His romantic and political He is best known for his debaucheries, political murders, persecution of Christians and a passion for music that led to the probably Julius Caesar was a renowned general, politician and scholar in ancient Rome who conquered the vast region of Gaul and helped initiate the end of the Roman Republic when he became dictator of the Roman Empire.
Despite his brilliant military prowess, his political skills and his Greek philosophy and rhetoric moved fully into Latin for the first time in the speeches, letters and dialogues of Cicero B.
A brilliant lawyer and the first of his family to achieve Roman office, Cicero was one of the In B. He then marched his massive army across the Pyrenees and Alps into central Italy in what would be remembered as one of the most Located just east of the Roman Forum, the massive stone amphitheater known as the Colosseum was commissioned around A.
By the time the First Punic War broke out, Rome had become the dominant power throughout the Italian Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Early Life His serious and hard-working nature was even noticed by Emperor Hadrian. Entry into Politics In , Marcus Aurelius became consul, or leader of the senate — a post he would hold two more times in his lifetime. Recommended for you. How the Troubles Began in Northern Ireland. Julius Caesar. Hadot thinks Marcus is simply confused in using the term phantasia for these judgments the correct term, which he sometimes uses [cf.
Yet the distinction between objective physical facts and subjective value judgments seems more existentialist than Stoic—for the Stoics value is objective, and indeed Marcus repeatedly exults in the beauty and goodness of the cosmos as a whole.
We should not assume that the evaluations are all added by us, the subjects, to the impression, for the Stoics think that there are evaluative impressions, cf. And it is also right that Marcus often deals with things that are conventionally accorded high value in reductive material terms. So, for example, he writes,. Take for instance the impression in the case of relishes and such edibles, that this one is the corpse of a fish, and that one of a bird or a pig.
Such are the impressions that get at things and go right into them, so that one sees how each thing really is. Indeed, Marcus himself describes what he is doing here as defining what each thing is stripped naked, and enumerating the components into which it disintegrates iii.
However, this is only one of two complementary ways Marcus deals with his impressions. The other is to consider things that are conventionally disvalued in their larger context, so as to show what good they serve. Indeed, the passage recommending the examination of each thing stripped naked continues,. Here Marcus is recommending, for the purpose of correct appreciation of the value of things, the reintegration of each thing into its cosmic context.
The physical description of each thing is not a description of its naked physical appearance when isolated from everything else, but its reintegration into the beautiful and intelligent design of the cosmos.
So Marcus writes,. Again, figs, when they are ripest, gape open … and many other things, if one were to look at them individually, would be far from beautiful of appearance, but nevertheless, on account of their following things that come to be by nature, are well-ordered and educate our soul. Insight into what is in accordance with nature is gained by determining, for each thing that obtains, its contribution to, or functional role in, the cosmos rather than by looking at what regularly happens, or what happens with healthy specimens, etc.
And once one understands this functional contribution, one is able to see the value of each thing, how beautifully it contributes to a well-designed whole. Now that we have a sense of what erased impressions are to be replaced with, we can return to the questions of what is to be erased, and what it is to be erased. Marcus does seem to speak indifferently about judgments and impressions: he tells himself to erase his impressions, and he tells himself to remove opinion iv. These are all accepted uses of the term.
That Marcus may find the same defects of perspective in impressions is suggested indirectly by the corrections he prescribes: inspect your impressions ii.
In xii. Always look at the whole: what that thing is that gives you such an impression, and undo it, distinguishing it into its cause, its matter, its point, the time within which it must come to a stop. Perhaps making the second mark requires erasing the first—or perhaps making the second mark is a means of erasing the first, for it may be that the withholding of assent from compelling impressions requires countering them with others.
This seems unfair, if impressions are entirely involuntary. Marcus may think that while involuntary in the moment, impressions are subject to control in the long run. Perhaps if I keep refusing to assent to my present impression that wealth is good, wealth will eventually cease to appear to me as good. As mentioned above 1.
It would be worth working this out for others of his frequent remarks, such as that we are tiny and temporary fragments in the cosmos, that death takes us all in the end, that we ought to live purposively rather than like mechanical toys. Epictetus ethics: ancient political philosophy: ancient Seneca skepticism: ancient Stoicism.
Life and Works 1. Living Stoically 2. Justice: Acting for the Sake of the Cosmopolis 4. Living Stoically Although he acknowledges that he struggles to live as a philosopher, Marcus urges himself to that life, spelling out what it involves in Stoic terms: …you are no longer able to have lived your whole life as a philosopher since youth; and it is clear to many others and to you yourself that you are far from philosophy.
Justice: Acting for the Sake of the Cosmopolis Marcus says that one should be concerned with two things only: acting justly and loving what is allotted one x. Piety: Welcoming What Happens as Part of the Whole Marcus writes, Every nature is satisfied with itself when it goes along its way well, and the rational nature goes along its way well when it assents to nothing false or unclear among its impressions, when it directs impulses to communal actions, when it generates desires and inclinations for only those things that are in our power, and when it welcomes everything apportioned to it by common nature.
So, for example, he writes, Take for instance the impression in the case of relishes and such edibles, that this one is the corpse of a fish, and that one of a bird or a pig.
Indeed, the passage recommending the examination of each thing stripped naked continues, … nothing is so productive of greatness of mind as to be able to examine, systematically and in truth, each of the things that befall us in life, and to look always at it so as to consider what sort of use chreia it provides for what sort of cosmos and what value axia it has for the whole, and what in relation to the human being, they being a citizen of the highest city, of which other cities are like households iii.
Conclusion As mentioned above 1. Ad se ipsum libri XII , J. Dalfen ed. Marcus Aurelius , C. Haines ed. Trannoy ed. Hadot and C. Luna eds. The first recorded mention of the Meditations is by Themistius in AD AD by Arethas. The modern text derives primarily from two sources: a manuscript now in the Vatican and a lost manuscript mentioned above , upon which the first printed edition was based.
AD , discovered as a palimpsest in However, although this interesting discovery sheds some light on Marcus as an individual, it adds little to our understanding of his philosophy. According to tradition, Marcus was a Stoic. His ancient biographer, Julius Capitolinus, describes him as such. Marcus also makes reference to a number of Stoics by whom he was taught and, in particular, mentions Rusticus from whom he borrowed a copy of the works of the Stoic philosopher Epictetus Med.
However, nowhere in the Meditations does Marcus explicitly call himself a Stoic. This may simply reflect the likelihood that Marcus was writing only for himself rather than attempting to define himself to an audience.
Yet it is probably fair to admit that Marcus was at least open to ideas from other philosophical traditions, being impressed by Stoic philosophy , but not merely an unthinking disciple of Stoicism.
As has been noted, Marcus was clearly familiar with the Discourses of Epictetus, quoting them a number of times see Med. If Marcus felt drawn towards Stoicism, then Epictetus would surely have stood out as the most important Stoic of the time. It is perhaps reasonable, then, to turn to Epictetus in order to explore the philosophical background to the Meditations. He suggests that the apprentice philosopher should be trained in three distinct areas or topoi see Epictetus Discourses 3.
These three areas of training correspond to the three types of philosophical discourse referred to by earlier Stoics; the physical, the ethical, and the logical see Diogenes Laertius 7. For Epictetus, it is not enough merely to discourse about philosophy.
The student of philosophy should also engage in practical training designed to digest philosophical principals, transforming them into actions. Only this will enable the apprentice philosopher to transform himself into the Stoic ideal of a wise person or sage sophos. It is to this end that the three topoi are directed. The first topos , concerning desire orexis , is devoted to physics. It is not enough for the philosopher to know how Nature works; he must train his desires in the light of that knowledge so that he only desires what is in harmony with Nature.
For the Stoic, Nature is a complex inter-connected physical system, identified with God, of which the individual is but one part. What might be called the practical implication of this conception of Nature is that an individual will inevitably become frustrated and unhappy if they desire things without taking into account the operations of this larger physical system.
The study of ethical theory is of course valuable in its own right but, for the Stoic training to be a sage, these theories must be translated into ethical actions. Marcus wanted to cherish life and enjoy an experience of joy and fulfillment from it, but in a healthy way. He would think about the consequences of his desires. In terms of modern society, I suppose the modern kind of cliched thing that people talk to me all the time about is their habitual use of the internet and social media, in particular.
Knowledge Wharton: Does technology make it difficult for us to follow the path of Marcus Aurelius and Stoicism? But it was the same, in a different way, in the ancient world. There were professional public speakers or orators who spent their life studying rhetoric in order to manipulate audiences and play on their emotions.
We have something like that today, but in a different, maybe more intrusive form. But I think the Stoics definitely can teach us ways of coping with that. It does require a little bit of self-discipline to live like a Stoic, but they will teach us strategies that will help us to step back.
Is it becoming part of the culture? They want a big philosophy. They want something bigger than cognitive therapy. Stoicism is something that people get tattooed on their bodies. Knowledge Wharton: In your book, you also write about the importance of following your own values — and that Stoicism is a personal choice. In the past or perhaps in an ideal world, people would be doing things that are more fulfilling, that are more consistent with their core values, that are more aligned with their true self.
And therapists today are increasingly encouraging clients to identify their true inner values and do things that serve those more fully. From marketing to management, modern business leaders can learn a lot from ancient Roman emperors, according to a new book. Investors who espouse environmental, social and governance ESG principles will achieve little by selling their shares in so-called "dirty" companies, according to new research co-authored by Wharton's Jules H. Yet rental housing is not a reliable option for most because of lack of development and other challenges.
Meanwhile, many[…]. Log In or sign up to comment. In my experience, Stoicism in a practical sense resembles modern Taoism. The basic intent of each is to merge with the rhythms of life — and by doing so, invite others to be as harmonious — rather than strive, out of synch, to force radical changes in the world, in oneself, or both that most likely will produce harm, fail to initiate or sustain desired change, or simply be meaningless, a waste of time.
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