Pursuits of Wisdom: Six Ways of Life in Ancient Philosophy from Socrates to Plotinus

by John M. Cooper

Overview

This is a major reinterpretation of ancient philosophy that recovers the long Greek and Roman tradition of philosophy as a complete way of life—and not simply an intellectual discipline. Distinguished philosopher John Cooper traces how, for many ancient thinkers, philosophy was not just to be studied or even used to solve particular practical problems. Rather, philosophy—not just ethics but even logic and physical theory—was literally to be lived. Yet there was great disagreement about how to live philosophically: philosophy was not one but many, mutually opposed, ways of life. Examining this tradition from its establishment by Socrates in the fifth century BCE through Plotinus in the third century CE and the eclipse of pagan philosophy by Christianity, Pursuits of Wisdom examines six central philosophies of living—Socratic, Aristotelian, Stoic, Epicurean, Skeptic, and the Platonist life of late antiquity.


The book describes the shared assumptions that allowed these thinkers to conceive of their philosophies as ways of life, as well as the distinctive ideas that led them to widely different conclusions about the best human life. Clearing up many common misperceptions and simplifications, Cooper explains in detail the Socratic devotion to philosophical discussion about human nature, human life, and human good; the Aristotelian focus on the true place of humans within the total system of the natural world; the Stoic commitment to dutifully accepting Zeus's plans; the Epicurean pursuit of pleasure through tranquil activities that exercise perception, thought, and feeling; the Skeptical eschewal of all critical reasoning in forming their beliefs; and, finally, the late Platonist emphasis on spiritual concerns and the eternal realm of Being.



Pursuits of Wisdom is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding what the great philosophers of antiquity thought was the true purpose of philosophy—and of life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691138602
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	05/27/2012
Pages:	456
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.24(h) x 1.34(d)

About the Author

John M. Cooper is the Henry Putnam University Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University. He is the general editor of the authoritative English-language edition of Plato's complete writings, and the author of Reason and Emotion and Knowledge, Nature, and the Good (both Princeton), among other books.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Chapter 1 Introduction: On Philosophy as a Way of Life 1

1. Philosophy Ancient, Modern, and Contemporary 1

Chapter 2. What It Means to Live a Philosophy 17

2 The Socratic Way of Life 24

1. Ancient Philosophy as Intellectual Pursuit vs. as Way of Life 24

2. Socrates in Plato's Apology 32

3. Socratic Dialectic, Socratic Knowledge, and Human Wisdom 42

4. Socratic Philosophy as a Way of Life 48

5. Socrates and the Subsequent Tradition 60

Chapter 3 Aristotle: Philosophy as Two Ways of Life 70

1. Introduction 70

2. Practical vs. Theoretical Knowledge 74

3. The Highest Good, Happiness, and Virtue 79

4. Two Happy Lives, Two Happinesses: The Contemplative and the Practically Active Lives 91

5. Theoretical vs. Practical Virtue as Highest Good 96

6. The Practical Virtues: General Account 99

7. The Specific Practical Virtues 105

8. Practical Knowledge and Ethical "Theory" 117

9. Political Community and the Highest Good 123

10. Conclusion: Philosophy as Two Ways of Life 137

Chapter 4 Stoicism as a Way of Life 144

1. Introduction: The Three Hellenistic Philosophies 144

2. Stoicism: Tradition and Texts 147

3. Stoic Eudaimonism 150

4. Stoic Moral Psychology and the Human Virtues 158

5. Virtue: Agreement with the World-Mind's Plans 166

6. What Is Good vs. What Is Merely of Some Value 184

7. Consequences of the Stoic Theory of Value 190

8. Stoic vs. Aristotelian Conceptions of Emotions or Passions 203

9. The Stoic Way of Life 214

Chapter 5 The Epicurean and Skeptic Ways of Life 226

1. Introduction 226

2. Epicurus's Theory of the Human Good: "Kinetic" and "Katastematic" Pleasure 229

3. The Epicurean Way of Life: Virtue, Irreligion, Friendship 246

4. The Epicurean Life: Concluding Summary 271

5. Ancient Skepticism: Living without Believing Anything 276

6. The Pyrrhonian Skepticism of Sextus Empiricus 282

7. The Skeptic Way of Life 291

Chapter 6 Platonism as a Way of Life 305

1. Introduction: Pythagoras, Plato, and Ancient Greek Wisdom 305

2. Plotinus's Platonist Metaphysics 317

3. Plotinus's Theory of the Human Person 326

4. Three Levels of Human Virtues: "Civic", "Purifying," and "Intellectual" 341

5. Virtue and Happiness 363

6. Philosophy: The Sole Way Up to Life Itself 381

7. Epilogue: The Demise of Pagan Philosophy, and of Philosophy as a Way of Life 383

Further Readings 389

Endnotes 401

Bibliography 425

Index 431

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Since Socrates, philosophy has been concerned with how we ought to live. But the sense in which philosophy must be an ineluctably practical activity has become obscured. How could philosophy have ever conceived of itself as centrally concerned with its own therapeutic value? In Pursuits of Wisdom, John Cooper brings this crucial question back to life. This marvelous book will shape the way we think about and engage with ancient philosophical traditions."—Jonathan Lear, University of Chicago

"With unparalleled learning, argumentative depth, and great originality, Cooper presents a thorough rethinking of the major Greek moral philosophers. He revitalizes their visions of philosophy as a way of life and shows how they present a powerful challenge to current moral philosophy. The Greeks will never look the same again."—J. B. Schneewind, author of The Invention of Autonomy: A History of Modern Moral Philosophy

"John Cooper has had a profound impact on the scholarly study of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, particularly in its moral dimension. In this new work, he introduces this period to a far wider audience. His sympathy and enthusiasm for the pursuits of wisdom in antiquity, and the subtlety of his understanding of these philosophical schools, will make this book a classic of its kind."—Richard Kraut, author of What Is Good and Why: The Ethics of Well-Being

"The product of a lifetime of study and thought, Pursuits of Wisdom is a detailed and rigorous analysis of the foundations of the major schools of ancient ethics in the overall philosophical systems of their authors. John Cooper's masterwork will thus be indispensable for every student of ancient philosophy in general as well as ancient ethics. But Cooper's study is also indispensable for all students of modern ethics since so much of it originates in these ancient schools. In other words, Cooper's book is simply indispensable."—Paul Guyer, University of Pennsylvania

"This book not only discusses philosophy as a way of life, but manifests many of the virtues such a life might be hoped to embody. There is scarcely an instance in which Cooper's sureness of grasp, vivacity of expression, or clarity of purpose falters. The book invites a wide readership, and should receive it."—C.D.C. Reeve, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Editorial Reviews

Honorable Mention for the 2012 Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Philosophy, Association of American Publishers

From the Publisher

"In this insightful and well-written survey, Cooper presents the ancient Greek and Roman philosophical tradition as one that is unified around philosophy as a way of life. . . . Cooper offers an excellent survey that deserves a wide readership."

Choice

[E]legant. . . . Mr. Cooper's book proves to be an antidote to the rosy nostalgia that poisons stories about what philosophy was and what it has become. . . . Unlike in the natural sciences, the central questions in philosophy are pretty much the same as they ever were: What should I believe in? How should I live? Mr. Cooper's book lucidly presents six appealing answers to those questions.
— Brendan Boyle

Wall Street Journal

Cooper's book is comprehensive, accessible, and well-written, and his claim that we could follow the ancients in allowing philosophy to steer our lives in order to understand what they were up to makes his book a provocative and worthwhile read.

American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly - Angela Schwenkler

[E]legant. . . . Mr. Cooper's book proves to be an antidote to the rosy nostalgia that poisons stories about what philosophy was and what it has become. . . . Unlike in the natural sciences, the central questions in philosophy are pretty much the same as they ever were: What should I believe in? How should I live? Mr. Cooper's book lucidly presents six appealing answers to those questions.

Wall Street Journal - Brendan Boyle