PODCAST · science
John Vespasian
by John Vespasian
JOHN VESPASIAN is the author of eighteen 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).
Episodes
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Seneca’s extreme challenge
Seneca’s extreme challenge
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Life-changing Taoist quotes
Life-changing Taoist quotes
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Contrarian personal development in Schopenhauer
Contrarian personal development in Schopenhauer
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How I put an end to my overthinking
How I put an end to my overthinking
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Lessons from history about recovery
Lessons from history about recovery
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Controversial lessons from history about happiness
Controversial lessons from history about happiness
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The link between success and sequentiality
The link between success and sequentiality
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Top 5 personal development insights drawn from history
Top 5 personal development insights drawn from history
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Top 5 lessons from history about success
Top 5 lessons from history about success
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High productivity despite setbacks and failure
High productivity despite setbacks and failure
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Five things more important than motivation
Five things more important than motivation
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How philosophy multiplied my profits
How philosophy multiplied my profits
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Personal development in adverse circumstances
Personal development in adverse circumstances
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The most extreme challenge is letting go
The most extreme challenge is letting go
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Top productivity habits from great philosophers
Top productivity habits from great philosophers
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How Aristotle helped me vastly improve my productivity
How Aristotle helped me vastly improve my productivity
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How Taoism saves me an hour a day
How Taoism saves me an hour a day
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How Montaigne turned pessimism into optimism
How Montaigne turned pessimism into optimism
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How Schopenhauer reduced stress
How Schopenhauer reduced stress
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Five areas in which humans are much better than AI
Five areas in which humans are much better than AI
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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 other hand, Schopenhauer acknowledged that human...
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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 agrarian, immobile, medieval structures. At the...
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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 Schopenhauer was confronted with a series of...
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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. Schopenhauer believed that an eternal life force (“the...
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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 Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), Schopenhauer is...
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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, making them available. If you want to adopt...
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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 the historical sequence that began with…
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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 them in getting something for nothing. When...
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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 “the pursuit of happiness” in their writings....
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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”? On the one hand, the idea that everything is...
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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 beginning of the twentieth century. According…
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Schopenhauer and freedom
The idea of freedom in Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) is linked to his philosophy of the will. He outlined his concept of the will in his major works “About the fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason” (1808) and “The world as will and representation” (1818). According to…
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Examples of Schopenhauer's views on the nature of existence
I’m going to point to several examples to illustrate the views of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) on the nature of human existence. The examples are drawn from famous literary works depicting challenging situations that put Schopenhauer’s advice to the test. Before starting with the examples, let...
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Impact of Schopenhauer's views on the nature of existence
The stunning accuracy of the intuitions and insights gained by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) becomes apparent when we compare him with other philosophers. Many have attacked Schopenhauer’s views on the nature of existence but the attacks have only served to reinforce his positions. You cannot...
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Schopenhauer's views on the nature of existence
The concept of the will (which I translate as “life force” or “primal energy”) plays the key role in the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860). He argued that a blind, irrational, overwhelming force drives all creatures to reproduce, sustain their own lives, and improve their situation....
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Why Taoist non-action requires iterations
I prefer to solve problems in one go if possible, but this will prove impossible on many occasions. Why? Because of lack of information, resources or self-discipline. On many occasions, I will discover too late that problems are more complex, serious, and wide-ranging than originally estimated....
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Non-action as an enabling factor
Once upon a time, a middle-aged executive was facing such severe problems that he decided to visit a Taoist hermit and ask for advice. The trip consumed one and half days because of the poor infrastructure in the area where the hermit lived. The local airport had few connections and featured a...
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How Taoist non-action furthers happiness
People nowadays often complain that life is too complicated and stressful. There are too many electronic systems to be used and they are constantly being changed; and there are too many requirements for doing everyday tasks, and those requirements are constantly being modified. No wonder that…
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Happiness and the Taoist non-action principle
To affirm or imply that “more is less” has distinct Orwellian connotations. I wonder if anyone can seriously argue that more is less, or that less is more, in any area of life. Even pre-school children can figure out that more ice cream is preferable to less ice cream, and more cookies preferable...
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Michel de Montaigne’s biography (5 of 5): joy until the last minute
Michel de Montaigne’s biography (5 of 5): joy until the last minute https://johnvespasian.com/michel-de-montaignes-biography-5-of-5-joy-until-the-last-minute/
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Michel de Montaigne’s biography (4 of 5): the pinnacle years
Michel de Montaigne’s biography (4 of 5): the pinnacle years https://johnvespasian.com/michel-de-montaignes-biography-the-pinnacle-years/
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Michel de Montaigne’s biography (3 of 5): dealing with chronic illness
Michel de Montaigne’s biography (3 of 5): dealing with chronic illness https://johnvespasian.com/michel-de-montaignes-biography-dealing-with-chronic-illness/
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Michel de Montaigne’s biography (2 of 5) his momentous decision
Michel de Montaigne’s biography (2 of 5) his momentous decision https://johnvespasian.com/michel-de-montaignes-biography-his-momentous-decision/
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Michel de Montaigne's biography, part 1 of 5, his early years
Michel de Montaigne's biography, part 1 of 5, his early years https://johnvespasian.com/michel-de-montaignes-biography-his-early-years/
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How I became a hardcore realist
I didn’t become a hardcore realist because life became harder. I became one because two philosophers forced me to question almost everything I believed. Their names are Kant and Schopenhauer. For years, I believed the world worked the way I had been told. And I did what I had been told to do.…
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How I got total clarity
For the longest time, I thought I needed more information. Another book. Another podcast. Another productivity system. I kept searching because I believed clarity was something I would eventually stumble upon if I just learned enough. But the opposite happened. The more information I collected…
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Schopenhauer's philosophy in three and half minutes
What is the key to a fuller, happier, and more meaningful life?That’s the question Arthur Schopenhauer asked.While other philosophers focused on changing the world, Schopenhauer focused on something even more important: understanding human nature.He believed that once we understand what truly...
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How I put Aristotle's ideas into practice
What if I told you I found the answer to self-improvement… from someone who lived over 23 centuries ago? Not through a morning routine. Not through productivity hacks. Not through manifestation. Not through positive thinking. Aristotle completely changed the way I think about becoming more...
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Montaigne: Why I love useless knowledge
“Why do we have to learn this? We’ll never use it.” Most of us have asked that question at some point. When we’re sitting in a classroom, studying history, literature, philosophy, or a language we don’t think we’ll ever speak, it can feel like a waste of time. We want practical skills. We want...
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Schopenhauer: Comfort and passivity are the bottleneck
What if the biggest obstacle in our lives isn’t a lack of talent… Or lack of intelligence… Or lack of opportunity… What if it’s something much quieter… Passivity. I main, not making a decision. Not trying to get things done because of fear of failing. Just… doing nothing. There are wonderful...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
JOHN VESPASIAN is the author of eighteen 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).
HOSTED BY
John Vespasian
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John Vespasian currently has 566 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
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JOHN VESPASIAN is the author of eighteen 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...
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