Beyond Stoicism: Bringing Ancient Insights to Modern Life
Details
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 studied Chapter 8, “Practice Relativism With Protagoras”. Protagoras was known as a Sophist. 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.
This month we will continue “The Port of Doubt” with Carneades (214-129 BCE). Chapter 9 is called, “Embrace Uncertainty With Carneades”.
Carneades was born in 214 BCE in Cyrene, the Greek-speaking city on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa (modern Libya). He was a student at Plato’s Academy and also studied with Diogenes of Babylon, the Stoic scholarch (leader) and a pupil of the influential Stoic logician Chrysippus. Stoicism influenced Carneades to a point that he began to challenge its most basic tenets. While the Stoics thought that absolute, infallible knowledge is possible, the Skeptics argued that both reason and the senses are known to be fallible. They argued that our ability to reason or to sense perceive objects cannot guarantee the truth of our cognition because there is no criteria that distinguishes true from false “impressions”.
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
*******************************************************************************
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.
———————
Meeting: Philadelphia Ethical Society on September Sunday 3:00 to 4:30 pm.
Part III: The Port of Doubt
Chapter 9: Embrace Uncertainty with Carneades