Epictetus.
1,447 words
Philosophy is a subject that never really sparked my interest. While I understand that philosophy is important to living a virtuous life, I simply think that virtue and morality are useless if you are forced to live around people that do not share your same morals and virtues. This is the situation that white people are now facing in our own countries. (more…)
1,040 words
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…)
1,030 words
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…)
1,138 words
English original here
Pierre Hadot
Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault
Ed. Arnold I. Davidson, trans. Michael Chase
Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 1995
El tema de Pierre Hadot es extenso. Él presenta una nueva forma de entender la naturaleza de la filosofía antigua y cómo deberíamos leerla. (more…)
1,063 words
Spanish translation here
Pierre Hadot
Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault
Ed. Arnold I. Davidson, trans. Michael Chase
Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 1995
Pierre Hadot’s topic is sweeping. He presents a new understanding of the nature of ancient philosophy and how we should read it. (more…)
Aristoteles vor der Universität von Thessaloniki, Griechenland.
3,006 words
Übersetzt von Deep Roots
English original here
In einem früheren Essay teilte ich zehn Aphorismen aus „meinem Kodex“ mit. Falls euch dieser Essay entgangen ist, sage ich nur, daß ich vor ein paar Jahren beschloß, einen Kodex zu erstellen, um danach zu leben. Wie die meisten Dinge, die ich tue, verwandelte sich das in ein größeres Projekt, und ich sammelte schließlich Nuggets „praktischer Weisheit“ aus allen möglichen Quellen: Aristoteles, die Stoiker und Epikureer, die Eddas und Sagas, (more…)
Peter Paul Rubens: „Die vier Philosophen“, mit einer Büste von Seneca, 1611-1612
3,851 words
Übersetzt von Deep Roots
English original here
Vor ein paar Jahren entschied ich, daß ich einen Kodex brauchte, um danach zu leben: eine Reihe von Prinzipien, die mein Leben leiten. Nun, es ist nicht so, als hätte ich nicht bereits einige Prinzipien entdeckt, die mir als richtig erschienen; es war nicht so, als ob ich im Blindflug unterwegs gewesen wäre, ohne irgendwelche Überzeugungen. Aber ich hatte mich nie hingesetzt und darüber nachgedacht, woraus genau mein „Kodex“ bestand, und das alles zu Papier gebracht. (more…)
2,926 words
In an earlier essay, I shared ten aphorisms from “my code.” In case you missed that essay, I will just say that a few years ago I decided to establish a code to live by. Like most of the things I do, this turned into a major project and I wound up gathering nuggets of “practical knowledge” from all manner of sources: Aristotle, the Stoics and Epicureans, the Eddas and Sagas, medieval Chivalry, Japanese Bushido, Tyler Durden, G. I. Gurdjieff, and even Indian Shaivism. (more…)
Epictetus
47:19 / 144 words
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Beginning in August of 1999, I gave a series of eight lectures on “The Pursuit of Happiness: Philosophies East and West,” dealing with different conceptions of the good life. (more…)
Peter Paul Rubens, “The Four Philosophers,” with a bust of Seneca, 1611-1612
3,739 words
German translation here
A few years ago, I decided I needed a code to live by: a set of principles to guide my life. Now, it’s not as if I hadn’t already discovered some principles that seemed right to me; it wasn’t as if I was flying blind, without any convictions. But I had never sat down and reflected on exactly what my “code” consisted in, and put it all on paper. So, I decided one day to do just that.
