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Donald J. Robertson

Goodreads Author

Born

in Irvine, The United Kingdom

Website

http://donaldrobertson.name/

Twitter

DonJRobertson

Genre

Self Help, Philosophy, Classics

Influences

Stoicism, Philosophy, cognitive therapy ...more

Member Since

October 2011

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Donald J. Robertson is the author of seven books including "How to Think Like a Roman Emperor"; the graphic novel "Verissimus", about the life and philosophy of Marcus Aurelius; a philosophical biography, "Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor"; and "How to Think Like Socrates", a guide to applying Socratic wisdom to modern life, based on the story of his life.

Donald is a cognitive-behavioural psychotherapist, writer, and trainer, specializing in the relationship between ancient philosophy and modern self-improvement psychology. Donald is known for his work on Stoicism and evidence-based psychotherapy. He was born in Ayr, Scotland, but now lives in Quebec and Greece.
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Donald J. Robertson’s books

Average rating: 4.3 · 20,267 ratings · 1,948 reviews · 12 distinct works • Similar authors

	How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius 4.34 avg rating — 15,381 ratings — published 2019 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stoicism and the Art of Happiness 4.13 avg rating — 2,191 ratings — published 2013 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor 4.20 avg rating — 989 ratings — published 2024 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How to Think Like Socrates: Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life in the Modern World 4.15 avg rating — 906 ratings — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Verissimus: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald J. Robertson (Goodreads Author), Zé Nuno Fraga (Illustrator) 4.21 avg rating — 387 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Philosophy of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy 4.21 avg rating — 321 ratings — published 2010 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Build Your Resilience 4.14 avg rating — 125 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Practice of Cognitive-Behavioural Hypnotherapy: A Manual for Evidence-Based Clinical Hypnosis 4.62 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2012 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Marcus Aurelius in the Roman Histories really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Life and Opinions of Socrates : Excerpts from Diogenes Laertes 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Donald J. Robertson's Blog

Don’t get carried away with pleasures...

When you get an external impression of some pleasure, guard yourself, as with impressions in general, against being carried away by it; nay, let the matter wait upon your leisure, and give yourself a little delay. Next think of the two periods of time, first, that in which you will enjoy your pleasure, and second, that in which, after the enjoyment is over, you will later repent and revile your

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Donald Robertson liked Jorica Shien's review of How to Think Like Socrates: Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life in the Modern World: "This was the first philosophy book I finished, and it left a strong impression on me. The book explains the ideas of Socrates in a very practical way, showing how his teachings can be applied in real life situations I also enjoyed the historical conte" Read more of this review »
Mar 09, 2026 09:17AM · see review
Donald Robertson liked Chris's review of Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor: "Succinct historical biography. A decent human element involved in assessment."
Mar 07, 2026 01:57PM · see review
Donald Robertson liked Jason Shaw's review of Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor: "Given the available research, it is remarkable to provide such a succinct (less than 200 page) overview of Marcus Aurelius!"
Mar 07, 2026 01:57PM · see review
Donald Robertson liked Madhulika's review of Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor: "compelling read. could not put it down!"
Mar 07, 2026 01:57PM · see review
Donald Robertson made a comment on Dave’s review of How to Think Like Socrates: Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life in the Modern World " Thanks for the review. I was a little bit surprised that you only recalled 15% of the content being about Socrates. So I did a quick search of the man ...more "
Aug 29, 2025 02:11PM · see review
Donald Robertson made a comment on CHRIS’s review of Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor " Thanks for the review. This is a biography of Marcus Aurelius, that's why it contains historical anecdotes. It's not intended to be a book on Stoicism ...more "
Aug 08, 2025 02:31AM · see review
Donald Robertson added a status update: 🦉⚔️ Will you be the 800th person to review my biography of Marcus Aurelius on Goodreads? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Aug 05, 2025 12:57PM · 4 likes · like · see status
Donald Robertson made a comment on Victor Murillo’s review of Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor " Thanks for your review. There's a fairly detailed discussion of the use made of the Historia Augusta in the Sources Notes. It reads: The Augustan Histo ...more "
Aug 04, 2025 04:57PM · see review
Donald Robertson joined the group Political Philosophy and Ethics
Mar 26, 2025 06:53PM · like
Donald Robertson made a comment on Alan Johnson’s review of How to Think Like Socrates: Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life in the Modern World " Thanks for your review. Where I attribute views from a character in one of Plato's dialogues to another historical individual, I've noted the reason i ...more "
Mar 26, 2025 12:09PM · see review

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Quotes by Donald J. Robertson (?)

“From the moment we’re born we’re constantly dying, not only with each stage of life but also one day at a time. Our bodies are no longer the ones to which our mothers gave birth, as Marcus put it. Nobody is the same person he was yesterday. Realizing this makes it easier to let go: we can no more hold on to life than grasp the waters of a rushing stream.”
― Donald J. Robertson, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

34 likes

“What matters, in other words, isn’t what we feel but how we respond to those feelings.”
― Donald J. Robertson, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

26 likes

“To learn how to die, according to the Stoics, is to unlearn how to be a slave.”
― Donald J. Robertson, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

20 likes

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Donald’s Quotes

“The Stoics adopted the Socratic division of cardinal virtues into wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation.”
― Donald J. Robertson, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

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“Wisdom, in all these forms, mainly requires understanding the difference between good, bad, and indifferent things. Virtue is good and vice is bad, but everything else is indifferent.”
― Donald J. Robertson, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

11 likes

“In typically blunt fashion he told them that sheep don’t vomit up grass to show the shepherds how much they’ve eaten but rather digest their food inwardly and produce good wool and milk outwardly.”
― Donald J. Robertson, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

14 likes

“This is illustrated by one of Aesop’s fables, which says that each of us is born with two sacks suspended from our neck: one filled with the faults of others that hangs within our view and one hidden behind our back filled with our own faults. We see the flaws of others quite clearly, in other words, but we have a blind spot for our own. The New Testament likewise asks why we look at the tiny splinter of wood in our brother’s eye yet pay no attention to the great plank of wood obscuring our own view (Matthew 7:3–5).”
― Donald J. Robertson, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

11 likes

“Freemasonry also celebrates the four cardinal virtues of Greek philosophy, which correspond symbolically with the four corners of the lodge: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance.”
― Donald J. Robertson, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

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