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Pierre Hadot

    February 21, 1922 – April 24, 2010

    Pierre Hadot was a French philosopher, historian, and philologist whose work centered on the concept of spiritual exercises and philosophy as a way of life. He specialized in the ancient period, particularly Neoplatonism and Stoicism, emphasizing ancient philosophy as a practical approach to living. His writings, noted for their readability and profound erudition, consistently bridge philosophical ideas with personal experience, literature, and spirituality.

    Pierre Hadot
    Philosophy as a Way of Life
    The Present Alone is Our Happiness, Second Edition
    Plotinus or the Simplicity of Vision
    The Inner Citadel
    The Present Alone is Our Happiness
    The Veil of Isis
    • 2023

      "In Don't Forget to Live, the final book penned before his death in 2010, renowned French philosopher Pierre Hadot focuses our attention on Goethe and the long tradition of spiritual exercises. As Hadot explains, the term "spiritual exercise" has nothing to do with religion as we might assume. Instead, spiritual exercises are acts of the intellect, imagination, or will that are characterized by their purpose. Thanks to these exercises, a person strives to transform how they see the world, the self, and the relationship between the two. The exercises do not work to inform, but to form. Hadot begins his remarkable study of Goethe with the spiritual exercise of concentrating on the present moment. This exercise was dear to Goethe and allows us to experience each moment intensely without being distracted by the weight of the past or the mirage of the future. Hadot then explores another exercise, the view from above, in which we actively take a distance from things so as to help us see them in perspective. He then turns our attention to Goethe's poem "Urworte" in which the focus is on hope, a figure who represents a fundamental attitude we should cultivate. Through Hadot's masterful treatment of these three exercises we clearly grasp Goethe's deep love for life despite its pains and fears, and this deep love serves as a powerful reminder for us to live as well"--

      Don't Forget to Live
    • 2011

      In this book of brilliantly erudite and precise discussions, which also serves as an introduction to Pierre Hadot's more scholarly works, Hadot explains that for the Ancients, philosophy was not reducible to the building of a theoretical system: it was above all a choice about how to live one's life.

      The Present Alone is Our Happiness, Second Edition
    • 2008

      In this book of brilliantly erudite and precise discussions, which also serves as an introduction to Pierre Hadot's more scholarly works, Hadot explains that for the Ancients, philosophy was not reducible to the building of a theoretical system: it was above all a choice about how to live one's life.

      The Present Alone is Our Happiness
    • 2008

      The Veil of Isis

      • 432 pages
      • 16 hours of reading
      4.7(13)Add rating

      Nearly twenty-five hundred years ago the Greek thinker Heraclitus supposedly uttered the cryptic words Phusis kruptesthai philei. How the aphorism, usually translated as Nature loves to hide, has haunted Western culture ever since is the subject of this engaging study by Pierre Hadot.

      The Veil of Isis
    • 2004

      What is Ancient Philosophy?

      • 384 pages
      • 14 hours of reading
      4.3(640)Add rating

      A magisterial mappa mundi of the terrain that Pierre Hadot has so productively worked for decades, this ambitious book revises our view of ancient philosophy - and in doing so, proposes that we change the way we see philosophy itself.

      What is Ancient Philosophy?
    • 2001

      The Inner Citadel

      • 368 pages
      • 13 hours of reading
      4.4(109)Add rating

      Written by the Roman emperor for his own private guidance and self-admonition, the Meditations set forth principles for living a good and just life. Hadot probes Marcus Aurelius's guidelines and convictions and discerns the hitherto unperceived conceptual system that grounds them. schovat popis

      The Inner Citadel
    • 1998

      Plotinus or the Simplicity of Vision

      • 145 pages
      • 6 hours of reading
      4.3(279)Add rating

      Hadot explores Plotinus' philosophical perspectives on the self, existence, love, virtue, gentleness, and solitude. He highlights how Plotinus, influenced by Plato and Aristotle, aimed to embody philosophical principles rather than merely theorizing them. This work delves into the integration of these concepts into a life of philosophical practice, revealing the depth of Plotinus' thought in the context of his predecessors.

      Plotinus or the Simplicity of Vision
    • 1995

      This book presents a history of spiritual exercises from Socrates to early Christianity, an account of their decline in modern philosophy, and a discussion of the different conceptions of philosophy that have accompanied the trajectory and fate of the theory and practice of spiritual exercises.

      Philosophy as a Way of Life