First, we’ll discuss some scientific studies, which describe how criticism affects the brain. And not just any old criticism, we’ll be talking about overly harsh criticism. Nagging you might say. Not surprisingly, there are lots of variables: such as who’s doing the criticizing (parents criticizing children for instance) and who’s being criticized (such as a young child, a teenager or a person with a high level of neuroticism).
After discussing the science, we’ll reflect on how Marcus Aurelius would advise us on how to give and receive criticism. Now, Marcus needs no introduction, but he’s a nineteen hundred year old Roman emperor and author of Meditations, a canonical text of stoicism.
Marcus Aurelius and the Brain Science of Criticism