Bøker av Pierre Hadot

Hadot shows how the schools, trends, and ideas of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy strove to transform the individual's mode of perceiving and being in the world. For the ancients, philosophical theory and the philosophical way of life were inseparably linked. Hadot asks us to consider whether and how this connection might be reestablished today.

"In Don't Forget to Live, the final book penned before his death in 2010, renowned French philosopher Pierre Hadot focuses our attention on Goethe and the long tradition of spiritual exercises. As Hadot explains, the term "spiritual exercise" has nothing to do with religion as we might assume. Instead, spiritual exercises are acts of the intellect, imagination, or will that are characterized by their purpose. Thanks to these exercises, a person strives to transform how they see the world, the self, and the relationship between the two. The exercises do not work to inform, but to form. Hadot begins his remarkable study of Goethe with the spiritual exercise of concentrating on the present moment. This exercise was dear to Goethe and allows us to experience each moment intensely without being distracted by the weight of the past or the mirage of the future. Hadot then explores another exercise, the view from above, in which we actively take a distance from things so as to help us see them in perspective. He then turns our attention to Goethe's poem "Urworte" in which the focus is on hope, a figure who represents a fundamental attitude we should cultivate. Through Hadot's masterful treatment of these three exercises we clearly grasp Goethe's deep love for life despite its pains and fears, and this deep love serves as a powerful reminder for us to live as well"--

This collection of writings from Pierre Hadot (1992-2010) presents, for the first time, previously unreleased and in some cases untranslated materials from one of the world's most prominent classical philosophers and historians of thought. As a passionate proponent of philosophy as a 'way of life' (most powerfully communicated in the life of Socrates), Pierre Hadot rejuvenated interest in the ancient philosophers and developed a philosophy based on their work which is peculiarly contemporary. His radical recasting of philosophy in the West was both provocative and substantial. Indeed, Michel Foucault cites Pierre Hadot as a major influence on his work. This beautifully written, lucid collection of writings will not only be of interest to historians, classicists and philosophers but also those interested in nourishing, as Pierre Hadot himself might have put it, a 'spiritual life'.

In this book of brilliantly erudite and precise discussions, which also serves as an introduction to Pierre Hadot's more scholarly works, Hadot explains that for the Ancients, philosophy was not reducible to the building of a theoretical system: it was above all a choice about how to live one's life.

In this book of brilliantly erudite and precise discussions, which also serves as an introduction to Pierre Hadot's more scholarly works, Hadot explains that for the Ancients, philosophy was not reducible to the building of a theoretical system: it was above all a choice about how to live one's life.