The Art of Living
The Art of Living: The Stoics on the Nature and Function of Philosophy, Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003)
Second Edition, Bristol Classical Paperbacks (London: Duckworth, 2009) - reprinted 2011, now with Bloomsbury Academic Blurb for 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? 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. Reviews of First Edition: 'lucid and well-documented [...] a useful contribution to the expanding body of new work on Hellenistic-Roman – especially Stoic practical ethics' (Phronesis 50/2 (2005), 173) 'sheds new light on the way philosophy was conceived [...] rekindles the crucial question of how we should understand and practise philosophy' (Rhizai 2/1 (2005), 129) (See also Ancient Philosophy 26/1 (2006), 216-20; Philosophie antique 6 (2006), 223-26; Practical Philosophy 8/1 (2006), 61-2; Classical Review 56/1 (2006), 81-2) Reviews of Second Edition: 'Duckworth and their imprint Bristol Classical Press must be praised for their excellent decision to embrace this book and include it in their list' (Journal of Hellenic Religion 3 (2009-10)) [online here] 'Sellars' The Art of Living can be considered a very important contribution to ancient philosophy scholarship – a text that will probably be regarded as a classic in years to come.' (Foucault Studies 9 (Sept. 2010)) [online here] |
The Art of Living 2nd edn
The Art of Living 1st edn
|
