Philosophy as a Way of Life Historical, Contemporary, and Pedagogical Perspectives

In the ancient world, philosophy was understood to be a practical guide for living, or even itself a way of life. This volume of essays brings historical views about philosophy as a way of life, coupled with their modern equivalents, more prevalently into the domain of the contemporary scholarly world.

• Illustrates how the articulation of philosophy as a way of life and its pedagogical implementation advances the love of wisdom
• Questions how we might convey the love of wisdom as not only a body of dogmatic principles and axiomatic truths but also a lived exercise that can be practiced
• Offers a collection of essays on an emerging field of philosophical research
• Essential reading for academics, researchers and scholars of philosophy, moral philosophy, and pedagogy; also business and professional people who have an interest in expanding their horizons

James M. Ambury is an associate professor of philosophy at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and is a member of the Mellon Philosophy as a Way of Life Network. He is the co-editor (with Andy German) of Knowledge and Ignorance of Self in Platonic Philosophy (2019) and has published articles in Ancient Philosophy, International Philosophical Quarterly, Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, Dionysius, and Plato.

Tushar Irani is an associate professor of philosophy and letters at Wesleyan University, Connecticut. Apart from his interests in philosophy as a way of life, he works on issues of philosophical method, the history and practice of rhetoric, virtue ethics, and moral psychology in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. He is the author most recently of Plato on the Value of Philosophy: The Art of Argument in the Gorgias and Phaedrus (2017).

Kathleen Wallace is professor of philosophy and department chairperson at Hofstra University. She is the author of The Network Self: Relation, Process, and Personal Identity (2019). In addition to her interest in philosophy as a way of life, her work spans interests in personal identity and anonymity, ethics, metaphysics, and American philosophy.  She is currently on the Board of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy and is also the book review editor for Metaphilosophy.

Notes on Contributors

Introduction (JAMES M. AMBURY, TUSHAR IRANI, and KATHLEEN WALLACE)

Part 1. History of Philosophy

1.  Ancient Greek Philosophia in India as a Way of Life (CHRISTOPHER MOORE)

2.  Philosophy and the Good Life in the Zhuangzi (PENGBO LIU) 

3.  Esoteric Confucianism, Moral Dilemmas, and Filial Piety (WILLIAM SIN)

4.  Renaissance Humanism and Philosophy as a Way of Life (JOHN SELLARS)

5.  Cartesian Philosophy as Spiritual Practice (JOSEPH I. BREIDENSTEIN JR.)

6.  Leibniz’s Philosophy as a Way of Life? (PAUL LODGE)

7.  Philosophy as a Feminist Spirituality and Critical Practice for Mary Astell (SIMONE WEBB)

8.  Nietzsche and Unamuno on Conatus and the Agapeic Way of Life (ALBERTO OYA)

9.  Ways of Discourse and Ways of Life: Plato on the Conflict Between Poetry and Philosophy (I-KAI JENG)

10. Stoicism and Its Telos: Insights from Michel Foucault (ROBIN WEISS)

Part 2. Moral Philosophy

11. Philosophy as a Way of Life Today: History, Criticism, and Apology (MARTA FAUSTINO)

12. Setting Limits to Practical Reflection: Against Philosophy as a Way of Life (VITOR SOMMAVILLA)

13. What It Takes to Live Philosophically: Or, How to Progress in the Art of Living (CALEB COHOE and STEPHEN R. GRIMM)

14. Why Practice Philosophy as a Way of Life? (JAVIER HIDALGO)

Part 3. Pedagogy

15. On the Benefits of Philosophy as a Way of Life in a General Introductory Course (JAKE WRIGHT)

16. Philosophy as Empirical Exploration of Living: An Approach to Courses in Philosophy as a Way of Life (STEVEN HORST)

Index

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