The Selected Writings of Pierre Hadot: Philosophy as Practice

by Pierre Hadot, Matthew Sharpe (Translation)

This carefully curated collection of writings from Pierre Hadot (1992-2010) presents, for the first time, previously unreleased and in some cases untranslated materials from one of the world's most prominent classical philosophers and historians of thought.

As a passionate proponent of philosophy as a 'way of life' (most powerfully communicated in the life of Socrates), Pierre Hadot rejuvenated interest in the ancient philosophers and developed a philosophy based on their work which is peculiarly contemporary. His radical recasting of philosophy in the West was both provocative and substantial. Indeed, Michel Foucault cites Pierre Hadot as a major influence on his work.

This beautifully written, lucid collection of writings will not only be of interest to historians, classicists and philosophers but also those interested in nourishing, as Pierre Hadot himself might have put it, a 'spiritual life'.

Genres: Philosophy, Essays

320 pages, Hardcover

Published June 25, 2020

About the author

Pierre Hadot (né à Paris, le 21 février 1922 - mort à Orsay, le 25 avril 2010) est un philosophe, historien et philologue français, spécialiste de l'antiquité, profond connaisseur de la période hellénistique et en particulier du néoplatonisme et de Plotin. Pierre Hadot est l'auteur d'une œuvre développée notamment autour de la notion d'exercice spirituel et de philosophie comme manière de vivre.

Spécialiste de Plotin et du stoïcisme, en particulier de Marc-Aurèle, il est un de ceux qui ont accompagné le retour à la philosophie antique, considérée comme pratique, manière de vivre et exercice spirituel. Ses livres, très agréables à lire et d'une très grande érudition, manifestent constamment un rapport avec l'existence, l'expérience, voire la poésie, la littérature et le mysticisme.

Reviews

[Sergey Dudko]

Philosophy as Practice
Philosophy should be the way of life, not only they way of thinking
We have a distorted view on philosophy due to Middle Ages
With the Middle Ages, we witness a total separation of the spiritual exercises and philosophy
Ancient philosophy was a way of life
Ancient philosophy system was a lifestyles in the first place
In Antiquity, the philosopher is, before all else, a man having a certain lifestyle
The philosophical school imposed a way of life on its members that engaged the whole of one’s existence
The sage will be the individual capable of living on two planes: perfectly inserted into everyday life and yet plunged into the cosmos
Famous ancient philosophers practiced their philosophy
To an old man, who told him that he attended lessons on virtue, Plato responded: ‘and when will you begin to live virtuously?’
The philosophical school is a medical clinic,’ as Epictetus said
Stoics clearly distinguished philosophical discourse from philosophy itself
The only way to truly understand philosophy is through exercising it
Exercises are efficient
They are organized in a system
The first stage of spiritual progress was the practice of ‘political’ virtues
After this one could rise to a movement of detachment from the body
Finally, one can achieve happiness
They allow to avoid anxiety through focus on the the right moment
It is a disastrous mistake to let oneself be disturbed by the global representation of one’s whole life
Circumscribe the present’: this is ultimately to liberate the imagination from worries
The more our contemplation is developed, the more our happiness grows
There is a great variety of exercises to choose from
Learning how to read ancient philosophical texts is one of the most crucial spiritual exercises
There are the exercise that consist in disciplining our active impulses, feelings and desires

[Don Putnam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another exceptional book by Pierre Hadot. For me, after having read The Inner Citadel many times and after having read Philosophy as a Way of Life a couple of times, there wasn't much in terms of new things I learned. But, the last two chapters, wherein he maps out how early Greek philosophy (paganism) morphed into Christianity - were amazing. Any remaining allegiance I had to Christianity was effectively buried after reading the chapter "The End of Paganism."

All the good about Christianity (and in particular, the Mormon flavor), has stemmed from pre-Socratic, and then Hellenistic philosophy. Many of the debates between Judaism and Christianity and then later between Catholicism and Protestantism, over centuries, has been played out between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Hadot does an excellent job summarizing how paganism was largely infused into Christianity and then later capitalized by the Roman / Byzantine state.

I am confident that Stoicism is a perfect solution to leading a rational, moral life in the 21st century, without the baggage, overhead, mysticism and dishonesty perpetuated by many religions today and over the past 2000 years. In Stoicism today, we are seeing a resurgence of a rational philosophy where the end goal and result is a moral life - the "fruit" in Christian terms. All the culture wars which we have fought for decades, are rendered irrelevant. Stoicism cuts through all that and provides a framework for the individual and community to come together in a respectful relationship.

If you have access to this book, it will give you more insight into Hadot's other amazing works, but the value of this book, in my opinion is in the last two chapters.

[Plato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book. Hadot is one of the best scholars of religious and philosophical history of antiquity, making ancient thought applicable to modern life.

[B. Rule · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hadot's fundamental point is right-on so he can be forgiven some amount of repetition in this collection: philosophy in antiquity was a way of life, closer to monastic orders than its current academic incarnation. Hadot traces a through-line behind such disparate schools as Stoics, Platonists, Aristotelians, and Epicureans, demonstrating that each demands not intellectual assent but lifestyle change, maaaaan. These philosophers are not just trying to get the definition of justice exactly right; they're providing a lived demonstration of how to live. Hadot recontextualizes some interesting features of ancient thought in light of this perspective, including the role of the sage as exemplar, whether we should consider Marcus Aurelius a pessimist or not, and the centrality of orality/human conversation to the practice of philosophy. This approach certainly informs the question of Plato's unwritten doctrines, and Hadot does comment here on the Tübingen School to note some convergences and divergences with his own thought.

In some ways it's hard to read these pieces with fresh eyes, because Hadot has carried the day culturally, if not academically. The vast numbers of laypeople discussing Stoicism online are the fruits of Hadot's labors. One must grant the vitality of the interpretation, perhaps begrudgingly so, in the sometimes strange adaptations of ancient solutions to modern problems by techbro lifehackers and self-helpers. I'm not sure Hadot would want to acknowledge some of his monstrous offspring, but we don't control the fates of our children, as is amply demonstrated in the genealogies Hadot offers here of the cross-pollination between early Christianity and pagan philosophy: sometimes your kid brings home a weirdo for Thanksgiving.

The weaknesses of this volume are shared with its subject: it's hard to write a book delivering an argument that books can't teach you what you need to learn. Hadot urges us to consider philosophy as a living practice of spiritual exercises for the transformation of the self, but reading that exhortation isn't a self-executing script. Further, his ideas are often sketched broadly, while other scholars have taken up his call and produced much more fruitful research into these matters. I will rate this one based on my pleasure in reading it, not on the persuasiveness of the ideas or the depth of influence. Understand that its rating on those latter factors would be much higher. If I had read this earlier in life, there's no doubt the impact would have been immense. As it stands, I disagreed with little but learned little new. But if you're new to the subject, this is a great place to start.

[Marksmillie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really opened my eyes to the goals of ancient philosophy and their understanding of wisdom. Hadot isn't satisfied with some general idea of "spiritual exercises" for philosophers, but gives the specifics of what this looked like, and in so doing, gives a new perspective on the ancient world.

[Jule · Rating 2 out of 5]

too theoretical for me
written for people who are in philosophy for 10+ years
I gave up somewhere at 25ish%
very academic writing style

[Mitch Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have been a more engaging book if it was half the length. Hard to make for a very interesting read when the historical evidence of the protagonist is so relatively sparse.

[Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pierre Hadot colega e influencia directa para Michel Foucault en el College De France