Why did Marcus Aurelius allow Commodus to succeed him?

[Vincent]

Interesting essay and worth reading

http://donaldrobertson.name/2018/01/19/why-did-marcus-aurelius-allow-commodus-to-succeed-him/

One of the most commonly asked questions on my Facebook group for Stoicism is why Marcus Aurelius, one of the good emperors, would have allowed Commodus, who turned out to be a terrible emperor, to succeed him.  Sometimes people are just puzzled by this.  Sometimes they criticize Marcus for failing in his duty either to bring up a better son or appoint a better heir.  Sometimes they’ve seen the Hollywood movie Gladiator (2000), which focuses on the character of Commodus as a bad emperor, and ask questions about its historical accuracy.  It’s a question that interests me because I run a course about the relationship between Marcus Aurelius’ life and his Stoic philosophy called How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, and I’ve just finished writing a book on the same subject.

For a collector of these rulers a must read!

[Jay GT4]

Interesting read.  Thanks!

[peterpil19]

Interesting essay and worth reading

http://donaldrobertson.name/2018/01/19/why-did-marcus-aurelius-allow-commodus-to-succeed-him/

One of the most commonly asked questions on my Facebook group for Stoicism is why Marcus Aurelius, one of the good emperors, would have allowed Commodus, who turned out to be a terrible emperor, to succeed him.  Sometimes people are just puzzled by this.  Sometimes they criticize Marcus for failing in his duty either to bring up a better son or appoint a better heir.  Sometimes they’ve seen the Hollywood movie Gladiator (2000), which focuses on the character of Commodus as a bad emperor, and ask questions about its historical accuracy.  It’s a question that interests me because I run a course about the relationship between Marcus Aurelius’ life and his Stoic philosophy called How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, and I’ve just finished writing a book on the same subject.

For a collector of these rulers a must read!

Hi Vincent,

Thank you for the link. Congratulations on your book. Make sure to post details in the 'New Book Announcements' thread: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=83881.0

Peter

[Vincent]

Dear Peter, Hello and thank you but this article was written not by myself but Donald Robertson, who is an author on many aspects of Stoicism.  I'm just the messenger. I will post his new book there once it gets published on "How to think like a Roman Emperor". Hopefully it will be a good read, just like his recent draft effort on the dynamics of succession during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
BTW, Amazon has some good titles by Mr. Robertson ..

Biography

Mr. Robertson is a psychotherapist, specialising in cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), and the treatment of anxiety.
His background is in academic philosophy and he has a special interest in the relationship between ancient philosophy, especially Stoicism, and modern psychotherapy. He is the author of dozens of journal articles and several books on philosophy and psychotherapy.

Some titles of Books

Stoicism and the Art of Happiness (Teach Yourself) Paperback – May 31, 2013
by Donald Robertson

Build Your Resilience: CBT, mindfulness and stress management to survive and thrive in any situation

The Practice of Cognitive-Behavioural Hypnotherapy (2012)

The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (2010)

The link to his Amazon page

https://www.amazon.com/Donald-Robertson/e/B002Q2WSPA/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1516443453&sr=8-2-ent

I'm ordering a couple of titles for myself!