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Offers a fresh narrative of ancient ethics that does justice to neglected perspectives on the value of human life.
The account of the best life for humans – i.e. a happy or flourishing life – and what it might consist of was the central theme of ancient ethics. But what does it take to have a life that, if not happy, is at least worth living, compared with being dead or never having come into life? This question was also much discussed in antiquity, and David Machek's book reconstructs, for the first time, philosophical engagements with the question from Socrates to Plotinus. Machek's comprehensive book explores ancient views on a life worth living against a background of the pessimistic outlook on the human condition which was adopted by the Greek poets, and also shows the continuities and contrasts between the ancient perspective and modern philosophical debates about biomedical ethics and the ethics of procreation. His rich study of this relatively neglected theme offers a fresh and compelling narrative of ancient ethics.
Hadot shows how the schools, trends, and ideas of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy strove to transform the individual's mode of perceiving and being in the world. For the ancients, philosophical theory and the philosophical way of life were inseparably linked. Hadot asks us to consider whether and how this connection might be reestablished today.
This concise anthology of primary sources designed for use in an ancient philosophy survey ranges from the Presocratics to Plato, Aristotle, the Hellenistic philosophers, and the Neoplatonists. The Second Edition features an amplified selection of Presocratic fragments in newly revised translations by Richard D. McKirahan. Also included is an expansion of the Hellenistic unit, featuring new selections from Lucretius and Sextus Empiricus as well as a new translation, by Peter J. Anderson, of most of Seneca’s De Providentia. The selections from Plotinus have also been expanded.
A practical people not prone to be lured to philosophical abstraction for its own sake, the Romans looked toward philosophy for guidance on how to live. Though wary of Greek philosophy, the Romans would come to see the need for philosophies such as Stoicism, Epicureanism, Platonism, and Aristotelianism to point the way to leading the good life. With the help of these philosophies, they attempted to grapple with some of most enduring concerns of the human condition: Who am I? How should I live my life? What, if anything, is my destiny? Raymond Angelo Belliotti's Roman Philosophy and the Good Life provides an accessible picture of these major philosophical influences in Rome and details the crucial role they played during times of major social upheaval. Belliotti demonstrates the contemporary relevance of some of the philosophical issues faced by the Romans, and offers ways in which today's society can learn from the Romans in our attempt to create meaningful lives. Roman Philosophy and the Good Life will certainly intrigue those who are drawn to Roman history and politics, and especially those who enjoy viewing philosophy in action.
This Companion volume offers fifteen original essays on the Hellenistic world and is intended to complement and supplement general histories of the period from Alexander the Great to Kleopatra VII of Egypt. Each chapter treats a different aspect of the Hellenistic world - religion, philosophy, family, economy, material culture, and military campaigns, among other topics. The essays address key questions about this period: To what extent were Alexander's conquests responsible for the creation of this new 'Hellenistic' age? What is the essence of this world and how does it differ from its Classical predecessor? What continuities and discontinuities can be identified? Collectively, the essays provide an in-depth view of a complex world. The volume also provides a bibliography on the topics along with recommendations for further reading.
What does life truly mean? Who do I want to become? And how do I get there? These are some of life's biggest questions that are hard to think through. Fortunately, a group of philosophers from ancient Greece and Rome have already done a lot of the heavy lifting. In Live Like A Philosopher you will learn about the lives and theories of nine key philosophers with practical tips on how each philosopher can help you navigate the highs and lows of modern life. From finding balance with Aristotle and embracing uncertainty with Cicero to understanding yourself and your priorities better with Socrates, this is a powerful toolkit to help you figure out how to make your life the best you can live.
A philosophical challenge to the ableist conflation of disability and pain More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle said: “let there be a law that no deformed child shall live.” This idea is alive and well today. During the past century, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. argued that the United States can forcibly sterilize intellectually disabled women and philosopher Peter Singer argued for the right of parents to euthanize certain cognitively disabled infants. The Life Worth Living explores how and why such arguments persist by investigating the exclusion of and discrimination against disabled people across the history of Western moral philosophy. Joel Michael Reynolds argues that this history demonstrates a fundamental mischaracterization of the meaning of disability, thanks to the conflation of lived experiences of disability with those of pain and suffering. Building on decades of activism and scholarship in the field, Reynolds shows how longstanding views of disability are misguided and unjust, and he lays out a vision of what an anti-ableist moral future requires. The Life Worth Living is the first sustained examination of disability through the lens of the history of moral philosophy and phenomenology, and it demonstrates how lived experiences of disability demand a far richer account of human flourishing, embodiment, community, and politics in philosophical inquiry and beyond.
A Stoic Guide to the Art of Living a Richer, More Meaningful Life Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Epictetus, Epicurus, Pythagorus, Aesop—such wisdom, now at your fingertips. Timeless wisdom from these ancient Greek philosophers plus others has been condensed by the authors into ten memorable and easy-to-understand rules that, if lived by, can enable modern readers to have rich, meaningful lives. The ten rules . . . represent enduring features of the Greek wisdom. In a very real sense, they defy time and place and represent insights that remain profoundly relevant for contemporary culture. They can serve as anti-dotes for an age in which much that is true and valuable has been obscured by falsity and misconception. Accordingly, these ancient aphorisms are offered to all those interested in rubbing the dust from their eyes. With each chapter examining a rule, all chapters begin with a quote from one of the great Greek philosophers who inspired the rule, followed by a story or explanation of the rule and its importance in life, and end with teaching points on which to meditate and reflect. From this simple starting point, each rule allows the reader to unfurl and explore the richness and depth that can be found in life by embracing the lesson offered. Any reader searching for meaning will return to this simple, slim volume again and again to find tried-and-true wisdom that spans the ages to speak to us today.
This is a major reinterpretation of ancient philosophy that recovers the long Greek and Roman tradition of philosophy as a complete way of life--and not simply an intellectual discipline. Distinguished philosopher John Cooper traces how, for many ancient thinkers, philosophy was not just to be studied or even used to solve particular practical problems. Rather, philosophy--not just ethics but even logic and physical theory--was literally to be lived. Yet there was great disagreement about how to live philosophically: philosophy was not one but many, mutually opposed, ways of life. Examining this tradition from its establishment by Socrates in the fifth century BCE through Plotinus in the third century CE and the eclipse of pagan philosophy by Christianity, Pursuits of Wisdom examines six central philosophies of living--Socratic, Aristotelian, Stoic, Epicurean, Skeptic, and the Platonist life of late antiquity. The book describes the shared assumptions that allowed these thinkers to conceive of their philosophies as ways of life, as well as the distinctive ideas that led them to widely different conclusions about the best human life. Clearing up many common misperceptions and simplifications, Cooper explains in detail the Socratic devotion to philosophical discussion about human nature, human life, and human good; the Aristotelian focus on the true place of humans within the total system of the natural world; the Stoic commitment to dutifully accepting Zeus's plans; the Epicurean pursuit of pleasure through tranquil activities that exercise perception, thought, and feeling; the Skeptical eschewal of all critical reasoning in forming their beliefs; and, finally, the late Platonist emphasis on spiritual concerns and the eternal realm of Being. Pursuits of Wisdom is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding what the great philosophers of antiquity thought was the true purpose of philosophy--and of life.