Sellars, John (2001) The art of living : Stoic ideas concerning the nature and function of philosophy. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to consider the relationship between philosophy and
biography, and the bearing that this relationship has on debates concerning the
nature and function of philosophy. There exists a certain tradition that
conceives philosophy exclusively in terms of rational discourse and as such
explicitly rejects the idea of any substantial relationship between philosophy
and the way in which one lives. I shall argue that the claim that philosophy
cannot have any impact upon biography is often based upon an implicit
conception of philosophy as primarily rational discourse.
In contrast to this I shall draw upon Socratic and Stoic philosophical
resources in order to reconstruct an alternative conception of philosophy as an
art concerned with one's way of life. Central to this conception will be the
relationship between philosophical discourse or argument and philosophical
training or exercise. I shall argue that the ancient claim that philosophy is
primarily expressed in one's behaviour presupposes a conception of
philosophy as an art that involves both rational discourse and training or
exercise as two equally important components. I shall argue that by adopting
this alternative conception of philosophy as a techne it will be possible to
understand properly the relationship between philosophy and biography.
In Part One I shall outline the ancient idea that philosophy is something
expressed in one's life, the Socratic conception of philosophy as an art, the
Stoic development of this conception into an art of living, and some ancient
objections to this Stoic conception. In Part Two I shall examine the
relationship between philosophical discourse and exercises in Stoic
philosophy, focusing upon the neglected concept of philosophical askesis.
Central to this will be the literary form of such exercises and so I shall focus
upon two texts (by Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius) concerned with
philosophical exercises.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Philosophy, Biography, Techne (Philosophy)
Official Date:	July 2001
Dates:	Date Event July 2001 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Philosophy
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Benjamin, Andrew E.
Sponsors:	Arts and Humanities Research Board (Great Britain) (AHRB)
Extent:	xi, 348 leaves
Language:	eng

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