The Art of Living: The Stoics on the Nature and Function of Philosophy (Second Edition)

It is a commonplace to say that in antiquity philosophy was conceived as a way of life or an art of living, but precisely what such claims amount to has remained unclear. If ancient philosophers did think that philosophy should transform an individual's way of life, then what conception of philosophy stands behind this claim? John Sellars explores this question via a detailed account of ancient Stoic ideas about the nature and function of philosophy. He considers the Socratic background to Stoic thinking about philosophy and Sceptical objections raised by Sextus Empiricus, and offers readings of late Stoic texts by Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Sellars argues that the conception of philosophy as an 'art of living', inaugurated by Socrates and developed by the Stoics, has persisted since antiquity and remains a living alternative to modern attempts to assimilate philosophy to the natural sciences. It also enables us to rethink the relationship between an individual's philosophy and their biography. The book appears here in paperback for the first time with a new preface by the author.First published in 2003 by Bristol Classical Press, and imprint of Gerald Duckworth, Co. Ltd. Contents 4 Preface to the Second Edition 6 Abbreviations 12 Introduction 14 1 The Topic 14 2 The Structure 20 PART I: βἰος and τέχνη 26 1 Philosophy and Biography 28 1 The Philosopher’s Beard 28 2 έργα and λόγοι 33 3 The Philosopher’s βἰος 34 4 Summary 45 2 The Socratic Origins of the Art of Living 46 1 Philosophy and βἰος 46 2 Care of Oneself in the Apology and Alcibiades I 49 3 The Analysis of τέχνη in the Gorgias 52 4 Different Types of τέχνη 55 5 The Role of ἂσκησις 60 6 Aristotle’s Interpretation of Socrates 63 7 Summary 66 3 The Stoic Conception of the Art of Living 68 1 The Phrase ‘Art of Living’ 68 2 The Ideal of the Sage 72 3 An Art Concerned with the Soul 77 4 Stoic Definitions of τέχνη 81 5 The Relationship between ἂσκησις and λόγος 88 6 The Stoic Division of Philosophy 91 7 Towards a Definition of Philosophy 94 8 Summary 97 4 Sceptical Objections 99 1 The Sceptical Method 100 2 Sextus Empiricus’ Objections to an Art of Living 101 3 Philosophy and Biography in Scepticism 114 4 Summary 116 PART II: λόγος and ἂσκησις 118 5 Philosophical Exercises 120 1 The Relationship between ἂσκησις and λόγος 120 2 The Concept of a Spiritual Exercise 123 3 The Function of Spiritual Exercises 131 4 The Mechanism of Spiritual Exercises 136 5 The Form of Spiritual Exercises 139 6 Exercises in the Handbook of Epictetus 142 1 Introduction to the Handbook 142 2 Three Types of Spiritual Exercise 146 3 Summary 158 7 Exercises in the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius 160 1 The Literary Form of the Meditations 160 2 The Point of View of the Cosmos 163 3 Summary 178 Conclusion 180 1 Towards a Technical Conception of Philosophy 180 2 Two Conceptions of Philosophical Knowledge 184 3 Philosophy and Biography 184 4 Three Different Types of Philosophical Text 185 5 The Persistence of the Technical Conception of Philosophy 186 Additional Notes 189 Glossary of Greek Words and Phrases 194 Guide to Ancient Philosophers and Authors 197 Bibliography 201 Index Locorum 223 A 223 B 225 C 225 D 226 E 228 F 230 G 230 H 230 I 231 J 231 L 231 M 231 N 232 O 232 P 232 Q 235 R 235 S 236 T 237 V 237 X 238 General Index 239 Presenting philosophy as an art concerned with one's way of life, Sellars draws on Socratic and Stoic philosophical resources and argues for the ancient claim that philosophy is primarily expressed in one's behaviour. The book considers the relationship between philosophy and biography, and the bearing that this relationship has on debates concerning the nature and function of philosophy. Questioning the premise that philosophy can only be conceived as a rational discourse, Sellars presents it instead as an art (techne) that combines both 'logos' (rational discourse) and 'askesis' (training), and suggests that this will make it possible to understand better the relationship between philosophy and biography. The first part of this book outlines the Socratic conception of philosophy as an art and the Stoic development of this idea into an art of living, as well as considering some of the ancient objections to the Stoic conception. Part Two goes on to examine the relationship between philosophical discourse and exercises in Stoic philosophy. Taking the literary form of such exercises as central, the author analyses two texts devoted to philosophical exercises by Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius It is a commonplace to say that in antiquity philosophy was conceived as a way of life or an art of living but precisely what such claims amount to has remained unclear. If ancient philosophers did think that philosophy should transform an individual's way of life, then what conception of philosophy stands behind this claim? In The Art of Living John Sellars explores this question via a detailed account of ancient Stoic ideas about the nature and function of philosophy. He considers the Socratic background to Stoic thinking about philosophy, Sceptical objections raised by Sextus Empiricus, and offers readings of late Stoic texts by Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Sellars argues that the conception of philosophy as an 'art of living', inaugurated by Socrates and developed by the Stoics, has persisted since antiquity and remains a living alternative to modern attempts to assimilate philosophy to the natural sciences. It also enables us to rethink the relationship between an individual's philosophy and their biography. Ancient philosophy was conceived as a way of life or an art of living, but if ancient philosophers did think that philosophy should transform an individual's way of life, then what conception of philosophy stands behind this claim? John Sellars explores this question through a detailed account of ancient Stoic ideas about the nature and function of philosophy. He considers the Socratic background to Stoic thinking about philosophy and Sceptical objections raised by Sextus Empiricus, and offers readings of late Stoic texts by Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius.Sellars argues that the conception of philosophy as an'art of living', inaugurated by Socrates and developed by the Stoics, has persisted since antiquity and remains a living alternative to modern attempts to assimilate philosophy to the natural sciences. It also enables us to rethink the relationship between an individual's philosophy and their biography. The book appears here in paperback for the first time with a new Preface by the author.

It is a commonplace to say that in antiquity philosophy was conceived as a way of life or an art of living, but precisely what such claims amount to has remained unclear. John Sellars explores this via a detailed account of ancient Stoic ideas about the nature and function of philosophy. He considers the Socratic background to Stoic thinking about philosophy and Sceptical objections raised by Sextus Empiricus, and offers readings of late Stoic texts by Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Sellars argues that the conception of philosophy as an art of living has persisted since antiquity and remains a living alternative to modern attempts to assimilate philosophy to the natural sciences. This is the first paperback edition, with a new Preface by the author.

Ancient philosophy was conceived as a way of life or an art of living, but if ancient philosophers did think that philosophy should transform an individual's way of life, then what conception of philosophy stands behind this claim? John Sellars explores this question through a detailed account of ancient Stoic ideas about the nature and function of philosophy. He considers the Socratic background to Stoic thinking about philosophy and Sceptical objections raised by Sextus Empiricus, and offers readings of late Stoic texts by Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Sellars argues that the conception of If ancient philosophers did think that philosophy should transform an individual's way of life, then what conception of philosophy stands behind this claim? This title explores this question via an account of ancient Stoic ideas about the nature and function of philosophy.