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What Is Ancient Philosophy?
... Being the porous subject means the spiritual elements can permeate the person, so religious elements of blessing, curse, and grace stay meaningful to him (Taylor 2007). In ancient Greece, one could even make himself spiritual, making the level of his soul with divinity, transcending the corporeal self through philosophical exercises such as care of the self (which will be explained in Section 4) (Foucault 1982;Hadot 2002). ...
... and the accomplishment of duties'. Elsewhere, he provided the amendment that spiritual exercise can also be dietary regimes, as long as these regimes are for one's self-transformation (Hadot 2002). However, Hadot's categorizations are rather general: they are not subtle enough to represent the signature exercises belonging to different schools, though they overlap sometimes. ...
... Learning from Greco-Roman philosophies, the flourishing of a community is inseparable from individuals' self-cultivation in spirituality, which gives implications to how to solve social separation. However, this is easier said than done, because today's philosophers have strayed from the ancient philosophers' mission to persuade followers to choose a philosophical way of living; instead, the modern philosophers tend to work on philosophical discourses, generating systematic interpretations of the universe or inventing new languages and terms (Hadot 2002). Just like Hadot (2002) opined: I intend to show that a profound difference exists between the representations which the ancients made of philosophia and the representation which is usually made of philosophy today. . . ...
The worldwide launch of neoliberalism ushered everyone into an atomized society. Neoliberalism transforms Homo sapiens into Homo economicus, a narcissistic self-entrepreneur that positions their body as a factory, skills as resources, and earnings as products while relying less on others. Such atomization of individuals undermines the community. Following the Cartesian moment, enlightenment, and postmodernism’s later wave, the world is disenchanted, deprived of unity in the form of community fragmentation. Foucault offered a Greco–Roman philosophical remedy for contemporary society, focusing on the formulation of ‘Spiritual-Corporality’ through the practice of care of the self. Foucault believed the one who takes good care of himself is often self-assured of his ability, expectations, and missions in relationships with others, he does not resort to tyranny in those relationships, giving him an ethical advantage in caring for his family and fellow citizens. If everyone strives to take care of themselves, the city-state will prosper. However, Foucault relied on Stoic philosophy over other ancient schools and failed to provide concrete practices on how to bind ourselves with others through care of the self. In partial agreement with Foucault, the present study chooses Hadot’s spiritual exercise as a more accurate terminology to justify Greco–Roman philosophies’ affordance to contemporary social unification. After reviewing the philosophies of Aristotle, the Stoics, and Epicurus, the present study selected the spiritual exercises of ‘hitting the mean as deliberation’, ‘reframing of self’, and ‘thinking outside the box’ as suitable practices for community flourishing.
... Reasonable individuals, aware of their limitations, experience peace, while unreasonable individuals often face chaos (17). Epicurus suggests that pleasure arises from the alleviation of pain caused by unmet needs and advises focusing on present experiences rather than past memories or future expectations (18)(19)(20)(21). He stresses the importance of grounding beliefs in sensory experience, as beliefs not based on this can lead to confusion and errors (22-25). ...
... The Vatican Sayings, a collection of eighty-one aphorisms discovered in the Vatican in 1888, echoes many ideas from the Principal Sayings while also offering new insights. The Vatican Sayings emphasize the importance of seizing the present moment rather than procrastinating (Hadot, 2002), as delay often results in unfulfilled potential and an unsatisfying end of life (14,48). Epicurus advises appreciating what one has rather than coveting what is out of reach, noting that dissatisfaction often stems from the failure to recognize the value of current possessions (35). ...
... These goods-such as friendship, health, autonomy, and achievement-constitute a good life, independent of whether a person values or enjoys them. Pluralistic theories similarly assert that well-being consists of multiple factors that interact to improve overall life quality (Fletcher, 2016, Hadot, 2002. ...
This article explores the relevance and application of Epicurean philosophy to modern pursuits of happiness and well-being. Despite the profound differences between ancient and contemporary societies, Epicurus' principles-centered on simplicity, moderation, and the pursuit of natural pleasures-offer valuable insights for addressing the stresses and complexities of modern life. The philosophy challenges the consumerist ethos and the relentless chase for material success, advocating instead for a life of balance, mental tranquility, and meaningful relationships. Through a detailed comparison with other well-being theories, such as Hedonism, Desire Satisfaction Theory, and Objective List Theory, this article highlights the unique contributions of Epicurean thought to the discourse on happiness. It also discusses the practical challenges of implementing these ideas in a world driven by external pressures and deeply ingrained habits. By providing a philosophical framework for reassessing desires and fostering authentic connections, Epicureanism remains a relevant guide for achieving long-term well-being in the contemporary context. The conclusion underscores that while aligning with these principles demands effort and adaptability, the potential for greater life satisfaction and personal fulfillment is significant.
... This interaction enables the prospect of self-education: within formal education, societal influences direct the individual, but later in life, one can shift to becoming the subject of their own self-education and -cultivation (Levenson et al., 2001). Ancient philosophies have used pragmatic training methods, techniques like imagery work to facilitate this kind of personal transformation (Hadot, 2002). Presently, some of such techniques is integrated into cognitive psychotherapy, and historically they can be traced back to the ancient philosophical school of Stoicism (Robertson, 2019). ...
... This paradigm shift involves moving away from the prevailing anthropocentric standpoint. Simultaneously, humans are prompted to introspect upon their own responsibilities, ethical commitments, and worldviews through self-awareness and profound contemplation, akin to "self-techniques" (Foucault, 1988;Hadot, 2002). ...
... Throughout world wisdom traditions, a recurring emphasis has been placed on the notion that genuine progress in personal development hinges upon an individual's own metamorphosis and deliberate pursuit of growth (Foucault, 1988;Hadot, 2002). This process, often referred to as self-education or -cultivation, stands as a central theme within numerous "Eastern" wisdom traditions, as in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Daoism (Gowans, 2021). ...
We suggest that holistic education and pedagogy, which are grounded in a philosophical holistic view of human nature, would be important in the current era for the development of transformative creativity at all levels of education. We base our holistic view of human nature on the model of the philosopher Lauri Rauhala. Holistic pedagogy refers here to an approach where multimodal perspectives that include emotional, volitional, cognitive, ethical, and physical education, are brought together. It is furthermore theorized that wisdom and creativity are closely related phenomena, and as part of holistic pedagogy, they may create possibilities for innovations and new understandings. Wisdom is understood here as progress toward an ethical common good of action and creativity is defined as the ability to produce something novel that is also applied in practice. When holistic pedagogies include also integrative thinking, which enables synthesizing inner and outer realities, different logical systems and mental modes, they have the possibility to support transformative creativity, which is the ability to benefit both self and the environment (social, cultural and physical) in a purposeful way. For supporting our theocratization, we present examples of two kinds of holistic education practices in formal and informal education, as well as in children and adults that could provide a sustainable approach to support growth. Firstly, we give an initial example of a qualitative empirical study of practical wisdom of pre-schoolers in the forest environment. The study found that when asked about children’s ability to learn wisdom, the teachers reported contents of creative thinking and acting. Secondly, we suggest that in adults’ self-education such as in the model of Positive Disintegration by Kazimierz Dąbrowski well as others could be possible fruitful way to enhance wise, and creative competencies. We conclude that different forms of holistic education can be planted, and they have the ability to support transformative creativity, which is essential for countering the challenges of socio-emotional sphere, as well as in ethical decision-making and acting for common human well-being.
... cura sui) refers to various historical practices and techniques dating in the Greco-Roman and early Christian periods that have shaped contemporary Western societies and forms of subjectivity in various ways (e.g. Foucault, 2001;Hadot, 2002;Nussbaum, 2013). The purpose of these practices was to help a person pay attention to the way they conduct themselves in life given the freedom to conduct oneself as one wishes (Foucault, 1997b). ...
... The purpose of these practices was to help a person pay attention to the way they conduct themselves in life given the freedom to conduct oneself as one wishes (Foucault, 1997b). In interpreting care of the self as a type of self-cultivation, we rely on the well-established literature which sees care of the self as part of ethical self-work (e. g., Ball, 2017;Hadot, 2002;Sloterdijk, 2012;). Ultimately, the aim of the care of the self was to live a beautiful life, in the ethical sense discussed above (Berger, 2018;Foucault, 1997b;Smith, 2015). ...
The ecological crisis places an unavoidable ethical imperative for the conscientious adult: to learn an art of existing in a way that supports life instead of destroying it. The paper suggests that care is a useful conceptual resource for responding to this imperative. An interpretation of the art of existence is presented by bringing together two different takes on care, the Foucauldian tradition of care of the self and feminist ethics of care. This novel connection is argued to hold theoretical promise for making sense of the unique challenge of self-cultivation implied by the art of existence in the Anthropocene.
... On the one hand, it is axial in the history of philosophy, where it is difficult to find a thinker who does not address it. Various philosophical trends and movements (Gnostics, Stoics, metaphysical trends, etc.), developing so-called "practices of the self " (Hadot, 2014) [1], considered death itself as a central event in human existence, which does not so much put an end to it as gives meaning to the entire human life. Given this approach, these currents cultivated special techniques (meditation, contemplation) of adaptation to this "event". ...
... On the one hand, it is axial in the history of philosophy, where it is difficult to find a thinker who does not address it. Various philosophical trends and movements (Gnostics, Stoics, metaphysical trends, etc.), developing so-called "practices of the self " (Hadot, 2014) [1], considered death itself as a central event in human existence, which does not so much put an end to it as gives meaning to the entire human life. Given this approach, these currents cultivated special techniques (meditation, contemplation) of adaptation to this "event". ...
This study conducts a targeted iconographic analysis of imagery related to death in French illuminated manuscripts from the 13th to 15th centuries. Using art historical methods including stylistic, semiotic and hermeneutic analysis, the study aims to identify common iconographic typologies and examine how medieval artists visually represented ideas about mortality. Analysis of recurrent compositional formats across various manuscript types demonstrates how illumination helps reconstruct medieval perspectives on the ubiquitous yet enigmatic phenomenon of death. Findings show that while certain conventional templates recurred, illuminators adapted these to heighten emotional impact and narrative resonance. The prevalence of macabre motifs across both secular and religious manuscripts points to a preoccupation with death, even as the diversity of approaches reveals multifaceted attitudes. As artifacts of medieval visual culture, these works provide fertile ground for interdisciplinary investigation into a society Spellbound by death.
... Self-cultivation can take place as part of the non-formal and non-vocational adult education field in the Nordic civic education system (see Manninen, 2017) but its practice does not necessarily require any kind of structured educational structures. Self-cultivational exercises can include, for example, reading circles, keeping a diary (hypomnemata in ancient Greek), meaningful conversations with a close friend aimed at locating the ideas and values hidden in everyday life that guide one's behaviour (Nussbaum, 2008;Hadot, 2002), or practising meditation, such as the metta exercise that develops Buddhist kindness (e.g., Frewen et al., 2015). ...
... The liberal EAE approach has its rationalist roots in the classical philosophy of Ancient Greece and Rome, and thinkers such as Socrates (Walter 2009;2020, p. 315). The teachings of the ancient philosophical schools also figures in the historical development of self-cultivation (e.g., Hadot, 2002), and prevailing educational theories in the west (e.g., Salo, 2007;Saari, 2021). But when it comes to the modern day, Walter (2009) sees American medical doctor, activist, and professor Alice Hamilton as the founder of the liberal EAE approach since she scientifically proved how industrial toxins were damaging the environment. ...
This article presents ecological thinking of the Finnish educational philosopher, Urpo Harva (1910–1994). Harva's theories of adult education are strongly linked to the theory of self-cultivation developed in Finnish educational theory particularly in the early 20th century, according to which adults need to develop themselves as moral agents in their relations with others and the ecological environment to reach mature adulthood. In addition to his work as a professor, Harva was an active social debater, writing a significant number of columns and essays for Finnish magazines. The present article uses abductive content analysis on 31 of these columns and essays written between 1971 and 1994 to uncover the basics of Harva’s environmental adult education theory. The analysis showed that readers are encouraged to adopt a “biophilic” or nurturing attitude towards nature, as this will provide the necessary skills for ensuring a more sustainable future.
... [Plato's] work consisted in 'forming' people -that is to say, in transforming individuals by making them experience, through the example of a dialogue which the reader has the illusion of overhearing, the demands of reasons, and eventually the norm of the good. 12 As one is put into question through dialogue, one is forced to give attention (prosoche) to themselves. 13 Through this attention, "the philosopher is fully aware of what he does at each instant, and he wills his actions fully." ...
... Many advanced philosophical concepts developed in antiquity by Brahmins and Buddhist monks have been discovered (e.g., Panini's theory of language and the Buddhist theory of mind) (Kiparsky, 1995;Olendzki, 2003). However, a new perspective on the ancient philosophy of the Greeks and Romans emerged because of the pioneering research of French philosophers and the classicist Pierre Hadot (1995Hadot ( , 2002. He points out that the teaching of Greek and Roman philosophy primarily took place orally within the framework of established philosophical schools, and practices specific to each school were transmitted orally. ...
Objectives
This study aimed to analyze the relationship between mindfulness and Stoic attitudes by exploring their unexamined similarities. Moreover, it sought to develop a new tool for assessing Stoic attitudes with a broader scope than previous measures.
Method
A total of 437 individuals participated in the initial survey, and 347 were re-surveyed after 2 weeks. Participants completed the newly developed 100-I-K questionnaire and an additional scale to measure mindfulness. The follow-up sample completed the 100-I-K scale, Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, Pathak-Wieten Stoicism Ideology Scale, and a control question. The participants were recruited through an online Computer Assisted Web Interviewing survey panel as a representative sample.
Results
A strong positive correlation was found between mindfulness and Stoic attitude in both the first (r = 0.65) and second (r = 0.63) measurements. A weak, yet statistically significant relationship was observed between 100-I-K scores and understanding of the Stoicism ideology in the first measurement (r = 0.19) and follow-up sample (r = 0.21). Moreover, Stoic attitude correlated with subjective declarations of adopting Stoic attitudes (r = − 0.19 and r = − 0.18 in both samples).
Conclusions
The results confirmed the relationship between Stoic attitudes and mindfulness, suggesting similarities between Eastern and Western traditions. The 100-I-K questionnaire needs further development; however, it demonstrated the potential to assess the overall Stoic attitude. The relationship between mindfulness and Stoic attitudes remains stable over time.
Preregistration
This study is not preregistered.
... The consideration of what a good life is and what contributes to it has been an ongoing activity in human history (Aristotle, 2004;Hadot, 2002). Work can provide an individual opportunity to seek out meaningful experiences which can contribute to their feeling of living a good and satisfying life (Veltman, 2016). ...
This paper examines four teacher educators' work practices which either perceive to enhance or diminish meaningfulness in physical education teacher education. Through a community of learners, we took a narrative inquiry approach and in particular, a storytelling approach (Chiu-Ching & Chan, 2009), to exploring, identifying, and examining meaningful teacher education practices. Stories (and elicited stories) were collected through recorded zoom meetings, critical discussions, and note taking. Collaborative data analysis resulted in three categories: (i) Ownership of practice as key to meaningful teacher educator practices; (ii) The influential interdependent relationships on the potential of meaningful teacher educator practices; and (iii) The power of reflection in learning from, and designing, meaningful teacher educator practices. We share considerations for other teacher educators in how they can strive towards developing meaningful teacher education practice, for example, we encourage teacher educators to engage in individual and collective reflection by being vulnerable.
... In fact, this is already implied in the terms used: scientia deals with knowledge, whereas philosophia would be concerned with wisdom. In line with this, there has been a recent resurgence in the interest in philosophy as a way of life [32,33] or art of living (ars vivendi or Lebenskunst), emanating from Pierre Hadot's emphasis on the practical aims of ancient Greek philosophy (e.g., Hadot [34]; see Faustino [35] for a discussion of Cooper's well-known objections). Is this an area where philosophy can proceed untouched by science or at least make a significant contribution? ...
The relationship between science and philosophy is contentious. Quine saw philosophy as continuous with science (broadly understood), but many philosophers see a dichotomy between them. The present paper discusses cases where the relevance of certain scientific findings has been denied (related to Zeno’s Dichotomy paradox and to the appeal of skeptical arguments) or overlooked (one argument related to the frame problem of artificial intelligence and Nagel’s “bat” argument). The results caution against overly quick dismissal of the import of science on philosophical questions, whether the latter be of a more theoretical or practical nature.
... Furthermore, several other cultures, including Babylonian astronomy and Indian astronomy, also deliberated and debated on the nature of reality, especially time (Sagan, 2014). Debates, centered on whether the universe has a beginning or eternal cycles, were held in ancient Babylonia, ancient Greece, ancient India, and other cultures (Hadot, 2004;Russell, 2013). In Hindu cosmology, time is seen as infinite with a cyclic universe, with the current Universe preceded and to be followed by other universes infinite in number (Jones, 2009;Sushil & Gene, 2012). ...
This paper presents a meta-model of the Theory of Everything (TOE), melding science, art, mathematics, engineering, social science, and other seemingly disparate areas of study together into a single theoretical framework, which is a clear departure from the common approaches of developing the TOE using solely physical and mathematical methods in Physics. In the Internet Model of the Theory of Everything (iTOE), the TOE is proposed as a new discipline of study for developing Fundamental Theory (Standard Model) for any field/discipline. The iTOE Model simply states that Consciousness-Energy (CEN) is everything that really exists, meaning all things (whether living or non-living), including all fields and disciplines, are all manifestations (states or forms) of a single entity or matrix: Consciousness-Energy or Consciousness Energy or ConsciousnessENergy (CEN). The iTOE uses a set of interdisciplinary, intradisciplinary, transdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and crossdisciplinary approaches to building the TOE in Consciousness Science and is the first of its kind in existence. It is a network theory-a new approach to the TOE, which entails internetworking and interconnecting all fields and disciplines modelled as networks or webs using CEN. The TOE is built based on Eight Axioms, the Axioms of Everything (AxioE), as its core, with a new algebra, Temic algebra, the Algebra of Everything (AlgebroE), and new numbers, Temic numbers, the Numbers for Everything (NumoE), harmonizing, unifying, and standardizing all fields and disciplines using CEN as the Universal Language-the Language for Everything (LoE). The iTOE, which is written in CEN Language, a metalanguage , proposes a scientific approach (Consciousness Science) to harmonizing and standardizing all fields and disciplines. That implies, just like there is the Standard Model of Particle Physics, the Standard Model can also be developed for any field/discipline, be it science, management science, social science, arts and humanities, education, engineering, or any other discipline using Consciousness Science as the tool to achieve this key objective. The iTOE is developed as one of the programs of the research project called CENProject using African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIKS). The Model has potential applications across all spheres of life and will spur new technologies and breakthroughs in all fields and disciplines. Also, it helps create a unified (common) standard or interface for all fields and disciplines facilitating pedagogical understanding and scholarly collaborations across diverse fields and disciplines.
... Adducing extensive historical evidence, Hadot shows that the Christian church fathers not only adopted the ancient philosophical exercises but also presented Christianity as a specific way of life. 24 In the monastic tradition, philosophia thus typically referred to a lived wisdom or way of life. In the Middle Ages this changed in two ways. ...
This article provides a critical assessment of the scholarly analysis of the persona of the early modern philosopher. In particular, it examines the ways in which historians have tended to analyse the formation of philosophical personhoods in terms of spiritual exercises while at the same time subordinating this aspect of self-formation to larger institutional and sociopolitical contexts and levels of explanation. By presenting spiritual exercises as a prerequisite for or even as a means of shaping a self motivated to pursue and seize institutional and sociopolitical power, one risks trivializing the therapeutic function at the very core of those exercises’ significance. The article examines the intellectual traditions and assumptions that have paved the way for this interpretation and argues for a more thorough analysis of the therapeutic context, an analysis that raises other research questions and ultimately paves the way for a rather different understanding of what it meant to be and live as a philosopher in the early modern period. Although the article focuses on the persona of the early modern philosopher, it also invites readers interested in persona, identity formation and spiritual exercise in other historical contexts.
... The term EUROIA is derived from the ancient Greek term for "good flow of life" (euroia biou), which was central to a revision of Aristotle's concept of eudaimonia as taught in ancient Stoic philosophy [12][13][14]. Euroia biou was presented as a therapeutic guide for accepting and responding to all life events-those associated with the development of personal growth and flourishing, as well as those that evoked distress, pain, or suffering. It asserted that well-being was ultimately experienced as a by-product of our balanced effort to change realities that are under our control, and to live in agreement with, and contribute to, the rational order in events which we perceive as being outside of our control. ...
Objectives
While state-based models of health-related quality of life (HRQL) are well-established in providing clinically relevant descriptions of HRQL status, they do not provide information on how to maintain or improve HRQL. The EvalUation of goal-diRected activities to prOmote well-beIng and heAlth (EUROIA), rooted in a novel process-based model of HRQL, measures goal-directed activities that are self-reported to promote HRQL as part of an individual’s process of adapting to dynamic changes in health status. Our objectives were to condense and summarize the psychometric properties of the EUROIA by (i) defining and confirming its factor structure, (ii) evaluating its construct validity, and (iii) examining its internal consistency.
Methods
Principal component analysis was performed on the 18-item EUROIA to explore the underlying factor structure and condense the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the revised 14-item, 4-factor structure EUROIA instrument to evaluate the model fit. Data was obtained from adult participants with a diagnosis of chronic heart failure or advanced chronic kidney disease from 3 hospitals in Toronto, Canada.
Results
The revised 14-item EUROIA demonstrated 4 dimensions–Social Affiliation, fulfillment of Social Roles and Responsibilities, Self-Affirmation, and Eudaimonic Well-being–with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.83, representing good internal consistency. Our confirmatory factor analysis final model achieved good overall model fit: (χ² / df = 1.80; Tucker-Lewis index = 0.90; comparative fit index = 0.93; standardized root-mean-square residual = 0.06; root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.06). All items exhibited a factor loading greater than λ > 0.4 and p < 0.001.
Conclusion
The EUROIA holds clinical potential in its ability to provide informed feedback to patients on how they might maintain or modify their use of goal-directed activities to maintain and optimize perceived well-being.
... The Stoics, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius clearly distinguished our responsibility to be fully accountable for our own behavior from what they believed to be a fatalistic world where outcomes in life were a function of the "gods" or fate. Thus, in the context of uncertainty or a lack of controllability of outcomes, we are required to "do good and act in conformity with reason" ( [33] p. 127). In the worldview of the Stoics, probity is required and then one must let go of the outcomes. ...
Simple Summary
Palliative care focuses on relief from physical symptoms as well as from emotional, social and spiritual distress. This article promotes the importance of integrating psychosocial theories into standard palliative care to improve the quality of life of patients and carers. The psychosocial theories include the following: (1) Agency, which focuses on the empowerment of patients and carers to participate in palliative care and cope with the uncertainty of the outcome of the patient’s illness; (2) Optimal Matching, which focuses on the matching of the provision of supportive care with the needs of the patient and carer to improve the patient’s quality of life; and (3) Hope, which focuses on hoped-for outcomes throughout all aspects of palliative care. This theory-based integration may help patients, carers and healthcare providers to improve outcomes in terms of physical, emotional, social and spiritual quality of life as well as care planning.
Abstract
Palliative care improves patients’ symptoms, quality of life and family satisfaction with caregiving, reduces hospital admissions and promotes alignment of medical care with the patient’s needs and goals. This article proposes the utility of integrating three psychosocial theories into standard palliative care with implications for care planning, early palliative care and optimizing quality of life. First, Control Theory focuses on the complex juxtaposition of promoting agency/empowerment in patients and carers and coping with often highly uncertain outcomes. Second, Optimal Matching Theory accounts for the alignment of need and provision of care to potentiate the quality of life effects of supportive care in a complex social process involving health care providers, patients and carers. Third, Hope Theory represents a dynamic process, which is marked by variation in the qualities of hope as the patient and carer confront challenges during palliative care. Future work will be translational in nature to adapt both assessment and interventions based on this theoretically driven augmentation of palliative care as well as to evaluate whether it provides a conceptual framework that has incremental utility in palliative care planning.
... Granta Books. 284 Hadot, P. (2002). What is ancient philosophy? ...
Human development and change are always twofold: they include both
progress and regress, forward and backward going. However, generally,
development is assumed to progress towards higher and higher stages and
levels, and it is also assumed to be hierarchical, advancing gradually
towards the ‘better’. Wisdom is especially labelled as one of the highest
attainments of optimal human development – an ideal and the ultimate
goal of all development. However, these terms are not often analysed or
reflected further to understand their problems and hidden assumptions,
especially regarding unethical claims of ‘better’, ‘advanced’ and ‘more
developed’. From a certain viewpoint, these kinds of claims can be seen
as discriminative, even racial, and unjust, as seldom have the criteria of
ranking been explicated. Who determines which developmental level or
stage is considered better or more developed, and on what ideological,
worldview-based and axiological assumptions are such determinations
based?
... I den forbindelse er jeg faldet over John Deweys (2005; Pierre Hadot haevder ikke mindst, at den antikke filosofi er knyttet til en skelnen mellem filosofi som diskurs og filosofi som livsform (Hadot, 2002). Denne skelnen bygger Hadot primaert på sin fortolkning af Sokrates' filosofi, men også på flere af de øvrige antikke skoledannelser inden for filosofien, som har naert beslaegtede tanker, som isaer Epikuraeerne og Stoikerne. ...
... Consider in this context, for example, Pierre Hadot's work (Hadot 2002(Hadot [1981(Hadot ], 1995(Hadot , 2004, who did much to rekindle interest in past philosophy as a way of life containing spiritual exercises. However, Hadot began his intellectual career as a trainee priest and philologist, with an interest in forms of mysticism. ...
The contemporary relevance of unraveling the transformative power of philosophy lies in helping to secure its place in the academe and in enabling personal change for the benefit of the individual and the society in which we live. Yet formulating the transformative power of various philosophies, of different philosophic notions, and of philosophy itself as a rational discipline which addresses the mind leads to laying the ground for a new field. This is what I attempt to do on my own, yet briefly, in this article, and at length, with the help of others, in the Handbook for Transformative Philosophy. In the current article, I explain why only Eastern philosophies are usually considered transformative, I argue that Western philosophy is deeply transformative and I formulate that which performs in it the required transformation of the self. I further identify religious readings of philosophy as one impediment to experiencing philosophy’s transformative power, and I point to the ideal of personal philosophic redemption as a promising avenue for modern transformative philosophies.
... Most importantly, though, Philo's writings cannot be understood accurately when approached from a modern perspective that prioritises theoretical discourse and rational arguments over practice. Forger, building on Pierre Hadot (2002), states that ancient Greek philosophy must be understood as teaching for a way of being and becoming. In congruence with the Lived Theology paradigm, philosophy can be used to cultivate specific bodily practices as a way of life. ...
In this article, I show how a deeper understanding of Lived Theology can enrich discussions about historical dance practices. I elaborate on the teachings of Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BCE–50) and how his descriptions of dancing indicate that such practices may be understood as worship and contemplation. I further suggest that dancing in Philo’s texts, especially On the Contemplative Life, can be understood as an exegetical practice. I describe how a supersessionist logic insensitive to traditions of Lived Theology has operated in the theological discourse on Philo and thus has been unable to recognise these dimensions of the described dancing.
Contributions of Pierre Hadot pertaining to the notion of philosophy as a way of life have had a profound and enduring influence upon philosophical counselling theory and practice. Various philosophical counsellors, such as Robert Walsh and Arto Tukiainen, have embraced this imperative by living their philosophical counselling practice. Nonetheless, a prevailing trend among these practitioners lies in their exclusive reliance upon either the ancient Greek philosophical tradition as expounded by Hadot, or in their adaptation of contemporary Western philosophies. Regrettably, a conspicuous omission prevails with respect to the incorporation of contemporary African philosophies, notably their philosophical praxes as a way of life/living, within the discourse of contemporary philosophical counselling. The integration of African philosophies into the discourse of philosophical counselling literature holds significant promise, particularly concerning the potential to impact ways of living within a Southern African context. Within the wider landscape of contemporary African philosophy, certain authors have already conceptualised ubuntu philosophy as a way of life/living. This talk, notwithstanding, undertakes to introduce two different African philosophies, namely, hermeneutic African philosophy and conversational philosophy. A novel interpretation of these philosophies will be advanced, positioning them as praxes for philosophical counselling. Emphasis is placed on an interpretative actualisation in response to lived experiences, contextualised within a conversational framework. The implications for philosophical counselling are threefold: firstly, the disclosing of alternative ways of life/living and being/becoming, along with the creation of new concepts; secondly, a profound accentuation of the relational dimension in philosophical counselling, underscored by the notion of collaborative philosophising that emerges from the dynamic interaction between the philosophical counsellor and the counselee; thirdly, a reworked understanding of philosophical counselling that moves beyond methodological constraints while embracing the transformative potential of reflective, creative, and critical conversations.
Kierkegaard's lifelong fascination with the figure of Socrates has many aspects, but prominent among them is his admiration for the way Socrates was devoted to his divinely ordained mission as a philosopher. To have such a destiny, revealed through what one loves and is passionate about as well as through a feeling of vocation, is a necessary condition of leading a meaningful life, according to Kierkegaard. Examining what Kierkegaard has to say about the meaning of life requires looking at his conception of 'subjective truth,' as well as how he understands the ancient ideal of 'amor fati,' a notion that Nietzsche would subsequently take up, but that Kierkegaard understands in a manner that is distinctly his own, and that he sought to put into practice in his own existence. Our life is a work of art, but we are not the artist.
The article proposes to analyze the paradigms of practical philosophy in the context of five general paradigms of philosophizing, namely traditional Indian (with its ascending ideas of cyclicity, rebirth, samsara, liberation-moksha), traditional Chinese (with its organismism, the idea that the universe is something like a single organism, within which people and other living beings perform the role of organs), Ancient Greek and Roman (which is interpreted according to the ideas of Pierre Hadot as the practical art of avoiding suffering and achieving happiness), Abrahamic (paradigms of the worldview of Abrahamic religions with their monotheism, fideism, creationism, authority of scriptures) and Modern scientific peredigm (with its reliance on a scientific worldview). It is shown how the relationship between ontology and axiology works within these paradigms, how the first of them determines the second; as well as how they are determined by the specified worldview paradigms. In particular, it is demonstrated how the caste system and widespread culture of meditative psychotechniques in Indian culture influenced the system of traditional Indian worldview and values; as well as the mutual influence that worldview organismism and the clan system of traditional Chinese society exerted on each other. The paradigmatic development of the Western philosophical tradition is also shown through the successive change of three different paradigms – Ancient Greek and Roman, Abrahamic and Modern scientific, which, relying on each other's achievements, nevertheless completely reinterpreted them in a new context. This point is not always visible if limited to the framework of a purely Western tradition (even including Eastern Muslim philosophy). But if we add here the Indian and Chinese paradigms, then everything falls into place. That is as a conclusion: within the framework of different cultures, there are corresponding worldview paradigms or sets of dominant ideas that determine the general nature of culture as a set of semantic codes, and within these paradigms, appropriate populations of philosophical ideas are already developing. Their character, acceptability or unacceptability is determined precisely by the paradigm.
As the first Muslim philosopher, Al-Kindi developed a philosophical framework based on his monotheistic perspective, as evidenced by his surviving treatises. Although his philosophical system is eclectic, its religious framework clearly distinguishes it from his non-Muslim predecessors. This distinction becomes more apparent in his practical treatise on coping with sorrows. It seems that Al-Kindi's philosophy can be considered a model of philosophy as a way of life. In the concept of philosophy as a way of life, pioneered by the French philosopher Pierre Hadot, a distinctive understanding of ancient philosophy is provided. This understanding can also be applied to the study of philosophy in the Islamic world. By examining Al-Kindi's philosophical system through Hadot's perspective, a different understanding than previously thought may emerge. This research aims to analyze aspects of Al-Kindi's way of life influenced by his monotheistic view, with a focus on his treatise. Initially, we will provide a brief overview of philosophy as a way of life and Stoic thought to revisit the ultimate goal of philosophy according to Al-Kindi. In the light of Hadot's approach, we will analyze the similarities between Al-Kindi's treatise and Stoic thought and then demonstrate that our approach to the fundamental difference in Al-Kindi's response to sorrow from the Stoics is based on his way of life.
What does it mean to be a female philosopher in late antiquity? This is the question that concerns us in this study and which I try to solve by referring to two personalities from Alexandria (IV-V century): St. Catherine and Hypatia. Although they are very well known, both in the Christian environment and in the world of profane sciences and the arts, the two philosophers from Alexandria share a common destiny: their works have not been preserved, although their fame has reached today; they were rather seen as exceptions of the female gender, with implicit misogyny, and had a violent end. Being a female philosopher, even in the emancipated Alexandria of late antiquity, was a risky undertaking.
In the Symposium, Plato presents six speakers praising the god Eros and his impact on human life. In this essay, I propose that each speaker describes a particular model of erastēs or erōmenos, which directly corresponds to the speaker’s own social status and is present in Athens of the Vth and IVth B.C. At the banquet an unofficial contest unfolds among the speakers regarding the most prominent and superior model of erastēs in classical Athens. In Socrates’ speech, Plato introduces a new model of erastēs in the city, the philosopher-erastēs. Plato intends to demonstrate the superiority of the philosopher-erastēs in comparison to the other models of erastēs. As it becomes evident in Alcibiades’ speech, Socrates himself is the philosopher-erastēs in the city, who surpasses the other models of erastēs by implanting aporia in the Athenian people and leading them to self-consciousness through his philosophical logoi. In the conclusion of my essay, I argue that Plato’s intention in the Symposium is to present Socrates as the embodiment of Eros, who turns everyone into a lover of true Beauty and redirects them to their inner self.
Only relatively recently have researchers begun to speak more loudly about how studies on the Second Sophistic overlook Christian (and Jewish) literature. On the other hand, studies on early Christianity in turn view the Second Sophistic as an exclusively rhetorical movement. The aim of the article’s author is to look at Justin, a Christian philosopher, in the context of the Second Sophistic. The paper first discusses the Second Sophistic as a rhetorical, cultural, and sociopolitical movement. The article distinguishes between two groups of educated people of that time: philosophers and rhetoricians-sophists and discusses their distinguishing features. This study examines the influence of the Second Sophistic on philosophical discourse and the tension between rhetoric and philosophy. The author of the article also analyzes Justin Martyr’s self-representation techniques and participation in rhetorical and philosophical disputes, conflicts with contemporaries, and strategies for presenting Christian teachings. Finally, it is concluded that although Justin can be seen as one of the representatives of the Second Sophistic, his main goal was to proclaim the Christian message, which only further strengthens his role as an apologist.
Reseña de Daniel Loewe del libro Liberalism as a Way of Life, de Alexandre Lefebvre. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2024.
In Dawn [D] Nietzsche claims “We are experiments [Experimente]: let us also want to be such!” (D 453). In this chapter, I address the question of what, for Nietzsche, it means to be an experiment. I argue that Nietzsche advocates that we take up an experimental method at an existential level. This method combines experiments in philosophy and knowledge seeking with experiments in living. Bamford has previously explored Nietzsche’s “experimentalism” as she terms it in relation to the practice of a new ethics, in which experimentalism is itself a form of virtue (Bamford 2016, p. 15). To practise a new ethics is a form of experimenting in how we live. And Bamford also notes the importance of experimentalism to Nietzsche’s method of knowledge. Further, Ansell-Pearson and Bamford more recently suggested that experimentation as a means to knowing can be partly achieved through “ways of living” (Ansell-Pearson and Bamford 2020, p. 89). I use Hadot’s concept of philosophy as a way of life to further elucidate how these two aspects, experimenting in knowledge and experimenting in life, are inseparable (Hadot 1995, p. 265). It is only by breaking certain habits, evaluative judgements, and ways of feeling that we can reach a new understanding of the world, and this requires active practice and effort. Doing philosophy thus involves taking up certain practices and even living differently. On this understanding philosophy is potentially transformative of how we live and who we are.
This article explores the specific role of courage in the context of the Anthropocene’s moment; it first examines Aristotle’s conception of virtues, focusing on courage, before comparing it to Confucian thought and analyzing the historical dialogue between Western and Chinese traditions on ethics through the works of François Noël (1651–1729). Aristotle views moral cultivation as a social process wherein habits shape inner dispositions; in his view, courage is linked to other virtues, such as temperance and justice. For Aristotle, courage implies the appropriate balance between extremes and must be directed toward a worthy end, such as promoting positive change within a community. This Aristotelian perspective was later incorporated into a biblical framework by Aquinas and Suarez, emphasizing dichotomies between body and soul, as well as between humans and other living beings. These dichotomies must be challenged in the face of the Anthropocene’s emergencies. The second part of this contribution proceeds to a detour examining Confucian ethics, which rests on a different anthropology, emphasizing continuities rather than discontinuities. Like Aristotelian thought, Confucian thought also underscores moral education within a community; it prioritizes humanity, embodied through empathy and loyalty. In the Analects, courage is balanced by a sense of rituals and righteousness. Mencius further distinguishes several types of courage, stressing self-cultivation and the ruler’s responsibility to make empathetic, appropriate decisions for the community’s sake. From this perspective, courage is understood as the continuous perseverance in self-cultivation, coupled with a firm intention oriented toward the good of the community. Zhu Xi’s comments on Zilu’s courage in the Analects extend this Confucian tradition. Finally, this article highlights how a dialogue between Aristotelian and Confucian ethics began four centuries ago, particularly through Noël’s Philosophia Sinica, which combined these traditions. This inter-religious approach to ethics, enriched by figures such as Aquinas, Suarez, Zhu Xi, and neo-Confucian thinkers, requires re-evaluation because the understanding of personal ethics and nature has evolved. The modern naturalistic approach, with its emphasis on dichotomies, has contributed to a mechanistic view of nature, fostering its exploitation, and a devaluation of the body. This contrast highlights the urgent need for renewed dialogue between Western and Chinese ethical traditions to address contemporary challenges, with François Noël serving as a historical witness of these exchanges.
Background. Forgetting the problems of being, erasing the idea of being from the worldview of contemporary humans, and focusing on individualistic and hedonistic practices lead to the narrowing of the personality's fullness, dehumanization of its moral and spiritual dimension, and alienation from one's own essence. The ontological turn of thinking, turn to its essential foundations, will allow finding a reliable foundation for a moral culture shaken by skepticism and nihilism, and making an existential turn in search of a person's lost essence. The article is aimed to study the ontological foundations of moral culture. The task of the article's first part is to investigate the ontological framework of moral culture – its fundamental axes; the task of the article's second part is to analyze the moral concepts of freedom, conscience, dignity, and equality through the prism of the ontological framework. Methods. The article uses a historical-philosophical and comparative method, as well as methods of genealogy and hermeneutic methods of interpretation. The general research paradigm is the transcendental anti-positivist tradition of philosophizing. Results. It is argued that the parameters of reality and its internal structure are determined by the ontological framework, namely the axes of sacred and profane, single and multiple, phenomenal and essential (proper). The fundamental connection between the ethical and the ontological, in which human existence is always a moral existence, is emphasized. Moral culture, our ideas about good and evil depend on our understanding of existence. Moral concepts are ontological – point to an objective valuable reality, "material a priori". It is noted that ontological dignity includes formal and material (content) aspects, assuming the existence of ontological equality of all people, ontological freedom and ontological conscience. Conclusions. The vision of existence as a sacred gift enables the ontological dignity of a person, that is, his non-alienated transcendental self-being. The vision of the sacred gift of being in the unity of diversity, in turn, implies the vision of the ontological equality of all people, who, being different, are simultaneously equal as they are all gifted with being. The ontological equality of people requires a certain "common denominator" of humanity, which may vary depending on the chosen paradigm. A meaningful expression of ontological dignity is ontological freedom, which consists of a person's ability to say a transcendental "yes" or "no" to the world, and to choose between being-centric and egocentric modes of existence. Awareness of the two poles of existence – the essential and the phenomenal – gives rise to an ontological conscience: an individual's anxiety about the authenticity of one's own existence and guilt for not being oneself.
It seems more than obvious that any of our thinking about leaders and leadership is conditioned by several factors, of which perhaps the most important role is played by the passage of time, our current level of knowledge and previous experiences. In the light of these facts, it is understandable that today we perceive the leader, leaders and leadership differently than, for example, a hundred years ago. With all this, however, there is an immediate danger that we will literally be overwhelmed by information and knowledge, and instead of facilitating and simplifying the solution of leadership problems, we will literally drown in the flood of constantly increasing knowledge and the given issue.
This article represents an attempt to draw attention to the practical ways in which you can teach students how to theorize in sociology; and it does so in the form of a personal memoir. By theorizing is approximately meant the actual and practical use of theory in the research process. The purpose of the course in theorizing that I have been teaching since 2010 is to complement traditional courses in theory, in which the students learn the content of theory but not how to use it in a practical way. The article describes how the course in theorizing that I teach is structured. A central message is that exercises represent a powerful method for teaching students how to theorize; and that these should preferably draw on empirical material that the students themselves collect. Given the current lack of literature on how to teach theorizing in sociology, it is hoped that this text can inspire other sociologists to start teaching courses on this topic.
Michele Ruggieri (1543–1607) was the first Westerner officially approved to reside in China. He promoted Chinese and Western cultural exchange, and he was especially noted for facilitating dialogue between Confucianism and Catholicism. His writings had an important impact in both China and Europe. During his sojourn preaching in China, Ruggieri not only wrote the Tianzhu shilu—the first catechism written in Chinese—but he was also the first Westerner to translate the Four Books into Western language and introduce them to Europe. Based on Ruggieri’s two translations of the Four Books—one translation into Spanish, and one into Latin—this article analyzes Ruggieri’s views of Confucius. In his translations, Ruggieri identified Confucius as a philosopher and a shengren, or saint, and he highlighted the status of Confucius in the Four Books. After analyzing Ruggieri’s treatments of Confucian concepts, this article discusses how Ruggieri’s translations imply that Confucianism had both rational and religious dimensions. After Ruggieri, other Jesuits who came to China gradually turned to emphasizing the rational aspects of Confucianism.
Rethinking the powers of the imagination, Søren Kierkegaard both anticipates and challenges contemporary approaches to a descriptive philosophy of religion. In contrast to the reigning approaches to religion in his day, Kierkegaard reconceives philosophy as, first of all, descriptive of human, including specifically ethical and religious, existence. To this end, he develops conceptual tools, including a descriptive ontology of human existence, a “pluralist epistemology” exploring both cognitive and passional dimensions of religion, and a role for the poetic in philosophy, strikingly expressed in his observer figures who “imaginatively construct” “thought projects” to explore human existence. While this new descriptive account anticipates subsequent approaches to the philosophy of religion, it could be interpreted as another “objectivist” endeavor, yet Kierkegaard attempts more in this descriptive philosophy. He imaginatively deploys conceptual and rhetorical strategies maieutically to both describe and elicit self-reflection aimed at transformation, thus expanding the imagination’s uses for his readers. Comparing Kierkegaard to Pierre Hadot’s recovery of ancient Greek philosophy as “a way of life” will show how Kierkegaard also engages the particularity of “the Christian principle”, with implications for how philosophy can both describe and elicit the pathos of other religious traditions as well.
Many philosophers in the ancient world shared a unitary vision of philosophy – meaning 'love of wisdom' – not just as a theoretical discipline, but as a way of life. Specifically, for the late Neoplatonic thinkers, philosophy began with self-knowledge, which led to a person's inner conversion or transformation into a lover, a human being erotically striving toward the totality of the real. This metamorphosis amounted to a complete existential conversion. It was initiated by learned guides who cultivated higher and higher levels of virtue in their students, leading, in the end, to their vision of the Good, or the One. In this book, James M. Ambury closely analyses two central texts in this tradition: the commentaries by Proclus (412–485 AD) and Olympiodorus (495–560 AD) on the Platonic Alcibiades I. Ambury's powerful study illuminates the way philosophy was conceived during a crucial period of its history, in the lecture halls of late antiquity.
Augustine’s sermons on the Psalms of Ascent, part of the Enarrationes in Psalmos, are a unique entry in the venerable tradition of those writings that aim to help us ascend to a higher reality. These sermons transform the ascent genre by giving, in the place of the Platonic account of ascent, a Christian ascent narrative with a Trinitarian structure. Not just the individual ascends, but the community that is the church, the body of Christ, also ascends. The ascent is up to God, the Idipsum or the Selfsame, the ultimate reality, confessed by the church as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Through the grace of the Incarnation, God the Son enables us to ascend, making himself the way of ascent from the humility we must imitate at the beginning of the ascent all the way up to Heaven, where he retains his identity as Idipsum. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit works in the ascending church to convert our hearts to the love of God and neighbor. I review the Platonic ascent tradition in Plato’s Republic and Plotinus’ Enneads; overview ascent in some of Augustine’s earlier writings; introduce the narrative setting of the sermons on the Psalms of Ascent; and analyze the Trinitarian structure of their ascent narrative. I close with some reflections on the difference between a preached Trinitarianism that encourages ascent and a more academic effort to understand God such as we find in Augustine’s de Trinitate.
Paul’s address to the ekklesia in Philippi evidences an ideological conflict within the community. The letter encourages the community to persevere in a prescribed philosophy while simultaneously recognizing the presence of “opponents” (Phil 1:28) and “enemies” (Phil 3:18) against whom the community must “stand firm” (Phil 4:1). Building on Pierre Hadot’s work in identifying ancient philosophy as a “way of life”, this article examines the nature of this ideological conflict by reading Philippians in light of the conventions of ancient philosophical dialogue. While the letter does not take the strict literary structure of a formal dialogue, it can rightly be understood as a philosophical text that is engaging in a critical conversation about competing philosophical “ways of life”. In this philosophical dialogue, Paul critiques the alternative way of life on offer to the Philippian ekklesia by portraying it as an insufficient way of life that will lead to destruction. He simultaneously presents his own philosophy as the one that is consistent with the appropriate “goal,” the right “mind,” and a consistent “way of life” that will help the community attain their ultimate telos.
Овај рад испитује улогу уметности у Платоновом моделу образовања. Упоређујемо древни атински модел образовања са Платоновим иновацијама са нагласком на тежњи за врлинама и улогом филозофа-просветитеља. Истражује се Платонова филозофија уметности, концепт мимезиса и његове моралне импликације, као и значај уметничког образовања у развоју врлина, цензуре и интеграције у шири наставни план и програм. Разговара се и о моралној одговорности уметника и односу према држави, као и о потенцијалу за уметничку реформу. На крају, чланак критикује Платонове идеје о санкционисању уметности, укључујући утицај цензуре и савремених перспектива на моралне и етичке импликације уметности.
The Cambridge Critical Guide to Latin Literature offers a critical overview of work on Latin literature. Where are we? How did we get here? Where to next? Fifteen commissioned chapters, along with an extensive introduction and Mary Beard's postscript, approach these questions from a range of angles. They aim not to codify the field, but to give snapshots of the discipline from different perspectives, and to offer provocations for future development. The Critical Guide aims to stimulate reflection on how we engage with Latin literature. Texts, tools and territories are the three areas of focus. The Guide situates the study of classical Latin literature within its global context from late antiquity to Neo-Latin, moving away from an exclusive focus on the pre-200 CE corpus. It recalibrates links with adjoining disciplines (history, philosophy, material culture, linguistics, political thought, Greek), and takes a fresh look at key tools (editing, reception, intertextuality, theory).
Knowledge and awareness do not seem to be enough for there to be a genuine change in human activities causing climate change. Certainly, more is done now than before, but it is still not enough. In this chapter, with climate change and its effects as the backdrop, I explore what might help in turning knowledge into action. In addition to knowledge, one also needs certain beliefs and motivation. One needs to believe that the future is not fully determined: action now can change the future. I link motivation with beliefs, and how even minimalist political communities ‘educate’ its members on how they ought to live. Thus, it makes sense to consider what kinds of beliefs about living well communities might wish to promote. This leads me to Aristotelian virtues that are socially learned and exercised. In Aristotelian thinking, happiness may be achieved by living and acting well. And the pursuit of happiness ought to be a powerful motivator for action. Yet, an Aristotelian understanding of happiness underlines happiness as a life project, which is (ultimately) what we need to consider regarding sufficiently effective action concerning climate change.
Bringing together leading international and interdisciplinary scholars, this ground-breaking volume examines the theory and practice of philosophical health in contemporary contexts of care, from therapy to convalescence.
But what do we mean by philosophical health? Are you philosophically healthy? Whilst this book does not seek to provide a normative definition, as it explores and encourages pluralism in philosophical ways of life, philosophical health is beyond physical and psychological health. One may envision philosophical health as a state of creative coherence between a person’s way of thinking and their way of acting, such that the possibilities for a good life are increased, and the needs for flourishing satisfied.
An idea central to philosophical health is the concept of ‘possibility’. After all, without a sense of self-possibility and openness to the future, health loses meaning, and conversely, pathologies are defined by various kinds of impossibilities. As such, philosophical health reconsiders care as a process of cultivating or pruning the possible in embodied, psychological, and social terms, of allowing things to take a new turn, to re-generate, or in some cases to vanish.
Drawing on the history of philosophy, from the ancient concept of flourishing to figures such as Kant, Nietzsche, Foucault, and Hadot, Philosophical Health sheds light on the understudied philosophical dimension of care and the healing dimension of philosophizing. Advocating philosophy as a lived practice, it uncovers the increasing relevance of philosophical health to contemporary debates on well-being, counselling, and personal development.
Human life ends with death, but not necessarily in all its forms. In the paper, I recall two basic ways in which it does not end and discuss in detail one in particular which persists in the further development of the projects, ideas and events which the dead person was identified with during his lifetime. I then show how this possible form of afterlife is ambivalently present in Patočka’s thought: Patočka specifies that what we have after death is a metaphysical quality of the dead, while on the other hand he calls for the interpretative decipherment of the life of the dead, that is, against an unchanging core of the deceased (a metaphysical essence), he acknowledges an interpretation that implies the possible change or development of the dead person. In the next section, I support the discussion of the form of postmortal life by mentioning a sketch of the concept of man in process philosophy and ancient Greek thought (using an interpretation advocated by Patočka himself). Finally, I revisit some death-related motifs in Patočka’s Heretical Essays, with the help of Jacques Derrida’s interpretation of these essays.
The paper delves into the methodological aspects of how foundational mathematical and physical tenets, most notably the principle of least action, are interpreted and assimilated within humanities discourse. The pursuit of the article’s objectives is driven by the necessity for a philosophical and methodological analysis of the current conceptual status of the principle of least action. This analysis is informed by cognitive-axiological and teleological imperatives of a “synthetic” development program for the principle. Any fundamental principle will not have a definitive explanation, as otherwise it would not be fundamental, but in this case, some justification can be given based on deeper grounds discussed in the article. Drawing on the epistemological frameworks of French philosophers P. Hadot, E. Levinas, J. Bouveresse, and J.-T. Desanti, the article weaves together mathematical abstractions with human experience and philosophical doctrines with physical theories. J.-T. Desanti’s perspective on mathematical objects as an outcome of human activity is examined. Also scrutinized is B. Nicolescu’s concept of transdisciplinarity, which challenges the traditional subject-object dualism in science. The author’s methodological stance emerges from a dialectical viewpoint, one that eschews a simplistic dichotomy between materialism and idealism and is grounded in rigorous scientific inquiry and an exhaustive examination of the subject matter itself. The principle of least action, as a paramount principle in physics, is shown to exemplify a legacy of innovation, positioning it as both methodologically insightful and heuristically valuable. The paper also highlights how this principle diverges from the classical principle of economy. The broader goal – within the context of “sustainable development,” transdisciplinary studies, and creative industries – is to establish the principle of least action as a paradigmatic imperative for interaction within social and economic systems. The conclusions drawn from this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the principle’s essence, the nature of transdisciplinarity, and confront the vestiges of scientism in the humanities.
Niniejszy artykuł proponuje rewizję koncepcji zaproponowanej przez Josepha Ratzingera, którą pierwszy raz sformułował podczas wykładu wygłoszonego w 1959 roku. Teolog z Ratyzbony bronił w nim pojęcia teologii naturalnej przed radykalnym jej odrzuceniem dokonanym w kręgu teologów dialektycznych, a szczególnie przez Emila Brunnera. Choć odrzucenie tez owych teologów jest całkowicie słuszne, to problematyczne pozostaje traktowanie Boga filozofów jako czystej myśli (reines Denken). Artykuł niniejszy wykazuje, że Bóg filozofów starożytnych nie może być tak postrzegany, bo taka wizja opiera się na kategoriach filozofii nowożytnej i współczesnej. Zaproponowane ujęcie Boga filozofów pozwala na odrzucenie tez teologów protestanckich w nowy sposób, przy jednoczesnym przyznaniu im racji co do idei Boga w filozofii nowożytnej i współczesnej jako antropomorficznego bożka.
En este ensayo abordo la cuestión metafilosófica del concepto de filosofía política. Tras el análisis de algunas alternativas, reconstruyo críticamente la estrategia de conceptualización de Leo Strauss para mostrar su potencial heurístico en el desarrollo de una tipología de la filosofía política. El ensayo se dividirá en tres partes: primero, expongo el problema y analizo algunas alternativas que considero insuficientes para tratar de definir la filosofía política; después, presento la estrategia straussiana de conceptualizarla a partir de la interpretación del significado original de la philosophia; al final, analizo cuatro tipos de filosofía política que identifico en la obra de Strauss y propongo otros dos que se fundamentan en sus propios supuestos. Concluyo señalando la utilidad de esas acepciones como modelos conceptuales para la interpretación, la consideración y la orientación de una filosofía política.
Although Krishnamurti did not recognize this reality, there is a distinctive and unparalleled method behind his explicit dialogue form. This method, whose existence has evaded Krishnamurti’s followers and scholars alike, is, I argue, as innovative as what has become widely known as the Socratic method. For this reason, I refer to it as the Krishnamurti dialogue, notwithstanding the fact that this term does not exist elsewhere. I start by introducing the way that Krishnamurti began, quite unintentionally, to develop his dialogical method together with some of his closest students. I extricate from these spontaneous group discussions the major tools and purposes of the Krishnamurti dialogue, which were evident even in those early days of hesitant manifestation. This is followed by analyses of recurring structures in two sample dialogues, from which I deduce the major components of Krishnamurti’s method. Most of my attention is devoted to what I deem his two most revolutionary tools of investigation: an unconventional use of questions and an innovative employment of the mystical principle of negation, or the via negativa. By placing these two tools in broader philosophical and mystical contexts, I highlight the uniqueness of Krishnamurti’s approach. Last, I conclude by evaluating the purposes of this method and the different ways that this dialogue form served to realize Krishnamurti’s goals as a teacher and a mystic. In addition, I identify the type of this dialogical method within the framework of the transformative dialogue.
This chapter discusses post-philosophical approaches to (the) art(s). Art of the second half of the 20th Century provided post-philosophers with models for creativity that can alleviate the dehumanizing effects of late capitalism. Following the lead of contemporary artists, some post-philosophers turned to aesthetics as the measure of the workability of their ideas. Joseph Margolis’ criticism of Arthur Danto reveals that there is a cultural naturalist alternative to both modern and postmodern accounts of art’s significance. Margolis also provides a link between the philosophy of art and educational philosophy. The chapter also discusses post-post-philosophical approaches to (the) art(s) and culture, focusing specifically on metamodernism, which is examined both as an artistic-aesthetic sensibility and a philosophical movement. This exploration leads to a discussion of the possibilities of constructing a post-postmodern art(s) education philosophy for the needs of late modernity.
This chapter examines the role of oneness in today’s business world both as a philosophical and a psychological resource. Oneness from a philosophical perspective center around being the confluence point that bridges the Eastern and the Western world both as an idea and a practice. From a WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) and non-WEIRD paradigm perspectives, approaches to self differ along the lines of “individual needs, societal order, self-regulation and moral codes”. More importantly, non-WEIRD approaches to self connote an expansive version of the self which is congruent with the Oneness hypothesis. As an idea to be employed in the self–other interaction practices, oneness could be a possible area of exploration and application as well. Oneness as a psychological resource concentrates on “consciousness” which could be experienced and cultivated “within” and “between”. While the world of any two entities seemingly may appear as separate, at any level of existence be it personal, organizational, or cultural, if consciousness could be developed in both an intrapersonal and interpersonal capacity, the possibilities of co-existence therefore co-creation could definitely be discovered. On a practical level, many tools could be used to enhance our consciousness capacity both within and between the world of business organizations. Those tools were presented as mindfulness practice, appreciative inquiry, role-plays and AI/VR technologies.
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