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Massimo Pigliucci is an evolutionary biologist and professor of philosophy at the City University of New York. He has played an important role in the popularization of a modern Stoicism in recent years (see his useful collection of materials for practicing Stoicism on his blog).
While some of the renewed interested in Stoicism, like Buddhism, has a somewhat commercial flavor, I for one think this is a very good development. (more…)
Augustus as Pontifex Maximus
Augustus as Pontifex Maximus
1,847 words
As (post-)Christian moderns, we are twice handicapped in trying to understand the religions of the ancient pagan states such as Sparta and Rome. Where we tend to think of religious belief as universalistic, other-worldly, monolatrous, and dogmatic, ancient paganism was particularistic, world-embracing, polytheistic (almost ecumenical), and non-dogmatic (but ritualistic). (more…)
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Ancient philosophy, as Pierre Hadot has argued, was not merely a set of ideas but meant to include something far more practical: the leading of a good life in the pursuit of truth. (more…)
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I was recently reading the Discourses of the Stoic philosopher Epictetus (c. 55-135 AD). These recordings of Epictetus’ teachings are a very fine work: one really feels as though one is in the early Roman Empire, at Epictetus’ school, and the master is speaking to us directly, in a very practical way. (more…)
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Cultural hygiene is a must. Every day, you must try to consume culture that is educational, that elevates your soul, but also culture which puts you in sync with your society. That is a tough dilemma.
Thus, I am on the lookout for old, good films. Generally speaking, older is better.
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) is an amusing epic, especially if you can enjoy the Sixties kitsch. The film is attractive in that it does try to show some aspects of Roman life which most films ignore: the animal sacrifices for omens, the Roman saluting, the enthusiastic “Hails Caesars.” (more…)
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Suffrage should be granted to married fathers and mothers with children, who are not social misfits. For these have shown responsibility, have rendered service to the community by perpetuating its lineage, and have a stake in its future.
Perhaps suffrage should be proportional to the number of children raised.
1,276 words
Frederick the Great
De la littérature allemande, des défauts qu’on peut lui reprocher, quelles en sont les causes, et par quels moyens on peut les corriger (1780), http://friedrich.uni-trier.de/fr/oeuvres/7/103/page/
Frederick the Great is an awkward figure for German patriots in certain respects. Politically, he was in no ways a German nationalist, (more…)
Leonardo da Vinci, Study for the Battle of Anghiari
Leonardo da Vinci, Study for the Battle of Anghiari
2,069 words
Anyone who studies the thought and ways of life of our ancestors can only be struck by their manly vigor and toughness. Material comfort and mass miseducation have taken their toll on modern Western man, turning him, with every generation, into a more and more effeminate creature. The ancients knew that without manly courage, political and personal freedom is impossible. One will not take the inevitable risks of living the truth without courage. (more…)
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Today, Western liberals are ambivalent about Plato. On the one hand, liberals claim they are the heirs of Greco-Roman civilization and philosophy (more…)
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Sayings of the Buddha
Rupert Gethin, translator
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008
Anyone who wishes to promote certain values is faced with the challenge of how to maintain those values over time: throughout one’s life, from one generation to the next, and across the centuries. A people’s adherence to values is likely to wane over time, overcome by lower drives, such as the desires for material comfort and personal self-indulgence. (more…)
An East German soldier guards Clausewitz’s grave in the 1980s.
An East German soldier guards Clausewitz’s grave in the 1980s.
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Part 4 of 4 (Part One here; Part Two here; Part Three here)
Conclusion: Freedom or Death
After his death, Clausewitz had a public destiny rare for generals, let alone theorists. He was not only enthusiastically celebrated in the Third Reich, a regime firmly dedicated to many of the Prussian virtues, but, for better and for worse, his words proved to be of foundational importance for Hitler and his own life’s work. (more…)
Allegedly the last photo ever taken of Hitler, in the ruins of the Reich Chancellery, April 1945.
Allegedly the last photo ever taken of Hitler, in the ruins of the Reich Chancellery, April 1945.
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Part 3 of 4 (Part One here; Part Two here)
Hitler & the Bekenntnis: A Mantra of Resistance & Renewal
Perhaps more significant still than Hitler’s use of the Formule, is his citing of Clausewitz to assert the ethical validity of resistance at any price, even doomed resistance. (more…)
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Part 2 of 4 (Part One here)
Clausewitz in the Third Reich I: A National Hero
Clausewitz’s presence in this period of German history cannot be reduced to Hitler. As a Prussian patriot and the preeminent theorist of modern war, Clausewitz was unsurprisingly enthusiastically celebrated in the Third Reich. (more…)