and accepting one's finitude. Stoics sought to be emotionally imperturbable, and to respond wisely to events they cannot control. Indeed Aurelius, Robertson reports, proposed ways of viewing pain and illness with composure and indifference. His Stoicism was not merely a theory, it was an ethic, a way of life. To rule an empire, one certainly needed to control one's feelings, especially when facing adversity and violence, as Rome's rulers often did. Feelings, Robertson notes, usually decline in intensity after a few minutes, making them more controllable. Robertson also proposes a framework for evaluating and changing one's behaviour, feelings, and emotions, which he calls 'emotional habituation' (p.200).