Greek Philosophy

In the Nicomachean Ethics (so called after their first editor, Aristotle's son Nicomachus) Aristotle sets out to discover the good life for man: the life of happiness or eudaimonia. Happiness for Aristotle is the activity of the soul in accordance with virtue. Virtue is shown in the deliberate choice of actions as part of a worked-out plan of life, a plan which takes a middle course between excess and deficiency.

The Nature of Things was written in the 1st century BC by Roman polymath Lucretius. It is written as a didactic poem, and explains Epicurean physics.

In this small volume an attempt has been made to gather together the best and most reliable of the sets of ethical verses attributed to the Pythagoreans. Both Hall's translation from the Greek (1657), and Rowe's translation from the French of André Dacier (1707), have been used in reproducing the Golden Verses of Pythagoras, but Dacier's version has been almost exclusively followed, being clearer and more intelligible.

The Trial and Death of Socrates presents the trial and subsequent execution of Socrates in 399 BCE. Socrates was tried on the basis of two ambiguous charges: corrupting the youth and impiety. “Euthyphro”, one of Plato's early dialogues, takes place during the weeks leading up to Socrates' trial. “Apology” is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he defends himself against the charges of being a man "who corrupted the young, refused to worship the gods, and created new deities".

Michel Foucault takes us into the first two centuries of our own era, into the Golden Age of Rome, to reveal a subtle but decisive break from the classical Greek vision of sexual pleasure. He skillfully explores the whole corpus of moral reflection among philosophers (Plutarch, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca) and physicians of the era, and uncovers an increasing mistrust of pleasure and growing anxiety over sexual activity and its consequences.

Covering the whole of the ancient Greek experience from its beginnings late in the third millennium BCE to the Roman conquest in 30 BCE, Out of One, Many is an accessible and lively introduction to the Greeks and their ways of living and thinking. In this fresh and witty exploration of the thought, culture, society, and history of the Greeks, Jennifer Roberts traces not only the common values that united them across the seas and the centuries, but also the enormous diversity in their ideas and beliefs.

In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle delves into the question of what is best for mankind and humans as individuals. His conclusion is that happiness is the best possible human condition, though he is not referencing the emotion of happiness. Instead, Aristotle concludes that true happiness comes as a way of life in which the individual contributes to the good of his community, as well as his mind.

En este libro se desgranan y explican de forma clara y pragmática los principales pilares de esta filosofía milenaria y una serie de técnicas que te ayudarán a comprender y poner en práctica el estoicismo en la vida cotidiana. Navegando sus páginas encontrarás más de treinta ejercicios prácticos que tienen como objetivo ayudarte a llevar una vida que merezca la pena ser vivida.

Scaevola, vieillard et augure, rapporte à Cicéron une conversation tenue avec Laelius et Fannius sur l'amitié. Cicéron écrit alors un traité où se mêlent dialogues et récits sur le sens que doit avoir l'amitié, et la conduite qu'elle dicte aux hommes qui se réclament d'elle. Ce texte, écrit en 44 avant J.-C., s'inspire de la philosophie stoïcienne, d'Aristote et de Théophraste, et montre toute la force et la vertu qu'il y a à nourrir et choyer ses amitiés.

Ancient Greece first coined the concept of democracy, yet almost every major ancient Greek thinker - from Plato and Aristotle onward - was ambivalent toward or even hostile to democracy in any form. The explanation for this is quite simple: The elite perceived majority power as tantamount to a dictatorship of the proletariat. In ancient Greece, there can be traced not only the rudiments of modern democratic society but the entire Western tradition of antidemocratic thought.

Stoicism is two things: a long past philosophical school of ancient Greece and Rome, and an enduring philosophical movement that still inspires people in the twenty-first century to rethink and reorganize their lives in order to achieve personal satisfaction. What is the connection between them? This Very Short Introduction provides an introductory account of Stoic philosophy, and tells the story of how ancient Stoicism survived and evolved into the movement we see today.

How to Win an Election is an ancient Roman guide for campaigning that is as up-to-date as tomorrow's headlines. In 64 BC when idealist Marcus Cicero, Rome's greatest orator, ran for consul (the highest office in the Republic), his practical brother Quintus decided he needed some no-nonsense advice on running a successful campaign.

For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by peace and freedom from fear, the absence of pain, and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and evil; death is the end of both body and soul and should therefore not be feared; the gods neither reward nor punish humans; the universe is infinite and eternal; and events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms.

This audiobook takes listeners on a succinct journey from Greece’s first settlements all the way to the 20th century. Its easy-to-follow yet meticulously-researched narrative will captivate history buffs, students, and anyone interested in learning more about Greece.

Qual é o caminho para a verdadeira felicidade? Como encontrar propósito na vida? Como lidar com nossas emoções e superar perdas irreparáveis? A filosofia dos estoicos pode nos dar as respostas para essas perguntas. Nesta abordagem prática à filosofia estoica, Ryan Holiday e Stephen Hanselman oferecem um guia para cultivarmos, dia após dia, a arte de viver. Ao apresentar uma seleção primorosa de citações de estoicos ilustres como Sêneca, Epicteto e Marco Aurélio, os autores nos instigam a expandir nossa compreensão do mundo e a nos permitir experimentar novas maneiras de agir e pensar.

Musonius Rufus (c. AD 30–100) was one of the four great Roman Stoic philosophers, the other three being Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Musonius’ pupil Epictetus. During his life, Musonius’ Stoicism was put to the test, most notably during an exile to Gyaros, a barren island in the Aegean Sea.

The dramatic nature of Plato’s dialogues is delightfully evident in the "Symposium." The marriage between character and thought bursts forth as the guests gather at Agathon's house to celebrate the success of his first tragedy. With wit and insight, they each present their ideas about love - from Erixymachus’s scientific naturalism to Aristophanes' comic fantasy. The unexpected arrival of Alcibiades breaks the spell cast by Diotima’s ethereal climb up the staircase of love to beauty itself.

The Discourses of Epictetus are a series of informal lectures by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus written down by his pupil Arrian around 108 AD. Four books out of an original eight are still extant. The philosophy of Epictetus is intensely practical.

This audiobook is the most affordable version of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius that also has high quality, masterfully engineered audio. We modify audio for your pleasure. We use a computer-assisted dynamic-leveling process to ensure audio stays within an optimal listening range. Noise-gate technology is used in all books to eliminate all background and room noise disturbances for your enjoyment of the book. We are dedicated to providing you with the best possible audio experience at the best possible price. Enjoy this classic to the fullest!

In The Republic, Plato tackles the big issues of the state and the individual: how the state should be ruled, and by whom; and the way the individual should lead his life - and why. The lively quality of the dialogue can be clearly appreciated in this new translation by Tom Griffith.