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Rome as a Guide to the Good Life: A Philosophical Grand Tour
A unique, portable guidebook that sketches Rome’s great philosophical tradition while also providing an engaging travel companion to the city.
This is a guidebook to Rome for those interested in both la dolce vita and what the ancient Romans called the vita beata —the good life. Philosopher Scott Samuelson offers a thinker’s tour of the Eternal City, rooting ideas from this philosophical tradition within the geography of the city itself. As he introduces the city’s great works of art and its most famous sites—the Colosseum, the Forum, the Campo de’ Fiori—Samuelson also gets to the heart of the knotty ethical and emotional questions they pose. Practicing philosophy in place, Rome as a Guide to the Good Life tackles the profound questions that most tours of Rome only bracket. What does all this history tell us about who we are?
In addition to being a thoughtful philosophical companion, Samuelson is also a memorable tour guide, taking us on plenty of detours and pausing to linger over an afternoon Negroni, sample four classic Roman pastas, or explore the city’s best hidden gems. With Samuelson’s help, we understand why Rome has inspired philosophers such as Lucretius and Seneca, poets and artists such as Horace and Caravaggio, filmmakers like Fellini, and adventurers like Rosa Bathurst. This eclectic guidebook to Roman philosophy is for intrepid wanderers and armchair travelers alike—anyone who wants not just a change of scenery, but a change of soul.
This is a guidebook to Rome for those interested in both la dolce vita and what the ancient Romans called the vita beata —the good life. Philosopher Scott Samuelson offers a thinker’s tour of the Eternal City, rooting ideas from this philosophical tradition within the geography of the city itself. As he introduces the city’s great works of art and its most famous sites—the Colosseum, the Forum, the Campo de’ Fiori—Samuelson also gets to the heart of the knotty ethical and emotional questions they pose. Practicing philosophy in place, Rome as a Guide to the Good Life tackles the profound questions that most tours of Rome only bracket. What does all this history tell us about who we are?
In addition to being a thoughtful philosophical companion, Samuelson is also a memorable tour guide, taking us on plenty of detours and pausing to linger over an afternoon Negroni, sample four classic Roman pastas, or explore the city’s best hidden gems. With Samuelson’s help, we understand why Rome has inspired philosophers such as Lucretius and Seneca, poets and artists such as Horace and Caravaggio, filmmakers like Fellini, and adventurers like Rosa Bathurst. This eclectic guidebook to Roman philosophy is for intrepid wanderers and armchair travelers alike—anyone who wants not just a change of scenery, but a change of soul.
272 pages, Paperback
First published April 24, 2023
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204 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 16, 2023
This was so beautifully and thoughtfully written. I was recently in Italy, and I am so glad that I read this after my trip. Samuelson mentioned so many of the places that I visited, and that just made the book so much richer. I learned so much about the history and the culture, as well as the philosophy surrounding so many things that I don't even think about. I highly recommend this if you are planning to go to Italy or have already gone. I also think that this is a great book if you are interested in ancient Rome.
December 30, 2023
Scott Samuelson has done a terrific job distilling 2500 years of history of Rome in some 300 odd pages. This book is not only a guide through the many centuries of Roman art, philosophy and culture, it is also a detailed travelogue through the modern day ruins of Rome and what those represent. For people going to Rome for the first, time (or the last) this will be a fascinating read. Highly recommend
September 30, 2023
The Hook:
Initial Impressions: fun musings on philosophy embodied in place. Feels like the intended audience is undergrads - if I ever taught an undergrad course on philosophy I could see myself assigning this to prompt engagement with big questions, especially along with a study abroad in Rome.
Each chapter starts with the pairing of a major site that Samuelson uses to explore a particular philosophical theme and then the chapter ends with a few dozen more suggestions of sites that relate to the theme. For example, Chapter 11 is called "Be the Conversation: The Philosophy of Raphael's School of Athens" and Samuelson uses the famous fresco to explore the idea of conversation between not only big schools of intellectual thought (e.g. idealism vs empiricism), but also amongst the conflicting worldviews of everyday people. Some related travel suggestions include Bramante's Tempietto of San Pietro in Montorio and the talking statue Pasquino off the Piazza Navona.
I saw the School of Athens in my breakneck tour of the Vatican and although the tour guide provided a brief overview, I very much appreciated getting the extra context provided here. Samuelson's enthusiastic breakdown of the piece helped me appreciate it much more and it helped me give me a frame of understanding. Samuelson argues that the fresco gives us "a vision of plurality: philosophy as dynamic interaction" and embodies the Roman cultural idea of "decorum" (which interestingly sounds similar to the Asian concept of "face"). I didn't get any of that at first glance and I think it's pretty darned cool.
The writing style is very meandering, like a tour, and a bit didactic in some places. I found this kind of awkward as a book at first, but I kept reading and Samuelson succeeded in piquing my interest with a random smattering of topics: history, philosophy, linguistics, literary & art analysis, cuisine, culture, and more. I probably won't use a lot of his suggestions for travel (which seemed to be disproportionately statues and paintings) but it was a useful appetizer for my trip to Rome and it inspired me to think more deeply about what I was looking at as a tourist rather than just crossing a bunch of ancient buildings off my bucket list.
An Excerpt:
Before his execution, Socrates says that philosophy is a rehearsal for death, the intellectual equivalent of your soul leaving your body. It is indeed beautiful when you get so wrapped up in thought you forget for an hour or two that your feet hurt and you haven't had lunch. But one of the things I've come to see while exploring Rome is that philosophy can also be a practice embedded in a place, a merging of soul and site.
Initial Impressions: fun musings on philosophy embodied in place. Feels like the intended audience is undergrads - if I ever taught an undergrad course on philosophy I could see myself assigning this to prompt engagement with big questions, especially along with a study abroad in Rome.
Each chapter starts with the pairing of a major site that Samuelson uses to explore a particular philosophical theme and then the chapter ends with a few dozen more suggestions of sites that relate to the theme. For example, Chapter 11 is called "Be the Conversation: The Philosophy of Raphael's School of Athens" and Samuelson uses the famous fresco to explore the idea of conversation between not only big schools of intellectual thought (e.g. idealism vs empiricism), but also amongst the conflicting worldviews of everyday people. Some related travel suggestions include Bramante's Tempietto of San Pietro in Montorio and the talking statue Pasquino off the Piazza Navona.
I saw the School of Athens in my breakneck tour of the Vatican and although the tour guide provided a brief overview, I very much appreciated getting the extra context provided here. Samuelson's enthusiastic breakdown of the piece helped me appreciate it much more and it helped me give me a frame of understanding. Samuelson argues that the fresco gives us "a vision of plurality: philosophy as dynamic interaction" and embodies the Roman cultural idea of "decorum" (which interestingly sounds similar to the Asian concept of "face"). I didn't get any of that at first glance and I think it's pretty darned cool.
The writing style is very meandering, like a tour, and a bit didactic in some places. I found this kind of awkward as a book at first, but I kept reading and Samuelson succeeded in piquing my interest with a random smattering of topics: history, philosophy, linguistics, literary & art analysis, cuisine, culture, and more. I probably won't use a lot of his suggestions for travel (which seemed to be disproportionately statues and paintings) but it was a useful appetizer for my trip to Rome and it inspired me to think more deeply about what I was looking at as a tourist rather than just crossing a bunch of ancient buildings off my bucket list.
An Excerpt:
Tourists in the Colosseum often wonder why ancient Romans killed people for fun.... After snapping selfies in the iconic arena of carnage, folks who'd never dare wade into a book by Immanuel Kant suddenly find themselves knee-deep in the basic subjects of philosophy. Aesthetics: what's so enjoyable about bloodshed? Ethics: is it acceptable to be a spectator of violence? Politics: what role should bread and circuses play in society? Human nature: what does the persistence of violence tell us about who we are?... If you're not careful, the questions keep ramifying. Wait, why am I here? How weird to be a spectator of spectral spectators of violence! Why am I drawn to visit a city with a legacy of conquering the world? Is it wrong for me to celebrate the art and architecture of a civilization rooted in colonization and slavery? What am I supposed to do with the part of me that lights up at the beauty? What am I supposed to do with the part of me darkly allured by the violence? Isn't Rome itself haunted by murder? Isn't my country? Isn't the world? Regardless of how you answer these questions, give the Eternal City credit for not shying away from them. The Colosseum and the triumphal arches rub them in your face.
April 8, 2023
I've never been to Rome, but this book makes me feel like I already know it!
A swift, humane introduction to so much that matters . . . here's what the publisher says about this gem of a book:
A unique, portable guidebook that sketches Rome’s great philosophical tradition while also providing an engaging travel companion to the city.
This is a guidebook to Rome for those interested in both la dolce vita and what the ancient Romans called the vita beata—the good life. Philosopher Scott Samuelson offers a thinker’s tour of the Eternal City, rooting ideas from this philosophical tradition within the geography of the city itself. As he introduces the city’s great works of art and its most famous sites—the Colosseum, the Forum, the Campo de’ Fiori—Samuelson also gets to the heart of the knotty ethical and emotional questions they pose. Practicing philosophy in place, Rome as a Guide to the Good Life tackles the profound questions that most tours of Rome only bracket. What does all this history tell us about who we are?
In addition to being a thoughtful philosophical companion, Samuelson is also a memorable tour guide, taking us on plenty of detours and pausing to linger over an afternoon Negroni, sample four classic Roman pastas, or explore the city’s best hidden gems. With Samuelson’s help, we understand why Rome has inspired philosophers such as Lucretius and Seneca, poets and artists such as Horace and Caravaggio, filmmakers like Fellini, and adventurers like Rosa Bathurst. This eclectic guidebook to Roman philosophy is for intrepid wanderers and armchair travelers alike—anyone who wants not just a change of scenery, but a change of soul.
Introduction: Philosophy as a Guide to la Dolce Vita
I Build Not Thereon
1 Die on Your Journey: The Question of Rosa Bathurst’s Tombstone
2 Build on Tragedy: The Humility of Caravaggio’s David with the Head of Goliath
3 Put Down Roots in the Uprooted: The Piety of Bernini’s Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius
II Remember Death
4 Be Not for Yourself Alone: Cicero in the Ruins of the Forum
5 Take the View from Above: Marcus Aurelius in the Saddle
III Reap the Day
6 Conquer Your Fear: Lucretius versus the Roman Triumph
7 Dare to Be Wise: Horace’s View of the City
IV Love and Do What You Will
8 Hold Humanity Sacred: Seneca or Augustine versus the Colosseum
9 Crash through the Floor: The Mysteries of the Basilica of San Clemente
10 Make a Golden Ass of Yourself: The Metamorphoses in Agostino Chiti’s Villa
V Make a Palace of Your Memory
11 Be the Conversation: The Philosophy of Raphael’s School of Athens
12 Unlock the Soul in Your Soul: Giordano Bruno in the Campo de’ Fiori
Conclusion: What Resists Time Is What’s Ever Flowing
Acknowledgments
Appendix: Rome by Way of the Winged Eye
Notes
Index
A swift, humane introduction to so much that matters . . . here's what the publisher says about this gem of a book:
A unique, portable guidebook that sketches Rome’s great philosophical tradition while also providing an engaging travel companion to the city.
This is a guidebook to Rome for those interested in both la dolce vita and what the ancient Romans called the vita beata—the good life. Philosopher Scott Samuelson offers a thinker’s tour of the Eternal City, rooting ideas from this philosophical tradition within the geography of the city itself. As he introduces the city’s great works of art and its most famous sites—the Colosseum, the Forum, the Campo de’ Fiori—Samuelson also gets to the heart of the knotty ethical and emotional questions they pose. Practicing philosophy in place, Rome as a Guide to the Good Life tackles the profound questions that most tours of Rome only bracket. What does all this history tell us about who we are?
In addition to being a thoughtful philosophical companion, Samuelson is also a memorable tour guide, taking us on plenty of detours and pausing to linger over an afternoon Negroni, sample four classic Roman pastas, or explore the city’s best hidden gems. With Samuelson’s help, we understand why Rome has inspired philosophers such as Lucretius and Seneca, poets and artists such as Horace and Caravaggio, filmmakers like Fellini, and adventurers like Rosa Bathurst. This eclectic guidebook to Roman philosophy is for intrepid wanderers and armchair travelers alike—anyone who wants not just a change of scenery, but a change of soul.
Introduction: Philosophy as a Guide to la Dolce Vita
I Build Not Thereon
1 Die on Your Journey: The Question of Rosa Bathurst’s Tombstone
2 Build on Tragedy: The Humility of Caravaggio’s David with the Head of Goliath
3 Put Down Roots in the Uprooted: The Piety of Bernini’s Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius
II Remember Death
4 Be Not for Yourself Alone: Cicero in the Ruins of the Forum
5 Take the View from Above: Marcus Aurelius in the Saddle
III Reap the Day
6 Conquer Your Fear: Lucretius versus the Roman Triumph
7 Dare to Be Wise: Horace’s View of the City
IV Love and Do What You Will
8 Hold Humanity Sacred: Seneca or Augustine versus the Colosseum
9 Crash through the Floor: The Mysteries of the Basilica of San Clemente
10 Make a Golden Ass of Yourself: The Metamorphoses in Agostino Chiti’s Villa
V Make a Palace of Your Memory
11 Be the Conversation: The Philosophy of Raphael’s School of Athens
12 Unlock the Soul in Your Soul: Giordano Bruno in the Campo de’ Fiori
Conclusion: What Resists Time Is What’s Ever Flowing
Acknowledgments
Appendix: Rome by Way of the Winged Eye
Notes
Index
October 10, 2025
I have been to many of the monuments villas and churches spoken about in this book. It was wonderful to hear them through a philosophical lens. Each piece of history analyzed and seen in a new light. The book also at the end of every chapter has many other sites to see relevant to the point made inside of the chapter.
December 30, 2024
It did offer some new insights, some pleasure yes, but...
Off course a liberal arts Ivy League professor _cannot_ be anything else than an NPC parroting politically correct platitudes, virtue signals and luxury beliefs, so the book was mostly quite tedious to read.
Off course a liberal arts Ivy League professor _cannot_ be anything else than an NPC parroting politically correct platitudes, virtue signals and luxury beliefs, so the book was mostly quite tedious to read.
March 8, 2025
Fun and includes a lot of information. I feel like I got more out of this since I have been to Rome and studied its history
July 11, 2025
Perfect for someone who has been or wants to go to Rome and sometimes wonders how to be in the world.
September 13, 2025
Really good and inspiring. Like a walk through Rome with an intellegent person, who is telling stories about art, history and philosophy. Recommend to all lovers of Rome.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews