The Global Stoa

[Cross-posted from NYC Stoics]

A lot of Stoic theory gets lost in translation. One common example is translating arete as "virtue"-- an English word that carries connotations that the ancient word doesn't have. But the poor mapping between modern concepts and ancient Stoic ones doesn't stop there.

In this meetup, we'll discuss a paper from scholar Tad Brennan who argues other modern moral notions don't map onto ancient Stoic ethics well. Specifically, Brennan argues:

1. The Stoics had no notion that is akin to the modern concept of duty
2. The difference between virtue and Stoic indifferents is not akin to the difference between the moral and non-moral domains
3. The Stoic sage would not use notions of virtue in their deliberations

To prepare for this meetup, please read Tad Brennan's Demoralizing the Stoics in full and come prepared with questions or concepts you want to discuss. The text can be downloaded for free here.

We'll be assuming you did the reading at this meetup, so if you didn't, it's likely you'll be left behind!

Metaphysics and science study the nature of the world. Ethics is concerned with how we should act in the world. What is the relationship between the two? Let’s explore it by way of contrasting the metaphysics and ethics of two of the most prominent Greco-Roman schools of practical philosophy: Stoicism and Epicureanism.

Suggested reading: Determinism, swerves, and the relationship between metaphysics and ethics.

Zoom link: available on this page.

Please plan to log in about five minutes before the meeting. Also note that the zoom room will be locked five minutes after the beginning of the event for security reasons, so come on time!

Join authors Massimo Pigliucci, Gregory Lopez, and Meredith Alexander Kunz together with moderator Gregory Sadler for a lively discussion of the new book: Beyond Stoicism—A Guide to the Good Life with Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans, and Other Ancient Philosophers. (Pre-order here!)

For centuries, people have been grappling with life’s biggest questions: Who am I? What’s my purpose? How can I be happy? In modern times, many have found meaningful answers in Stoic philosophy. But there are other Greek and Roman philosophers who offer invaluable insights for modern life.

This book is a compass that helps us navigate these treacherous existential waters. Each chapter introduces a new tool for our toolkit by combining a biographical sketch of a particular philosopher, an exploration of the larger philosophy, and applicable lessons to tackle common challenges found in our everyday lives. We learn how to avoid pain with Epicurus, how to strike the right balance between extremes with Aristotle, how to rebel like the Cynic Hipparchia, and how to embrace uncertainty with the help of Carneades. Organized around three main themes of pleasure, character, and doubt, there’s something to learn from each thinker in our philosophical quest.

Even though these ideas were first presented thousands of years ago, they’re more relevant than ever in the twenty-first century. We still want the same things: love, friendship, money, reputation; and still fear the same threats: poverty, sickness, pain, and death. These Hellenistic philosophers devised powerful wisdom on how to live—now, we can use it to make our lives better.

Zoom link: available on this page.

Please plan to log in about five minutes before the meeting. Also note that the Zoom room will be locked five minutes after the beginning of the event for security reasons, so come on time!

Anger, according to the Stoics, is a form of temporary madness, the quintessential example of an unhealthy emotion, because it is in opposition to reason. Seneca the Younger wrote a whole book on the subject.

But the Stoics were not the only ones to have a problem with anger. So did the Platonist Skeptic Plutarch of Chaeronea, who wrote on the subject in his Moral Essays. Which is interesting, because Plutarch was also fairly critical of the Stoics!

Come join us in beautiful Paris this January to spend two and a half days exploring Seneca's and Plutarch's ideas about anger and how we can apply them to modern life. Whether you'll end up agreeing or disagreeing with them, you are guaranteed a stimulating time in the City of Light, together with fellow practitioners of philosophy as a way of life.

Suggested readings:

Plato, Phaedrus, tr. by A. Nehamas and P. Woodruff, Hackett Classics. (Also available online free.)

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, tr. by R.C. Bartlett, University of Chicago Press (focus on section 4.5). (Also available online free.)

Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, tr. by J.E. King, Harvard University Press (focus on Tusculan Disputations 3 and 4). (Also available online free.)

Seneca, Anger, Mercy, Revenge, tr. by Robert A. Kaster and Martha C. Nussbaum, University of Chicago Press (focus on On Anger). (Also available online free.)

Plutarch, Essays, tr. by Robin Waterfield, Penguin Classics (focus on On the avoidance of anger). (Also available online free.)

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Location: Hôtel Maison FL, 6 Rue de la Tour, 75116 Paris, France. (To obtain the special rate for attendees, which includes breakfast, use code ESSTS.)

This event is sponsored by the Stoa Nova school for a new Stoicism, and will be facilitated by two of its faculty, Rob Colter and Massimo Pigliucci.

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Program

Thursday, January 9

3am-6pm: Plato and the unruly horses (Rob)

8pm-10pm: dinner in small groups, philosophy chats

Friday, January 10

9am-12pm: Aristotle’s treatment of the emotions (John); Cicero’s treatment of the emotions (Massimo)

12pm-3pm: lunch break, eateries nearby

3pm-6pm: Seneca's On Anger, books I & II

8pm-10pm: dinner in small groups, philosophy chats

Saturday, January 11

9am-12pm: Seneca's On Anger, books II & III

12pm-3pm: lunch break, eateries nearby

3pm-6pm: Plutarch's On the Avoidance of Anger

8pm-10pm: group dinner (facultative)

Sunday, January 12

10am-1pm: Excursion at the National Archeology Museum. The Musée d’Archéologie Nationale is housed in what was once a royal palace – the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on the outskirts of Paris. In the 1860s Napoleon III had the castle restored to house the nation’s archaeology collections. Today, the museum has a vast collection of artefacts from all over the country, from the earliest Palaeolithic to the early Medieval. Highlights include cave art, Bronze Age gold and Roman mosaics.

1pm-3pm: lunch at nearby eateries

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Here is a short article on the history of Lutetia, the original (Roman) Paris.

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About the facilitators:

Massimo Pigliucci is an author, blogger, podcaster, as well as the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His new book is Beyond Stoicism: A Guide to the Good Life with Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans, and Other Ancient Philosophers (with Greg Lopez and Meredith Kunz, The Experiment). More here.

Rob Colter is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Wyoming. An award winning teacher, his courses cover ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy, Philosophy as a Way of Life, and other core philosophical topics. Rob is the founder and Director of Wyoming Stoic Camp, an immersive experience in living like a Stoic based in the high Rocky Mountains of Wyoming.

John Sellars is a Reader in Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London (where he is currently program lead for Philosophy), a Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London (where he is Associate Editor for the Ancient Commentators on Aristotle project), and a Member of Common Room at Wolfson College, Oxford (where he was once a Junior Research Fellow and is a member of Wolfson’s Ancient World Research Cluster).

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Fee: $200/person.

Refund (minus processing fee) if: (i) the workshop is canceled; or (ii) if you cancel by midnight (ET) on 12 December 2024.