Beyond Stoicism: Bringing Ancient Insights to Modern Life

Join Philadelphia Stoa 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.

This month we will continue “The Port of Doubt” with Protagoras. 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, Stoa's meetings will be divided into two parts. The first part we will briefly review their theoretical arguments of the thinkers. 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. Also Please see the video of our Authors discussing their new book with Professor Gregory Sadler.