Beyond Stoicism: Bringing Ancient Insights to Modern Life
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Join us at the Philadelphia Ethical Society for a session with Dr. Amjol Shrestha of Rowan University as we explore how ancient philosophies can guide us in navigating today’s world. This session continues our study of Beyond Stoicism: A Guide to the Good Life with Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans, and Other Ancient Philosophers by Massimo Pigliucci, Gregory Lopez, and Meredith Alexander Kunz. The book draws on the wisdom of thirteen philosophers from Ancient Greece and Rome, blending insights from their lives with practical teachings and exercises for creating a more meaningful life.
Last month we will started a new section “The Port of Doubt” with Socrates (469-300 BC). Chapter 7 is called, “Question Everything With Socrates”. Socrates is a Greek philosopher from Athens. He is sometimes credited as the founder of Western Philosophy (represented in writings by his disciple Plato). Socrates spent the rest of his life questioning everything. He sought to understand the limits of his knowledge and to expand on his understanding of the good. Indeed, he wanted to help his fellow Athenians to understand and to live a good life by overcome inconsistent beliefs. He did this by engaging in short conversations with his students and Athenian politicians going back and forth investigating and sorting out important concepts like wisdom, courage, piety and justice. Socrates hardly confident in his own supposed knowledge often left his interlocutor in a puzzled state (aporia) due to exposing inconsistent beliefs.
This month we will continue “The Port of Doubt” with Protagoras (490-420 BC). Chapter 8 is called, “Practice Relativism With Protagoras”. Protagoras was born in Abdera, in Thrace around 490 BCE. The details of his early life are a mystery, but a few stories offer clues. We know students sought after his ‘Sophistry’ Education because learning good arguments could advance their careers in politics. Plato, on the other hand, disliked Sophists while not totally rejecting Protagoras himself. According to Plato, the Sophists were not doing real philosophy. For a high fee, Sophists taught rhetorical skills aimed at personal advantage—what we nowadays in fact call sophistry (or, with a bit of a more positive spin, lawyering). In this session, we will focus on Protagoras’ three main concerns: 1) the study of the meaning of words (meaning right speech); 2) the notion that man is the measure of all things; and 3) agnosticism about the gods and general skepticism of religion.
In general our meetings will be divided into two parts. The first part I will briefly review their theoretical arguments of the thinkers… here I expect questions will be raised. The next part will involve group work. Our authors have provided various sets of exercises to practice.
One copy of the book will be provided to be purchased. You can also purchase the book via Amazon (see link below). Also Please see the video of our Authors discussing their new book with Professor Gregory Sadler.
Video Discussion with the Authors about "Beyond Stoicism".
https://thephilosophygarden.substack.com/p/video-beyond-stoicism?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#media-4c0afcd9-cc7b-44db-80b0-3ecd7ad613f6
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This series is part of an ongoing partnership between the Philadelphia Ethical Society and the Philly Stoa. The Philly Stoa hosts gatherings on the first and third Sunday of each month throughout the fall until the new year. We’ll continue exploring The Art of Living while also deepening our practice through the series Beyond Stoicism: Ancient Philosophies for Modern Times, which offers practical exercises to help bridge theory and everyday life.
The Philly Stoa is a 501(c)(3). To learn more or get involved, visit philadelphiastoa.org/contact.
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Meeting: Philadelphia Ethical Society on September Sunday 3:00 to 4:30 pm.
Part III: The Port of Doubt
Chapter 8: Practice Relativism with Protagoras
Beyond Stoicism: Bringing Ancient Insights to Modern Life