Reading Seneca: Stoic Philosophy at Rome
- ISBN-10
- 0191530603
- ISBN-13
- 9780191530609
- Category
- Philosophy
- Pages
- 396
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2005-06-16
- Publisher
- OUP Oxford
- Author
- Brad Inwood
Description
Brad Inwood presents a selection of his most influential essays on the philosophy of Seneca, the Roman Stoic thinker, statesman, and tragedian of the first century AD. Including two brand-new pieces, and a helpful introduction to orient the reader, this volume will be an essential guide for anyone seeking to understand Seneca's fertile, wide-ranging thought and its impact on subsequent generations. In each of these essays Seneca is considered as a philosopher, but with as much account as possible taken of his life, his education, his intellectual and literary background, his career, and his self-presentation as an author. Seneca emerges as a discerning and well-read Stoic, with a strong inclination to think for himself in the context of an intellectual climate teeming with influences from other schools. Seneca's intellectual engagement with Platonism, Aristotelianism, and even with Epicureanism involved a wide range of substantial philosophical interests and concerns. His philosophy was indeed shaped by the fact that he was a Roman, but he was a true philosopher shaped by his culture rather than a Roman writer trying his hand at philosophical themes. The highly rhetorical character of his writing must be accounted for when reading his works, and when one does so the underlying philosophical themes stand out more clearly. While it is hard to generalize about an overall intellectual agenda or systematic philosophical method, key themes and strategies are evident. Inwood shows how Seneca's philosophical ingenium worked itself out in a fundamentally particularistic way as he pursued those aspects of Stoicism that engaged him most forcefully over his career.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
By Ryan Holiday, Stephen HanselmanThe Daily Stoic offers 366 days of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright Seneca, or slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, as well as lesser-known luminaries like Zeno, ...
-
Breakfast with Seneca: A Stoic Guide to the Art of Living
By David FidelerThe Stoics: A Guide for the Perplexed. New York: Continuum, 2008. Honoré, Tony. Ulpian: Pioneer of Human Rights. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Horowitz, Maryanne Cline. “The Stoic Synthesis of Natural Law in Man: Four ...
-
Seneca
By John G. FitchStatesman, dramatist, philosopher, and prose stylist, Seneca was a leading figure in the Roman Empire in the first century AD. This volume is a collection of outstanding articles written about him during the last four decades, with a new ...
-
Dialogues and Essays
By Lucius Annaeus SenecaStoic philosopher and tutor to the young emperor Nero, Seneca wrote moral essays - exercises in practical philosophy - on how to live in a troubled world.
-
Letters on Ethics
By Lucius Annaeus SenecaThis volume, the first complete English translation in nearly a century, makes the Letters more accessible than ever before.
-
Seneca: The Life of a Stoic
By Paul VeyneVeyne's authoritative exposition of stoicism and the interconnections between Seneca's life and thought, make this book ideal reading for anyone interested in Roman history and philosophy.
-
The Greatest Empire: A Life of Seneca
By Emily WilsonThe life and works of Seneca pose a number of fascinating challenges. How can we reconcile the bloody tragedies with the prose works advocating a life of Stoic tranquility?
-
A Seneca Reader: Selections from Prose and Tragedy
By James Ker... of the philosophical writings, yet in their own way equally, or more, compelling. Whichever explanation satisfies you the best, the tragedies' existence alongside the prose works makes reading Seneca a unique and exciting challenge.
-
How to Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life
By SenecaFeaturing beautifully rendered new translations, How to Die also includes an enlightening introduction, notes, the original Latin texts, and an epilogue presenting Tacitus's description of Seneca's grim suicide.
-
Stillness Is the Key
By Ryan HolidayTo achieve happiness and do the right thing. Ryan Holiday calls it stillness--to be steady while the world spins around you. In this book, he outlines a path for achieving this ancient, but urgently necessary way of living.