•  503
    Stoic ontology and Plato’s Sophist
    Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 107 185-203. 2010.
    Book synopsis: Plato is perhaps the most readable of all philosophers. Recent scholarship on Plato has focused attention on the dramatic and literary form through which Plato presents his philosophy, an integral part of that philosophy. The papers in this volume for the first time consider Aristotle and the Stoics as readers of Plato. That these successors were influenced by the thought of Plato is a commonplace: the ‘whole of western philosophy is a series of footnotes to Plato’. Arising from I…Read more
  •  411
    Marcus Aurelius in Contemporary Philosophy
    In Marcel van Ackeren (ed.), A Companion to Marcus Aurelius, Wiley-blackwell. 2012.
    Chapter synopsis: This chapter contains sections titled: Modern Readers of the Meditations The 19th Century The 20th Century Rehabilitating Marcus Further Reading References.
  •  338
    The Meditations and the Ancient Art of Living
    In Marcel van Ackeren (ed.), A Companion to Marcus Aurelius, Wiley-blackwell. pp. 453-464. 2012.
    This chapter contains sections titled: Marcus' Project Socrates and the Stoic Art of Living Types of Philosophical Text Assimilation and Digestion Writing the Self Further Reading References.
  •  140
    Plato's Apology of Socrates, A Metaphilosophical Text
    Philosophy and Literature 38 (2): 433-45. 2014.
    Plato’s Apology is not merely an account of Socrates’ trial, it is also a work of metaphilosophy, presenting Socrates’ understanding of the nature and function of philosophy. This is a vital part of the text’s apologetic task, for it is only with reference to Socrates’ understanding of what philosophy is that we can understand, and so justify, his seemingly antisocial behaviour. Plato presents to us Socrates’ metaphilosophy in two ways: via what Socrates says and what he does. This twofold metho…Read more
  •  129
    Stoic Cosmopolitanism and Zeno's Republic
    History of Political Thought 28 (1): 1-29. 2007.
    Modern accounts of Stoic politics have attributed to Zeno the ideal of an isolated community of sages and to later Stoics such as Seneca a cosmopolitan utopia transcending all traditional States. By returning to the Cynic background to both Zeno's Republic and the Cosmopolitan tradition, this paper argues that the distance between the two is not as great as is often supposed. This account, it is argued, is more plausible than trying to offer a developmental explanation of the supposed transforma…Read more
  •  109
    Stoics Against Stoics In Cudworth's A Treatise of Freewill
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy 20 (5): 935-952. 2012.
    In his A Treatise of Freewill, Ralph Cudworth argues against Stoic determinism by drawing on what he takes to be other concepts found in Stoicism, notably the claim that some things are ?up to us? and that these things are the product of our choice. These concepts are central to the late Stoic Epictetus and it appears at first glance as if Cudworth is opposing late Stoic voluntarism against early Stoic determinism. This paper argues that in fact, despite his claim to be drawing on Stoic doctrine…Read more
  •  107
    Questioning the premise that philosophy can only be conceived as a rational discourse, Sellars presents it instead as an art (techne) that combines both 'logos' ...
  •  100
    Is God a Mindless Vegetable? Cudworth on Stoic Theology
    Intellectual History Review 21 (2): 121-133. 2011.
    In the sixteenth century the Stoics were deemed friends of humanist Christians, but by the eighteenth century they were attacked as atheists. What happened in the intervening period? In the middle of this period falls Ralph Cudworth’s True Intellectual System of the Universe (1678), which contains a sustained analysis of Stoic theology. In Cudworth’s complex taxonomy Stoicism appears twice, both as a form of atheism and an example of imperfect theism. Whether the Stoics are theists or atheists h…Read more
  •  98
    This paper examines Shaftesbury’s reflections on the nature of philosophy in his Askêmata notebooks, which draw heavily on the Roman Stoics Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. In what follows, I introduce the notebooks, outline Shaftesbury’s account of philosophy therein, compare it with his discussions of the nature of philosophy in his published works, and conclude by suggesting that Pierre Hadot’s conception of ‘philosophy as a way of life’ offers a helpful framework for thinking about Shaftesbury…Read more
  •  80
    Renaissance Philosophy
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy 20 (6): 1195-1204. 2012.
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy, Ahead of Print
  •  77
    Gilles Deleuze and the history of philosophy
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy 15 (3): 551-560. 2007.
    This article examines Gilles Deleuze's methodological approach to the history of philosophy. While Deleuze's readings of past philosophers may not stand up to the standards set by the scholarly history of philosophy, they may be approached more productively as a continuation of the approach developed by the ancient and medieval commentary tradition.
  •  75
    Stoicism
    Acumen Publishing. 2006.
    This book provides a lucid, comprehensive introduction to this great philosophical school.
  •  75
    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…Read more
  •  73
    Stoicism
    Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. 2017.
    An overview of Stoicism in the Renaissance, c. 1350 to c. 1650.
  •  68
    Justus Lipsius's De Constantia, A Stoic Spiritual Exercise
    Poetics Today 28 (3): 339-62. 2007.
    This essay offers an introduction to Justus Lipsius's dialogue De Constantia, first published in 1584. Although the dialogue bears a superficial similarity to philosophical works of consolation, I suggest that it should be approached as a spiritual exercise written by Lipsius primarily for his own benefit.
  •  64
    The Routledge Handbook of the Stoic Tradition (edited book)
    Routledge. 2016.
    The ancient philosophy of Stoicism has been a crucial and formative influence on the development of Western thought since its inception through to the present day. It is not only an important area of study in philosophy and classics, but also in theology and literature. The Routledge Handbook of the Stoic Tradition is the first volume of its kind, and an outstanding guide and reference source to the nature and continuing significance of Stoicism.
  •  63
    An ethics of the event
    Angelaki 11 (3). 2006.
    Deleuze, philosopher, son of Diogenes and Hypatia, sojourned at Lyon. Nothing is known of his life. He lived to be very old, even though he was often very ill. This illustrated what he himself had said: there are lives in which the difficulties verge on the prodigious. He defined as active any force that goes to the end of its power. This, he said, is the opposite of a law. Thus he lived, always going further than he had believed he could. Even though he had explicated Chrysippus, it is above al…Read more
  •  61
    Pomponazzi Contra Averroes on the Intellect
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy 24 (1): 45-66. 2016.
    This paper examines Pomponazzi's arguments against Averroes in his De Immortalitate Animae, focusing on the question whether thought is possible without a body. The first part of the paper will sketch the history of the problem, namely the interpretation of Aristotle's remarks about the intellect in De Anima 3.4-5, touching on Alexander, Themistius, and Averroes. The second part will focus on Pomponazzi's response to Averroes, including his use of arguments by Aquinas. It will conclude by sugges…Read more
  •  58
    Stoics on the Big Screen
    Philosophy Now 41 44-45. 2003.
    Stoic themes in Ridley Scott's Gladiator
  •  58
    The stoic life: Emotions, duties, and fate - by Tad Brennan (review)
    Philosophical Books 49 (2): 145-147. 2008.
  •  57
    Tough luck
    The Philosophers' Magazine 55 (55): 72-76. 2011.
    The worst thing that can happen to us is to be blessed with a life of unending luxury, comfort, and wealth, for such a life would make one weak and lazy. But worst of all, the longer we experience a comfortable and easy life, the harder it will hit us when our luck fi nally changes, as it surely one day will.
  •  57
    Justus Lipsius On Constancy (edited book)
    Bristol Phoenix Press. 2006.
    This book makes available again a long out-of-print translation of a major sixteenth-century philosophical text. Lipsius' De Constantia (1584) is an important Humanist text and a key moment in the reception of Stoicism. A dialogue in two books, conceived as a philosophical consolation for those suffering through contemporary religious wars, it proved immensely popular in its day and formed the inspiration for what has become known as 'Neostoicism'. This movement advocated the revival of Stoic et…Read more
  •  55
    Seneca’s philosophical predecessors and contemporaries
    In Gregor Damschen & A. Heil (eds.), Brill's Companion to Seneca, Brill. pp. 97-112. 2014.
    This chapter examines the philosophical context in which Seneca thought and wrote, drawing primarily on evidence within Seneca's works. It considers Seneca's immediate teachers, his debt to the Stoic tradition, other Greek philosophical influences, and other contemporary philosophers.
  •  51
    Philosophy as a Way of Life
    The Philosophers' Magazine 83 60-65. 2018.
  •  50
  •  50
    Stoic Fate in Justus Lipsius’s De Constantia and Physiologia Stoicorum
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 52 (4): 653-674. 2014.
    In his De Constantia of 1584, Justus Lipsius examines the Stoic theory of fate, distancing himself from it by outlining four key points at which it should be modified. The modified theory is often presented as a distinctly Christianized form of Stoicism. Later, in his Physiologia Stoicorum of 1604, Lipsius revisits the Stoic theory, this time offering a more sympathetic reading, with the four modifications forgotten. It is widely assumed that Lipsius’s position shifted between these two works, p…Read more
  •  49
    The Cambridge Companion to the Stoics (review)
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 42 (3): 337-338. 2004.
    In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:The Cambridge Companion to the StoicsJohn SellarsBrad Inwood, editor. The Cambridge Companion to the Stoics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Pp. ix + 438. Cloth, $70.00. Paper, $26.00.No doubt everyone will be familiar with the format and rationale of the Cambridge Companion series, each volume being designed to function as a "reference work for students and nonspecialists." Brad Inwood's Cambridge Companion t…Read more
  •  47
    Epictetus: A. A. Long, Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life (review)
    The Classical Review 53 (01): 65-. 2003.