Description

Subtitle: Stoic philosophy as cognitive and rational psychotherapy.This book explores the similarities between cognitive psychotherapies and the classical philosophies of stoicism.Stoic philosophers (Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius etc.) believed that bad emotions were caused by a lack of wisdom, and that a rational, reasonable man was free from them. They taught principles such as not worrying about what you can’t control (e.g. the past, other people, luck, death). Albert Ellis drew directly on these philosophers when creating rational emotive therapy.After much scientific testing, it turns out that – guess what – those dead Greek and Roman guys were right all along. Thinking rationally does remove disturbing emotions such as depression, compulsion etc.