The Selected Writings of Pierre Hadot: Philosophy as Practice(Re-inventing Philosophy as a Way of Life)

This collection of writings from Pierre Hadot (1992-2010) presents, for the first time, previously unreleased and in some cases untranslated materials from one of the world's most prominent classical philosophers and historians of thought. As a passionate proponent of philosophy as a 'way of life' (most powerfully communicated in the life of Socrates), Pierre Hadot rejuvenated interest in the ancient philosophers and developed a philosophy based on their work which is peculiarly contemporary. His radical recasting of philosophy in the West was both provocative and substantial. Indeed, Michel Foucault cites Pierre Hadot as a major influence on his work. This beautifully written, lucid collection of writings will not only be of interest to historians, classicists and philosophers but also those interested in nourishing, as Pierre Hadot himself might have put it, a 'spiritual life'.

Table of Contents:
Part 1: Key Parameters 1. 'My Books and My Research' 2. 'Ancient Philosophers' 3. 'Ancient Philosophy, an Ethics or a Practice?' 4. 'The Oral Teaching of Plato' Part 2: Aspects 5. 'Conversion' 6. 'The Division of the Parts of Philosophy in Antiquity' 7. 'Philosophy, Dialectic, and Rhetoric in Ancient Philosophy' Part 3: The Ancients and Nature 8. 'The Ancients and Nature' 9. 'The Genius of Place in Ancient Greece' Part 4: Figures 10. 'The Figure of the Sage in the Greek and Roman Antiquity' 11. 'Physics as a Spiritual Exercise, or Pessimism and Optimism in Marcus Aurelius' 12. 'On an Interrupted Dialogue with Michel Foucault: Convergences and Divergences' Part 5: Ends 13. 'The End of Paganism' 14. 'Models of Happiness Proposed by the Ancient Philosophers'

About the Author :
Pierre Hadot was Professor Emeritus at the Collège de France. His books include Philosophy as a Way of Life (1995) and Plotinus (1998). Matthew Sharpe teaches philosophy at Deakin University, Australia. He has written books on Albert Camus, Slavoj Zizek, critical theory and contemporary politics. He is presently working on a history of philosophy as a way of life in the West (Bloomsbury, 2019, with M. Ure). Federico Testa is an Early Career Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study at the University of Warwick. His current research focuses on Michel Foucault's politics of life, French contemporary philosophy and the revival of Hellenistic tradition within Modern and Contemporary philosophy.

Review :
[A] great pleasure to read, inspirational in the immense historical reach and interpretative ambition evidenced by every essay, quite clear in its conceptual distinctions and articulations, and provocative. Sharpe and Testa are to be thanked for making this collection available. Their able translation has produced a work that cultivates and contributes to what Hadot described as a 'poetic' or philosophical attitude ... Aided throughout by the translators' notes, the essays richly reward careful study. This careful translation takes on important tasks. In addition to highlighting the multiple facets of Hadot's work, the critical apparatus rigorously provides important terminological nuances that might have been lost in translation otherwise ... It also contributes immensely to the debate regarding the distinction between spiritual exercises and Foucault s technologies of the self. The Selected Writings of Pierre Hadot: Philosophy as Practice is a welcome addition to the work of the influential French classicist and philosopher available in English. Selected Writings provides fourteen chapters of newly translated material that those working in ancient philosophy or philosophy as a way of life will welcome. Pierre Hadot's book Philosophy as a Way of Life has, over the last 25 years, transformed how we think about philosophy. This new volume, long overdue, is its perfect companion, containing an equally valuable selection of Hadot's essays. It is essential reading for anyone interested in philosophy as a way of life. Testa and Sharpe are to be commended for making these essays available to an English-speaking audience. An indispensable resource for anyone interested in ancient philosophy as a way of life. Hadot's writings, beautifully translated here by Sharpe and Testa, allow readers, once again, to engage with philosophies such Platonism and Stoicism as genuine lived practices rather than mere theories.