Stoics

This chapter uses feminist standpoint theory to investigate Diotima’s epistemic advantage in Plato’s Symposium. Scholars have wondered why Diotima – a woman speaking about the role of erōs in gestation, childbirth, and childrearing – voices the view that Plato privileges most among all the symposiasts (Halperin 1990, Evans 2006, Hobbs 2007). Feminist standpoint theory is useful in developing a novel answer to this question; it supposes that oppressed groups, because they occupy different social locations, often develop epistemic privileges over their (...) dominant counterparts, especially with respect to finding lacunae in dominant narratives (cf. Hartsock 1987, Collins 1990, Harding 1987 and 1993, and Intemann 2016). This chapter proposes that Diotima’s unique social location – she is an older, non-Athenian woman, well versed in gestation, childbirth, and childrearing – disposes her to know something about erōs that the dominant group, the Athenian pederasts, do not. What she knows is that having erōs for something does not merely inspire one to pursue or possess it; by attending to how erōs affects women, she argues that it also manifests as a desire to reproduce what is beloved and care for it. Diotima’s standpoint is epistemically revelatory, then, because it establishes that love is far more than the pursuit of beauty; it is a creative and laborious act. Moreover, her standpoint is ethically revelatory, since she argues that the highest form of love entails fostering and nourishing virtue in others. Understood in this way, Diotima is espousing something like a protofeminist ethics of care. (shrink)

This volume deploys recent feminist epistemological frameworks to analyze how concepts like knowledge, authority, rationality, objectivity and testimony were constructed in Greece and Rome. The introduction serves as a field guide to feminist epistemological interpretations of classical sources, and the following sixteen chapters treat a variety of genres and time periods, from Greek poetry, tragedy, philosophy, oratory, historiography and material culture to Roman comedy, epic, oratory, letters, law and their reception. By using an intersectional approach to demonstrate how epistemic systems (...) exclude and pathologize the experiences of ancient women and other oppressed groups, these contributions aid in the recovery of non-dominant narratives and reveal issues of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, religion, age, class, familial status and citizenship in the ancient and modern world. The volume contributes to a more inclusive and equitable study of classical antiquity and builds transhistorical connections capable of exposing similar injustices in our own time. (shrink)

Sinopsis: El estoicismo es una escuela filosófica de la Antigua Grecia. Aunque han pasado más de dos mil años desde su nacimiento, su importancia y utilidad perduran hasta hoy. Vivimos en una sociedad compleja, llena de incertidumbre y acelerada. El estoicismo nos ayuda a aprender a guiarnos por la razón ante los contratiempos y las emociones que tendremos que enfrentar. Descubre cómo mejorar en tu vida personal y profesional de manera sencilla y demostrada.

This classic collection, newly revised and with a foreword by classicist Spencer Klavan, includes the famed original introduction by Russell Kirk, the full text of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, the complete Enchiridion of Epictetus, and key selections from Seneca and Hierocles of Alexandria in one compact volume.

Epictetus maintained that all people are free to control their lives and live in harmony with nature. This book offers practical guidelines for those seeking contentment and those who have already made some progress in that direction.

'Peut-être que putain tu as juste un peu besoin de te calmer/calm the fuck down. Je m'appelle Jenny et j'offre des services de coaching stoïcien avec juste un tantinet de grossièreté/dash of profanity/et des résultats', lance sur son site promotionnel avec sa photo souriante en noir-et-blanc une jeune 'coach' à lunettes. 'En tant que coach, annonce un autre du même âge qui pose avec un livre à la main doctus cum libro, j'apporte l'expertise d'un praticien stoïcien professionnel ainsi que la (...) connaissance de la façon dont le cerveau apprend de nouvelles informations. Avec huit ans de pratique stoïcienne quotidienne, je suis le témoignage vivant de son succès. C'est ma passion d'armer les gens avec les techniques mentales pour vivre une vie pleine et calme/full and calm life!' Le néo-stoïcisme est en vogue auprès de la jeunesse, élixir d'endurance pour époque tourmentée. Ce nouveau courant est-il fidèle au geste cynique initial qui inspira jadis Zénon, Cléanthe, et Chrysippe? Fournit-il des réponses adaptées à la dictature écologique qui vient, au culte de la guerre, aux fantasmes du transhumanisme? Il donne en tout cas ici l'occasion d'un retour sur 2300 ans d'histoire d'une philosophie de la liberté humaine, en des temps où celle-ci est de plus en plus déniée"--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

A ten-step guide to reaching your peak potential through the wisdom of Stoic philosophy by entrepreneur and Olympic champion speed skater Mark Tuitert. For twenty years, Mark Tuitert has used the principles of Stoic philosophy to become a gold-medal winning Olympic champion athlete, successful entrepreneur, as well as to deal with the challenges in his professional and private life. Now, in the internationally-bestselling book The Stoic Mindset, Mark lays out the ten practical lessons through which everyone, in any situation, can (...) develop a Stoic mindset. Applying the teachings of Stoic masters including Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus to the twenty-first century, Tuitert empowers readers to discover how Stoicism can change their lives and help them reach their full potential. With a gift for breaking down difficult concepts into practical applications, Tuitert distills thousands of years of Stoic philosophy into ten short principles, with an action item at the end of each chapter to help readers actualize theories. One step at a time, readers learn to develop a mindset that is both focused and relaxed, so that they can find fulfillment in a chaotic and unpredictable world. (shrink)

A personal account of a great Roman Emperor's life lessons.

Une exploration détaillée des racines de la philosophie stoïque, remontant jusqu'aux anciens Grecs et à leur vision du monde. Huit examine les philosophes pré-socratiques, les sophistes et les autres penseurs qui ont influencé les Stoïciens, offrant un aperçu fascinant de la manière dont un mouvement philosophique est né et a évolué au fil du temps. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work (...) is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

Excerpt from Epictetus and the New Testament I gladly accept the opportunity of offering a foreword to my old pupil's study of contracts between Epictetus and the New Testament. It was on my suggestion that he took up this subject for linguistic research; but the arrival of the proofs of a book was a surprise to me. A very rapid glance over the pages has made the surprise a welcome one. In grammatical as well as lexical questions, as this book (...) well shows, Epictetus has much to teach us. I might remark in this connexion that Mr. Sharp (p. 61) remembers my obiter dicta better than I do. I do not now feel so sure about the use ws suggested there, but I must look into it further. A wider circle than those who study New Testament Greek will find much interest in the few pages which present parallels in Epictetus' thought. They should send some English readers to the accessible discourses of a very noble 'heathen, ' whose 'feeling after God' was assuredly not without reward. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

How can events in part of the Stoic cosmos be contingent, when all events are necessary? Why does Chrysippus hold that the impossible may flow from the possible, or that while it is possible Dion die, ‘this person be dead’ is impossible. This article constructs a naïve model of Stoic modality in which truth evaluations are grounded in spatial location and motion. This is shown to provide a best fit for the Stoic doctrine, generating the six events which Chrysippus groups (...) into the four Stoic modal categories, and explaining why the Stoics espoused doctrines attacked as contradictory by their opponents. (shrink)

La filosofía posee un potencial terapéutico presente desde sus inicios griegos. De entre todas las escuelas helenísticas, podemos afirmar que la que más se preocupó por el malestar humano fue la estoica. El presente artículo analiza la gestión estoica del duelo presente en las Consolaciones de Séneca, exponiendo la operatividad terapéutica de su modelo, en tanto que metodología explicativo-experiencial de fines eudaimónicos o sapienciales.

Procura-se apontar, neste texto, o papel do medo enquanto marcador da legitimidade do princeps. Isto é, a partir da leitura do De Clementia, pretende-se demonstrar que, para Sêneca, tão distinta quanto a virtude da clemência é para o bom governante, o medo é para o tirano. Se a clemência revela a natureza racional e pacífica do governante, de modo inverso, o aparecimento do medo no corpo político revela a natureza destemperada e violenta dos tiranos. Assim, alinhado com os ensinamentos estoicos, (...) o autor romano estabelece um conjunto de marcadores capazes de identificar, de um lado, o bom governante por suas virtudes, qualidades e pela tranquilidade e segurança de si e seu corpo político e, de outro, seu extremo oposto, mostrando que a presença do medo (tanto em si quanto no corpo político) é insígnia de governos tirânicos, levando-os à ruína assim como as paixões arrasam aqueles que as possuem. (shrink)

There is an important part in Schopenhauer's bibliography dedicated to reflections on a good life. Between 1826 and 1829, the German philosopher started to think about a eudemonology, an unfinished project, which relied on the rescue of the thought of ancient philosophers. In his discussions there is a great appreciation for Stoic thinking in order to produce a life as little unhappy as possible. Therefore, it seems relevant to revisit Schopenhauer's ideas and compare them with Seneca, who focused on the (...) same topics: the appropriation of the concepts of praecepta and decreta and their connection with happiness. (shrink)

The timeless classic of Stoic philosophy. Written by Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius, Meditations is a classic guidebook for those seeking to live a life of purpose, action, and integrity. This powerful text has guided statesmen, inspired philosophers, and challenged seekers for generations. Readers from every walk of life will find fresh, powerful insight in this essential masterpiece of Stoic thought. With reflections on every element of life-from duty and family to ambition and morality-Meditations offers a clear-eyed vision of (...) a life well-lived and startlingly astute insights for those seeking to walk through the world with wisdom. Marcus's words echo through the centuries, speaking to the fundamental struggles of human life and offering a unique clarity that has endured for millennia. (shrink)

El estoicismo es una de las filosofías de vida que más ha influenciado a la sociedad occidental desde su origen en la antigua Grecia. Esto se debe a su conocimiento de la naturaleza humana y su adaptación a ella, a su profundidad filosófica de base lógica y a su condición empírica y práctica. De hecho, podemos definir el estoicismo como la forma más potente y eficaz que se conoce de lo que hoy llamamos autoayuda, pues son innegables los beneficios que (...) aporta una vez que se adoptan sus principios. De la mano del autor, médico y humanista, este libro muestra de modo magistral los profundos valores de esta filosofía de vida y, especialmente, la forma de aplicarlos en la vida cotidiana. (shrink)

The essential writings from the three pillars of Stoicism. Bringing together the essential writings of the three most influential Stoic philosophers, The Essential Stoic is an accessible and instructive guide to living a better life through the teachings of Stoicism, and includes an insightful introduction from Mark Tuitert, Olympic speed skater and bestselling author of The Stoic Mindset. Distilling the wisdom of the three Stoic masters, this volume contains the three most widely-read volumes of Stoic philosophy in history. Readers will (...) get a comprehensive, 360-degree view of Stoicism, from Epictetus' ethics to Marcus Aurelius' reflections to Seneca's aphorisms. Hailed as one of Rome's "last good emperors," Marcus Aurelius reflects on living wisely, calmly, and virtuously in a chaotic world. Epictetus describes the need to rationally accept the world around us and live with uncompromising virtue. Seneca provides quick, accessible Stoic wisdom in a series of letters to his friend Lucilius. The philosophers' combined wisdom shows readers how to live their best lives, staying calm and rational in the face of hardship, remaining true to their own code of ethics, and accepting the world on its own terms. (shrink)

Excerpt from Selections From Epictetus This little volume, which contains about one-fifth of the whole of Epictetus, is de signed to bring together the most useful and striking passages in a form convenient for ready use. It cannot give all the best in so small com pass, but those who miss favorite passages must remember that it is difficult to choose where so much is good, and yet so large a portion must be rejected for want of space. The numbers (...) in parentheses at the beginning of the chapters re fer to the numbers Of the original chapters. This book is abridged from the translation of Mr. T. W. Higginson, by his kind permission and that of his publishers. I cannot do better than to quote from his own preface. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

Excerpt from Discourses of Epictetus Thus we owe to an accident the existence of these "Discourses," which form one of the world's vital books. The "Manual" is a collection of aphorisms taken substantially from the larger work. Epictetus was not the founder of a new philosophy. Zeno, the originator of the Stoic system, was his master, and Zeno himself derived his fundamental principles from Antisthenes, the author of the cynic school and the friend of Socrates. The Greeks are the creators (...) of philosophy, and their earliest attempt at systematic thought was an effort to understand Nature. But they soon learned that it was necessary to begin from within, since to know anything man must first know himself. Thus the problem of the conduct of life forced itself upon them. This is the constant preoccupation of Socrates, who was born five hundred years before Epictetus. He taught that the good is to be sought not in outward things, nor in the indulgence of appetite, but in virtue, which for him, however, is an intellectual rather than a moral habit. His calm and rational temper led him to the belief that man always acts in accordance with his knowledge, does what insight shows him to be useful to himself. He who does evil, does it from a mistake of judgment. Sin is error. Virtue, then, being chiefly knowledge, may be taught, and to teach it is the philosophers life work. But Socrates moved in a circle from which there was no escape. To know the useful is virtue. But what is the useful? That which makes for virtue. Antisthenes does not attempt to determine the meaning of the good. He simply declares that virtue is the only good, and, in his view, virtue is the intelligent conduct of life. Right life is the essential good; virtue is its own reward, and one need not look to its results. It is, in the midst of whatever vicissitudes, a sure possession. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

The authors of the article analyze the phenomenon and symbol of hope in the philosophical views of Pascal and Seneca in terms of the invariance of the content against the background of social transformations. Through the distinction between hope-phenomenon and hope-symbol, the authors conclude that establishing a connection between the phenomenon of hope and the main categories of time makes it possible to trace the theological orientation in Pascal's views and Epicureanism in Seneca's teachings. The primary importance for Seneca of (...) the problem of "death" as an alternative to "hope" is completely denied by Pascal in his reflections on sin, salvation of the soul, good, freedom, beauty, will, virtue and love (both God's and man's). The authors prove that the ideas of rationalistic reflection and the transcendence of the phenomenon of hope can be considered as a basis for contrasting the philosophical systems of Seneca and Pascal. (shrink)

This edition is not an OCR or a photocopy. It is a new edition.

Ancient philosophical schools developed and discussed perspectives and practices on the emotion of anger useful in contemporary philosophical practice with clients, groups, and organizations. This paper argues the case for incorporating these insights from four main philosophical schools (Platonist, Aristotelian, Epicurean, and Stoic) sets out eight practices drawn from these schools, and discusses how these insights can be used by philosophical practitioners with clients.

This paper reconsiders the Idealistic aesthetics of tragedy from an unconventional point of view. It investigates the relationship between theory and dramatic canon by focusing on those works and authors that are excluded from the canon by the theoretical discourse. My aim is to show that Idealist philosophers and Romantic critics concur in constructing a unitary model of the tragic conflict that is partly defined through its contraposition to the ‘Senecan’ conception of tragedy as a representation of suffering and as (...) a dialectic of passions. Seneca here stands for an entire line of European dramaturgy, which involves Shakespeare and culminates in French Classicism. This contrast does not merely concern a literary model, but also, more generally, the conception of subjectivity underlying the dramaturgy of passions. This paper thus helps to shed light on the controversial relationship between the idealistic philosophy of the tragic with modern tragedy at large. -/- Keywords: Theory of Tragedy, Idealism, Seneca, Hegel, Pathos . (shrink)

Cet article est consacré au problème du rapport entre l’entrelacement des genres (συμπλοκὴ τῶν εἰδῶν) et le logos dans le Sophiste. Après avoir brièvement présenté le problème, je discute, dans la première partie, différentes solutions proposées par les commentateurs. Je cherche à montrer qu’aucune de ces solutions n’est pleinement satisfaisante. Dans la deuxième partie, je propose une nouvelle solution au problème de la συμπλοκὴ τῶν εἰδῶν fondée sur une distinction entre deux types de logos, le logos dialectique et le logos (...) doxique. Dans la troisième partie, je cherche à justifier textuellement cette solution en recourant à la fois au texte du Sophiste lui-même et à la dernière partie du Théétète. Dans ma conclusion, je suggère que la distinction entre logos dialectique et logos doxique correspond à une différence qui traverse toute l’œuvre de Platon, à savoir la différence entre connaissance et opinion. / This paper deals with the problem of the συμπλοκὴ τῶν εἰδῶν in the Sophist. In the first part, after a brief presentation of this problem, I discuss different solutions which have been proposed in the recent literature. I try to show that none of them is entirely satisfying. In the second part, I propose and explain a new solution based on a distinction between two types of logos : dialectical logos and doxastic logos. In the third part, I try to justify this solution on the basis of some passages of the Sophist and of the final part of the Theaetetus. To conclude, I suggest that the distinction between dialectical logos and doxasticlogos matches the difference between knowledge and belief made by Plato in his dialogues. (shrink)

This paper adopts the philosophical approach of Stoicism as the basis for re-examining the cognitive and ethical relationship between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. Stoicism sets out a clear criterion for the special moral status of human beings, namely rationality. We explore to what extent Neanderthals were sufficiently rational to be considered “human”. Recent findings in the fields of palaeoanthropology and palaeogenetics show that Neanderthals possessed high-level cognitive abilities and produced viable offspring with anatomically modern humans. Our discussion offers insights for (...) reflecting on the relationship between humans and other forms of natural life and any moral obligations that result. (shrink)

Stoicism in classical Latin literature--2. Stoicism in Christian Latin thought through the sixth century.

Virtue ethics is frequently billed as a remedy to the problems of deontological and consequentialist ethics that Bernard Williams identified in his critique of “the morality system.” But how far can virtue ethics be relied upon to avoid these problems? What does Williams’s critique of the morality system mean for virtue ethics? To answer this question, we offer a more principled characterisation of the defining features of the morality system in terms of its organising ambition—to shelter life against luck. This (...) reveals the system to be multiply realisable: the same function can be served by substantively different but functionally equivalent ideas. After identifying four requirements that ethical thought must meet to function as a morality system, we show that they can also be met by certain constellations of virtue-ethical ideas. We thereby demonstrate the possibility of virtue-ethical morality systems raising problems analogous to those besetting their deontological and consequentialist counterparts. This not only widens the scope of Williams’s critique and brings out the cautionary aspect of his legacy for virtue ethics. It also offers contemporary virtue ethicists a more principled understanding of the functional features that mark out morality systems and lie at the root of their problems, thereby helping them to avoid or overcome these problems. (shrink)