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John Vespasian

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), and "Constancy: Michel de Montaigne's life and ideas" (2025).

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  • 20 episodes
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  • Avg 5 min
  • English
  • #546
    July 31 · 6 min

    Analysis of Schopenhauer's idea of justice

    The genius of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) also shows in his unique idea of justice. On the one hand, he regarded it as highly desirable in society. Civilization cannot exist without a consistent protection of life, liberty and property. On the...

  • #545
    July 31 · 5 min

    Schopenhauer and the idea of justice

    In the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), we find a unique combination of realism and empathy. His books show that Schopenhauer was fully conscious of the advantages of industrial societies. They offer individuals far more chances than...

  • #544
    July 31 · 7 min

    Schopenhauer's pessimism: what it is and what is not

    According to most philosophy books, Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was profoundly pessimistic. However, when you look into the details of his life and his works, you will see that the truth goes in the opposite direction. Historians tell us that...

  • #543
    July 31 · 5 min

    Schopenhauer and the philosophy of history

    The philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) places history on a secondary plane. Schopenhauer didn’t give history a central role because he did not consider that humanity should achieve any goal beyond the happiness of the individual....

  • #542
    July 31 · 7 min

    Schopenhauer and the philosophy of time

    The reflections of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) are to be found in his work “The world as will and representation.” I consider equally interesting the observations contained in his “Aphorisms on the art of living,” published in 1851. In contrast to...

  • #541
    July 29 · 6 min

    The Taoist approach to happiness

    Happy people do not waste their time telling the world how happy they are, and Taoists are not an exception. Neither Lao-Tzu, Yang-Tzu or Chuang-Tzu made any effort to gain adepts to their philosophy. They simply wrote down or dictated their insights,...

  • #540
    July 29 · 7 min

    The Taoist path to happiness

    It was not long ago that universal history used to be part of the curriculum in secondary schools. A solid understanding of the key historical periods, their ideas and leading figures was a precondition for graduation. Students were required to grasp...

  • #539
    July 29 · 8 min

    Warnings about the Taoist idea of happiness

    The desire to get something for nothing is a constant in all cultures and historical periods. To a large extent, mythology is derived from this desire. People make themselves believe that, if they perform a magical ritual, some divinity will assist...

  • #538
    July 29 · 7 min

    Why Taoists do not pursue happiness directly

    In contrast to other philosophies or religions, Taoists do not regard happiness as a goal. Why? Because they view happiness as a side effect of leading a virtuous life, not as a goal in itself. Neither Lao-Tzu, Yang-Tzu or Chuang-Tzu employed the term...

  • #537
    July 29 · 6 min

    The opposite of the Taoist idea of happiness

    Today’s mainstream philosophy constitutes the opposite of the Taoist idea of happiness. Why? Because today’s dominant beliefs are hardly reconcilable with the Tao, as depicted in the Tao Te Ching. What do I mean when I say “today’s dominant beliefs”?...

  • #536
    July 27 · 7 min

    Critique of Schopenhauer's ideas on freedom

    Despite his sound reasoning and accurate writing, Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) didn’t succeed in making his ideas on freedom popular. In particular, his theory of the will wasn’t taken seriously by other philosophers and fell into oblivion at the...

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