John Vespasian

John Vespasian
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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 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).

  1. 32m ago

    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 to fewer cookies. In philosophy, some modern gurus try to get away with anti-mathematical statements, but their arguments are normally met with intense scepticism. For the average person, it is obvious that more is more and less is less, and no amount of verbal mystification will make them think otherwise. In the West, Taoism is sometimes presented as the doctrine that maintains that less is more. I can only assume that such a distorted characterization aims at making Taoists look foolish. Did Lao-Tzu actually say that less is more? No, not in those exact terms, but he viewed the non-action principle as a crucial element of his philosophy. The non-action principle does not say that less is more, but that a narrow focus leads to far better results. In terms of my prior example, Lao-Tzu did not say that less ice cream is better than more ice cream, but that we can make more ice cream with less effort if we stop doing other things at the same time. Dead weight When it comes to attaining happiness, the Taoist non-action principle plays a decisive role. It prompts us to define priorities clearly, drop secondary issues, and focus our efforts on the key steps. Yang-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu used the non-action principle in many of their stories to illustrate the need of letting go of dead weight; they never said that less is more, but that we should let go of unpromising projects and do only what works. https://johnvespasian.com/happiness-and-the-taoist-non-action-principle/

    Happiness and the Taoist non-action principle

  2. 1d ago

    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/

  3. 1d ago

    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/

  4. 2d ago

    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/

  5. 3d ago

    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/

  6. 4d ago

    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/

  7. 6d ago

    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. Work hard. Be kind. Stay positive. Expecting that, eventually, everything will work out. But life started testing those beliefs. Again and again. At first, I thought that reality was broken. Then I realised that my expectations were broken. That’s where Kant enters the story. Kant argued that we never experience reality exactly as it is. That our minds don’t simply observe the world—that they shape the way we perceive it. That idea fascinated me. It made me realise that what we call “reality” is always filtered through our own minds. But then I read Schopenhauer. Schopenhauer accepted Kant’s insight, yet he asked a more practical question. Even if our understanding is limited, how can we thrive anyway? That question changed my life. Schopenhauer encouraged me to focus on practical solutions. And the more I did, the more I noticed uncomfortable patterns. People don’t always reward honesty. Hard work doesn’t always lead to success. Logic doesn’t always defeat emotion. Fairness isn’t built into reality. Schopenhauer wasn’t surprised by any of this. He believed human beings are seldom driven by pure reason. The more I watched people, the stronger I believed Schopenhauer was right. Then I found myself returning to Kant. If Kant was right that our minds filter reality, then I had to ask another question. How many of my disappointments came from reality itself… …and how many came from stories I keep telling myself? That realisation hit me hard. Maybe reality wasn’t constantly letting me down. Maybe my expectations were. Schopenhauer would smile at my conclusion. He believed much of our suffering comes from wishful thinking. The moment I stopped arguing with reality, life became much easier. And I focused on finding the patterns that lead to success and happiness. That’s probably the biggest lesson Schopenhauer taught me. Reality reveals itself through patterns that are seldom obvious. And Kant taught me something equally important. Before judging the world, I should first check my own beliefs. Together, Kant and Schopenhauer changed the way I think. Kant made me question what I know. And Schopenhauer made me realistic about the world. That combination transformed the way I make decisions. I’ve learned to judge people by what they do repeatedly. Actions reveal patterns and patterns reveal the truth. Ironically, the more I embraced Schopenhauer’s ideas, the more optimistic I became. Not because I expect life to be fair. But because I stopped expecting achievements to be quick and easy. The better I understand reality, the more effective I become. Kant led me to question my assumptions. And Schopenhauer taught me to face reality. And that’s how I became a hardcore realist. If you are interested in applying rational ideas in all sorts of situations, I recommend my book “The 10 Principles of Rational Living.” https://johnvespasian.com/schopenhauer-how-i-became-a-hardcore-realist/

  8. Jul 17

    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, the more overwhelmed I became. No wonder that many other people also feel overwhelmed. We live in a world where we’re constantly told to consume more. More advice. More opinions. More courses that promise to change our lives. But after a while, we realise that we cannot put all those inputs together. That’s exactly where I found myself. Then I came across an idea from Aristotle that completely changed the way I think. It’s called syllogism. The name sounds complicated, but the idea is fairly simple. A syllogism is a chain of reasoning. It starts with a general observation. Then you add a specific fact. And the conclusion follows naturally. For example, take the general observation: All humans are mortal. Then we add a specific fact: Socrates is a human. Therefore, we conclude that Socrates is mortal. The conclusion is not just a guess. It is not just an opinion. It is a solid truth that follows from the premises. When I understood that, I started asking myself some difficult questions. Why was I not making all my decisions this way? Why was I not using logic to give shape to my life? Instead, I was using emotions and pretending they were logical. My emotions prevented me from thinking logically —- they made me turn in circles. As a result, I failed to seize opportunities that made me uncomfortable. And then I told myself that the circumstances were not auspicious. Do you see what was happening? I was not thinking logically — I was not using syllogisms. I was allowing my emotions to control me, pretending that were logical Many people do this all the time. They mistake their emotions for evidence. So I decided to change my approach. Whenever I faced an obstacle, I stopped asking, “How do I feel?” And I started to ask “What do I have to do to solve this problem?” Then I built a syllogism. Like every worthwhile skill, syllogisms require practice. And since I wanted to master the skill, I started to practise consistently. Sometimes I did not like the conclusion that came from thinking logically. But I pushed myself to accept what is true. And that proved incredibly beneficial for my effectiveness. Because I no longer had to wait for the right emotions. I only had to ask whether my conclusion was logical or not. Over time, I noticed something else. Whenever I felt confused, the problem was not in my logic. The problem was in one of the premises, or in both of them. The problem is that I had accepted wrong assumptions. For instance, I had wrongly assumed that success must happen quickly. And that failure means that the game is over. And that everyone else is doing great. Once I challenged those assumptions, my conclusions also changed. That’s when I realised something I’ll never forget. Clarity is about starting with better premises. That’s what Aristotle understood more than two thousand years ago. If we start with true facts, then our conclusions will be true. That’s why, whenever I feel stuck, I check my premises. For instance, what do I believe to be correct that it isn’t? Or what do I believe to be true that it isn’t? And when I find the mistake, I correct it and draw the right conclusion. When I use Aristotelian logic, my conclusions become clear. And my actions become more effective. That’s how I found total clarity thanks to Aristotle. If you are interested in applying rational ideas in all sorts of situations, I recommend my book “The 10 Principles of Rational Living.” https://johnvespasian.com/aristotle-how-i-got-total-clarity/

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About

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).

Information

  • Creator
    John Vespasian
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    528
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © John Vespasian
  • Show Website
    John Vespasian