1 Frederick's Place
London EC2R 8AE
UK
How can practical philosophy be used to increase resilience and flourishing?
Jules Evans suffered from PTSD and social anxiety in his late teens and early 20s. He recovered through a course in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and then went to interview the founders of it – Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck. They both told him that their inspiration for CBT was ancient Greek philosophy, and particularly Stoicism.
Ellis was inspired by a quote from the Stoic philosopher Epictetus: ‘It’s not events, but our opinion about events, that cause us suffering.’
Jules became fascinated by the practical therapeutic insights of ancient philosophy, how modern psychotherapy has rediscovered them, and how ordinary people are using them in their lives today.
Ancient Greek philosophy is particularly popular with entrepreneurs, from Tim Ferris to Luke Johnson to Nassim Nicholas Taleb, as a means of coping with setbacks and uncertainty, while reflecting on and moving towards our model of the Good Life.
The workshop combines ideas with personal stories, practical illustrations and group exercises.
What you’ll learn:
- How ancient philosophy inspired CBT
- How to uncover your unconscious beliefs, values and biases, and to examine them Socratically
- How Epictetus teaches us to be resilient by focusing on what we can control
- The importance of practice and habits in ancient philosophy and modern psychology
- How to define and move towards your definition of flourishing
Praise for Jules’ practical philosophy courses:
‘The most popular thing we did this season’. – Paul Gustard, coach, Saracens rugby club
‘Jules’ workshop was absolutely fantastic’. – Winni Schindler, Association of Spanish Business Coaches (AECOP) Praise for Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations
‘It changed my life.’ Adrian Edmondson
About Jules Evans (@julesevans77)
Jules Evans runs the Well-Being Project at Queen Mary, University of London. He is the author of Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations, which was published in 19 countries and was a Times book of the year. He teaches practical philosophy courses and workshops through his company, Philosophy for Life – clients include the US Army and Saracens rugby club.
As a journalist he has spoken on practical philosophy on Radio 3 and 4, on BBC 2’s Culture Show, and written on it in the Financial Times, Telegraph and other media. He was a BBC New Generation Thinker in 2013.
He runs the London Philosophy Club, the biggest philosophy club in the world, and blogs at www.philosophyforlife.org