Common threads · 6 books
A course in historical Stoicism and philosophical practice, followed by a modern adaptation to test against the older commitments.
Books, curator notes, and what to read next.
Pierre Hadot
Hadot asks what changes when philosophy is treated as a practice of living rather than only a set of doctrines.
Next: Stoic Studies
A. A. Long
Long's essays connect Stoic logic, nature, and ethics. Read selected chapters to see why the ethics is not a separate set of tips.
Next: Epictetus
A. A. Long
Long explains Epictetus through judgment and agency. Ask what being responsible for one's responses does and does not imply.
Next: The Inner Citadel
Pierre Hadot
Hadot reads Marcus Aurelius as practicing philosophical exercises. Compare that approach with extracting isolated motivational quotations.
Next: The Therapy of Desire
Martha Nussbaum
Nussbaum examines Hellenistic philosophy as treatment of desire. Compare the therapies with the values they ask readers to surrender.
Next: A Guide to the Good Life
William B. Irvine
Finish by testing a modern adaptation against the historical studies. Note where practical advice changes the original philosophical commitments.
Also includes Philosophy as a Way of Life
A first philosophy course in six books: knowledge, mind, morality, justice, and the possibility of changing how you live.
Also includes Philosophy as a Way of Life
Study character, attention, practice, and dependence. These books ask what moral growth involves beyond following a rule.
More paths featuring Martha Nussbaum
Pleasure, dignity, luck, and flourishing. Test the idea that a good life is simply a life with more happiness in it.
