Publisher Description

A.A. Long, one of the world's leading writers on ancient philosophy, presents eighteen essays on the philosophers and schools of the Hellenistic and Roman periods---Epicureans, Stoics, and Sceptics. The discussion ranges over four centuries of innovative and challenging thought in ethics and politics, psychology, epistemology, and cosmology.In From Epicurus to Epictetus, Long's focus is on the distinctive contributions andmethodologies of individual thinkers, notably Epicurus, Zeno, Pyrrho, Arcesilaus, Lucretius, Cicero, Seneca, and Epictetus. Placing their philosophy in its cultural context, and considering it in relation to the earlierideas of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, he invites his readers to imagine themselves choosing between Stoicism and Epicureanism as philosophies of life. All but one of these pieces has been previously published in periodicals or conference volumes, but the author has revised and updated everything, and has also added postscripts to many of the essays. This is a book not only for scholars and experts but also, thanks to the author's accessible style, for everyoneinterested in understanding the legacy and continuing relevance of ancient thought.

Author Biography

A. A. Long is a Professor in the Department of Classics, University of California, Berkeley. He has been a visiting professor at many other European universities, including most recently appointment as Belle van Zuylen Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utrecht. His other books include Hellenistic Philosophy: Stoics, Epicureans, Sceptics (which has been translated into eight languages), the two-volume source book, The HellenisticPhilosophers (co-authored with David Sedley), Stoic Studies, and Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life (OUP).

Table of Contents

PrefaceAcknowledgementsCitations and AbbreviationsPart One: General1: Hellenistic ethics and philosophical power2: Hellenistics ethics as the art of lifePart Two: Scepticism3: Aristotle and the history of Greek scepticism4: Timon: Pyrrhonist and satirist Timon: Pyrrhonist and Timon: Pyrrhonist and satirist Timon: Pyrrhonist and satirist Timon: Pyrrhonist and satirist5: Arcesilaus in his time and place6: Scepticism about gods in Hellenistic philosophy7: Astrology: arguments pro and contraPart Three: Epicureanism8: Chance and laws of nature in Epicureanism9: Lucretius and the Epicurean self10: Pleasure and social utility - the virtues of being EpicureanPart Four: Early Stoicism11: Zeno's epistemology and Plato's Theaetetus12: Stoic psychology and the elucidation of language13: The Stoics on world-Conflagration and everlasting recurrencePart Five: Cicero, and Roman Stoicism14: Cicero's Plato and Aristotle15: Cicero's politics in De officiis16: Stoic philosophers on persons, property ownership and community17: Seneca on the self: why now?18: Epictetus on understanding and managing emotionsBibliographyIndex of subjectsIndex locorum

Review

...stimulaating collection of essays...[Long] has helped to make Hellenistic philosophy a required subject for every student of classics and philosophy * Sara Ahbel-Rappe, The Classical Review *
...is moreover the best study of its subject to date. * Nathan Powers, Princeton University *

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Innovative research on the leading figures of Hellenistic and Roman philosophy, and on their ideas in the areas of ethics and politics, psychology, cosmology, and epistemology.

Long Description

A.A. Long, one of the world's leading writers on ancient philosophy, presents eighteen essays on the philosophers and schools of the Hellenistic and Roman periods---Epicureans, Stoics, and Sceptics. The discussion ranges over four centuries of innovative and challenging thought in ethics and politics, psychology, epistemology, and cosmology.In From Epicurus to Epictetus, Long's focus is on the distinctive contributions and
methodologies of individual thinkers, notably Epicurus, Zeno, Pyrrho, Arcesilaus, Lucretius, Cicero, Seneca, and Epictetus. Placing their philosophy in its cultural context, and considering it in relation to the earlier ideas of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, he invites his readers to imagine themselves choosing between
Stoicism and Epicureanism as philosophies of life. All but one of these pieces has been previously published in periodicals or conference volumes, but the author has revised and updated everything, and has also added postscripts to many of the essays. This is a book not only for scholars and experts but also, thanks to the author's accessible style, for everyone interested in understanding the legacy and continuing relevance of ancient thought.

Review Quote

"[T]his survey cannot do justice to the depth of Long's contributions over the decades, either in the form of this stimulating collection of essays, or in the many other ways that he has helped to make Hellenistic philosophy a required subject for every student of classics and philosophy."--Sara Ahbel-Rappe, The Classical Review

Feature

Innovative research on the leading figures of Hellenistic and Roman philosophy, and on their ideas in the areas of ethics and politics, psychology, cosmology and epistemology
An accessible and stimulating writing style
Makes ancient philosophy relevant to modernity

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