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Books > Philosophy > Western philosophy

Deleuze and the Schizoanalysis of Visual Art (Hardcover): Ian Buchanan, Lorna Collins Deleuze and the Schizoanalysis of Visual Art (Hardcover)
Ian Buchanan, Lorna Collins
R4,642 Discovery Miles 46 420 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The concept of schizoanalysis is Deleuze and Guattari's fusion of psychoanalytic-inspired theories of the self, the libido and desire with Marx-inspired theories of the economy, history and society. Schizoanalysis holds that art's function is both political and aesthetic - it changes perception. If one cannot change perception, then, one cannot change anything politically. This is why Deleuze and Guattari always insist that artists operate at the level of the real (not the imaginary or the symbolic). Ultimately, they argue, there is no necessary distinction to be made between aesthetics and politics. They are simply two sides of the same coin, both concerned with the formation and transformation of social and cultural norms. Deleuze and the Schizoanalysis of Visual Art explores how every artist, good or bad, contributes to the structure and nature of society because their work either reinforces social norms, or challenges them. From this point of view we are all artists, we all have the potential to exercise what might be called a 'aesthetico-political function' and change the world around us; or, conversely, we can not only let the status quo endure, but fight to preserve it as though it were freedom itself. Edited by one of the world's leading scholars in Deleuze Studies and an accomplished artist, curator and critic, this impressive collection of writings by both academics and practicing artists is an exciting imaginative tool for a upper level students and academics researching and studying visual arts, critical theory, continental philosophy, and media.

Plato, the Completed Works (Hardcover): Christopher Grey Plato, the Completed Works (Hardcover)
Christopher Grey
R1,324 Discovery Miles 13 240 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Hegel - Texts and Commentary (Hardcover): W. G. Hegel Hegel - Texts and Commentary (Hardcover)
W. G. Hegel; Edited by Walter Kaufmann
R2,003 Discovery Miles 20 030 Ships in 18 - 22 working days

Herbert Marcuse called the preface to Hegel's Phenomenology "one of the greatest philosophical undertakings of all times." This summary of Hegel's system of philosophy is now available in English translation with commentary on facing pages. While remaining faithful to the author's meaning, Walter Kaufmann has removed many encumbrances inherent in Hegel's style.

A New and Accurate System of Natural History ..; 3 (Hardcover): R (Richard) Fl 1721-1763 Brookes A New and Accurate System of Natural History ..; 3 (Hardcover)
R (Richard) Fl 1721-1763 Brookes
R1,043 Discovery Miles 10 430 Ships in 18 - 22 working days
New Perspectives on Aristotle's De caelo (Hardcover): Alan Bowen, Christian Wildberg New Perspectives on Aristotle's De caelo (Hardcover)
Alan Bowen, Christian Wildberg
R4,790 Discovery Miles 47 900 Ships in 18 - 22 working days

This volume is the first collection of scholarly articles in any modern language devoted to Aristotle's De caelo. It grew out of series of workshops held at Princeton, Cambridge, and Paris in the late 1990's. Since Aristotle's De caelo had a major influence on cosmological thinking until the time of Galileo and Kepler and helped to shape the way in which Western civilization imagined its natural environment and place at the center of the universe, familiarity with the main doctrines of the De caelo is a prerequisite for an understanding of much of the thought and culture of antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Ancient Greek Philosophy - From The Presocratics to the Hellenistic Philosophers (Hardcover, New): T Blackson Ancient Greek Philosophy - From The Presocratics to the Hellenistic Philosophers (Hardcover, New)
T Blackson
R2,731 Discovery Miles 27 310 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Ancient Greek Philosophy: From the Presocratics to the Hellenistic Philosophers presents a comprehensive introduction to the philosophers and philosophical traditions that developed in ancient Greece from 585 BC to 529 AD. * Provides coverage of the Presocratics through the Hellenistic philosophers * Moves beyond traditional textbooks that conclude with Aristotle * A uniquely balanced organization of exposition, choice excerpts and commentary, informed by classroom feedback * Contextual commentary traces the development of lines of thought through the period, ideal for students new to the discipline * Can be used in conjunction with the online resources found at http://tomblackson.com/Ancient/toc.html

English Philosophy in the Age of Locke (Hardcover): M.A. Stewart English Philosophy in the Age of Locke (Hardcover)
M.A. Stewart
R4,662 Discovery Miles 46 620 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

English Philosophy in the Age of Locke presents a set of new essays investigating key issues in English philosophical, political, and religious thought in the second half of the seventeenth century. Particular emphasis is given to the interaction between philosophy and religion in the leading political thinkers of the period, and to connections between philosophical debate on personhood, certainty, and the foundations of faith, and new conceptions of biblical exegesis.

Socrates: A Guide for the Perplexed (Hardcover): Sara Ahbel-Rappe Socrates: A Guide for the Perplexed (Hardcover)
Sara Ahbel-Rappe
R3,655 Discovery Miles 36 550 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This book offers an introduction to Socrates, ideal for undergraduate students taking courses in Ancient and Greek Philosophy. Socrates is regarded as the founder of Western philosophical inquiry. Yet he left no writings and claimed to know 'nothing fine or worthy'. He spent his life perplexing those who encountered him and is as important and perplexing now as he was 2500 years ago. Drawing on the various competing sources for Socrates that are available to us, "Socrates: A Guide for the Perplexed" guides the reader through the main themes and ideas of Socrates' thought. Taking into account the puzzles surrounding his trial and death, the philosophical methods and ethical positions associated with Socrates, and his lasting influence, Sara Ahbel-Rappe presents a concise and accessible introduction to this most influential and important of philosophers. She concludes by suggesting that it is in fact the Socratic insistence on self-knowledge that makes Socrates at once so pivotal and so elusive for the student of philosophy. This book is the ideal companion to the study of key thinker in the history of philosophy. Continuum's "Guides for the Perplexed" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging - or indeed downright bewildering. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material.

Plato, Metaphysics and the Forms (Hardcover): Francis A. Grabowski III Plato, Metaphysics and the Forms (Hardcover)
Francis A. Grabowski III
R4,948 Discovery Miles 49 480 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This is an important new monograph on Plato's metaphysics, focusing on the theory of the forms, which is the central philosophical concept in Plato's theory.Few philosophical doctrines have been as influential and as widely discussed as Plato's theory of Forms; yet few have been as misunderstood. Most philosophers, following the recommendation of Aristotle, regard the Forms as abstract entities. However, this view is difficult to square with other aspects of Plato's thought, in particular his theory of knowledge.Francis A. Grabowski aims to dissociate the theory of Forms from its Aristotelian reception, by interpreting it within the larger framework of Plato's philosophy. Grabowski notes that the theory emerged largely from epistemological concerns. He shows that the ancients conceived of knowledge almost exclusively as a perception-like acquaintance with things. He goes on to examine Plato's epistemology and shows that Plato also regards knowledge as the mind being directly acquainted with its object. Grabowski argues that, by modelling knowledge on perception, Plato could not have conceived of the Forms as Aristotle and others have claimed. He concludes that an interpretation of the Forms as concrete rather than abstract entities provides a more plausible and coherent view of Plato's overall philosophical project.

Image and Hope (Hardcover): Yaroslav Viazovski Image and Hope (Hardcover)
Yaroslav Viazovski; Foreword by Paul Helm
R1,228 R1,026 Discovery Miles 10 260 Save R202 (16%) Ships in 18 - 22 working days
On the Heavens (Hardcover): Aristotle On the Heavens (Hardcover)
Aristotle
R620 Discovery Miles 6 200 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

THE science which has to do with nature clearly concerns itself for the most part with bodies and magnitudes and their properties and movements, but also with the principles of this sort of substance, as many as they may be. For of things constituted by nature some are bodies and magnitudes, some possess body and magnitude, and some are principles of things which possess these. Now a continuum is that which is divisible into parts always capable of subdivision, and a body is that which is every way divisible.

Revisiting Aristotle's Fragments - New Essays on the Fragments of Aristotle's Lost Works (Hardcover): Antonio Pedro... Revisiting Aristotle's Fragments - New Essays on the Fragments of Aristotle's Lost Works (Hardcover)
Antonio Pedro Mesquita, Simon Noriega-Olmos, Christopher John Ignatius Shields
R3,541 Discovery Miles 35 410 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The philosophical and philological study of Aristotle fragments and lost works has fallen somewhat into the background since the 1960's. This is regrettable considering the different and innovative directions the study of Aristotle has taken in the last decades. This collection of new peer-reviewed essays applies the latest developments and trends of analysis, criticism, and methodology to the study of Aristotle's fragments. The individual essays use the fragments as tools of interpretation, shed new light on different areas of Aristotle philosophy, and lay bridges between Aristotle's lost and extant works. The first part shows how Aristotle frames parts of his own understanding of Philosophy in his published, 'popular' work. The second part deals with issues of philosophical interpretation in Aristotle's extant works which can be illuminated by fragments of his lost works. The philosophical issues treated in this section range from Theology to Natural Science, Psychology, Politics, and Poetics. As a whole, the book articulates a new approach to Aristotle's lost works, by providing a reassessment and new methodological explorations of the fragments.

Schopenhauer (Hardcover): R. Wicks Schopenhauer (Hardcover)
R. Wicks
R2,456 Discovery Miles 24 560 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This innovative volume presents an insightful philosophical portrait of the life and work of Arthur Schopenhauer.
Focuses on the concept of the sublime as it clarifies Schopenhauer's aesthetic theory, moral theory and asceticism
Explores the substantial relationships between Schopenhauer's philosophy and Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity
Defends Schopenhauer's position that absolute truth can be known and described as a blindly striving, all-permeating, universal "Will"
Examines the influence of Asian philosophy on Schopenhauer
Describes the relationships between Schopenhauer's thought and that of Hegel, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein.

Who is afraid of the rhetor? - An analysis and exegesis of Socrates and Gorgias' conversation in Plato's Gorgias... Who is afraid of the rhetor? - An analysis and exegesis of Socrates and Gorgias' conversation in Plato's Gorgias (Hardcover)
Yosef Liebersohn
R3,698 Discovery Miles 36 980 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This book concentrates on the conversation between Socrates and Gorgias which takes place in the first part of Plato's Gorgias. Scholars have tended to concentrate on the following two conversations held by Socrates with Polus and, especially, with Callicles. This first, relatively short, conversation is usually taken to be a kind of preface coming before Plato's 'real' philosophy. The present study challenges this assumption, arguing that the conversation between Socrates and Gorgias actually anticipates the message of the whole dialogue, which concerns the essence of rhetoric and its implications.

Adventures with the Theory of the Baroque and French Philosophy (Hardcover): Nadir Lahiji Adventures with the Theory of the Baroque and French Philosophy (Hardcover)
Nadir Lahiji
R4,639 Discovery Miles 46 390 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Analysing the reception of contemporary French philosophy in architecture over the last four decades, Adventures with the Theory of the Baroque and French Philosophy discusses the problematic nature of importing philosophical categories into architecture. Focusing particularly on the philosophical notion of the Baroque in Gilles Deleuze, this study examines traditional interpretations of the concept in contemporary architecture theory, throwing up specific problems such as the aestheticization of building theory and practice. Identifying these and other issues, Nadir Lahiji constructs a concept of the baroque in contrast to the contemporary understanding in architecture discourse. Challenging the contemporary dominance of the Neo-Baroque as a phenomenon related to postmodernism and late capitalism, he establishes the Baroque as a name for the paradoxical unity of 'kitsch' and 'high' art and argues that the digital turn has enhanced the return of the Baroque in contemporary culture and architectural practice that he brands a pseudo-event in the term 'neobaroque'. Lahiji's original critique expands on the misadventure of architecture with French Philosophy and explains why the category of the Baroque, if it is still useful to keep in architecture criticism, must be tied to the notion of Post-Rationalism. Within this latter notion, he draws on the work of Alain Badiou to theorize a new concept of the Baroque as Event. Alongside close readings of Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno and Michel Foucault related to the criticism of the Baroque and Modernity and discussions of the work of Frank Gehry, in particular, this study draws on Jacque Lacan's concept of the baroque and presents the first comprehensive treatment of the psychoanalytical theory of the Baroque in the work of Lacan.

Reading Proclus and the Book of Causes, Volume 3 - On Causes and the Noetic Triad (English, French, Hardcover): Dragos Calma Reading Proclus and the Book of Causes, Volume 3 - On Causes and the Noetic Triad (English, French, Hardcover)
Dragos Calma
R6,443 Discovery Miles 64 430 Ships in 18 - 22 working days

Reading Proclus and the Book of Causes, published in three volumes, is a fresh, comprehensive understanding of the history of Neoplatonism from the 9th to the 16th century. This third volume gathers contributions on key concepts of the Platonic tradition (Proclus, Plotinus, Porphyry or Sallustius) inherited and reinterpreted by Arabic (e.g. Avicenna, the Book of Causes), Byzantine (e.g. Maximus the Confessor, Ioane Petritsi) and Latin authors (e.g. Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Berthold of Moosburg, Marsilio Ficino etc.). Two major themes are presently studied: causality (in respect to the One, the henads, the self-constituted substances and the first being) and the noetic triad (being-life-intellect).

The Philosophy of Art (Hardcover): Giacomo Rinaldi The Philosophy of Art (Hardcover)
Giacomo Rinaldi
R3,879 Discovery Miles 38 790 Ships in 18 - 22 working days
Wittgenstein, Empiricism, and Language (Hardcover): John W. Cook Wittgenstein, Empiricism, and Language (Hardcover)
John W. Cook
R1,804 Discovery Miles 18 040 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Cook exposes how Wittgenstein's philosophical views have been misunderstood, including the failure to recognize the reductionist character of Wittgenstein's work. He also shows how both Wittgenstein's defenders and detractors have failed to recognize the merits of linguistic philosophy when it is freed from the influence of Wittgenstein and G.E. Moore.

Main Currents in Nineteenth Century Literature; 2 (Hardcover): Georg Morris Cohen 1842-1927 Brandes Main Currents in Nineteenth Century Literature; 2 (Hardcover)
Georg Morris Cohen 1842-1927 Brandes; Diana White, Mary Morison
R919 Discovery Miles 9 190 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Deathworlds to Lifeworlds - Collaboration with Strangers for Personal, Social and Ecological Transformation (Hardcover):... Deathworlds to Lifeworlds - Collaboration with Strangers for Personal, Social and Ecological Transformation (Hardcover)
Valerie Malhotra Bentz, James Marlatt
R3,792 Discovery Miles 37 920 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Deathworlds are places on planet earth that can no longer sustain life. These are increasing rapidly. We experience remnants of Deathworlds within our Lifeworlds (for example traumatic echoes of war, genocide, oppression). Many practices and policies, directly or indirectly, are "Deathworld-Making." They undermine Lifeworlds contributing to community decline, illnesses, climate change, and species extinction. This book highlights the ways in which writing about and sharing meaningful experiences may lead to social and environmental justice practices, decreasing Deathworld-Making. Phenomenology is a method which reveals the connection between personal suffering and the suffering of the planet earth and all its creatures. Sharing can lead to collaborative relationships among strangers for social and environmental justice across barriers of culture, politics, and language. "Deathworlds into Lifeworlds wakes people up to how current economic and social forces are destroying life and communities on our planet, as I have mapped in my work. The chapters by scholars around the world in this powerful book testify to the pervasive consequences of the proliferation of Deathworld-making and ways that collaboration across cultures can help move us forward." -Saskia Sassen is the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University and a Member of its Committee on Global Thought. "Recognizing the inseparability of experience, consciousness, environment and problematics in rebalancing life systems, this book offers solutions from around the world." -Four Arrows, aka Don Trent Jacobs, author of Sitting Bull's Words for A World in Crises, et al. "This unique book brings together 78 participants from 11 countries to reveal the ways in which phenomenology - the study of consciousness and phenomena - can lead to profound personal and social transformation. Such transformation is especially powerful when "Deathworlds" - physical or cultural places that no longer sustain life - are transformed into "lifeworlds" through collaborative sharing, even when (or, perhaps, especially when) the sharing is among strangers across different cultures. The contributors share a truly wide range of human experiences, from the death of a child to ecological destruction, in offering ways to affirm life in the face of what may seem to be hopeless death-affirming challenges." -Richard P. Appelbaum, Ph.D., is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus and former MacArthur Foundation Chair in Global and International Studies and Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also a founding Professor at Fielding Graduate University, where he heads the doctoral concentration in Sustainability Leadership. "Deathworlds is a love letter for the planet-our home. By documenting places that no longer sustain life, the authors collectively pull back the curtain on these places, rendering them meaningful by connecting what ails us with what ails the world." -Katrina S. Rogers, Ph.D., conservation activist and author "Deathworlds to Lifeworlds represents collaboration among Fielding Graduate University, the University of Lodz (Poland), and the University of the Virgin Islands. Students and faculty from these universities participated in seminars on transformative phenomenology and developed rich phenomenologically based narratives of their experiences or others'. These phenomenological protocol narratives creatively modify and integrate with everyday experience the conceptual frameworks of Husserl, Schutz, Heidegger, Habermas, and others. The diverse protocol authors demonstrate how phenomenological reflection is transformative first by revealing how Deathworlds, which lead to physical, mental, social, or ecological decline, imperil invaluable lifeworlds. Deathworlds appear on lifeworld fringes, such as extra-urban trash landfills, where unnoticed impoverished workers labor to the destruction of their own health. Poignant protocol-narratives highlight the plight and noble struggle of homeless people, the mother of a dying 19-year-old son, persons inclined to suicide, overwhelmed first responders, alcoholics who through inspiration achieve sobriety, unravelled We-Relationships, those suffering from and overcoming addiction or misogynist stereotypes or excessive pressures, veterans distraught after combat, a military mother, those in liminal situations, and oppressed indigenous peoples who still make available their liberating spirituality. Transformative phenomenology exemplifies that generous responsiveness to the ethical summons to solidarity to which Levinas's Other invites us." -Michael Barber, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, St. Louis University. He has authored seven books and more than 80 articles in the general area of phenomenology and the social world. He is editor of Schutzian Research, an annual interdisciplinary journal. "This book helps us notice the Deathworlds that surround us and advocates for their de-naturalization. Its central claim is that the ten virtues of the transformative phenomenologist allow us to do so by changing ourselves and the worlds we live in. In this light, the book is an outstanding presentation of the international movement known as "transformative phenomenology." It makes groundbreaking contributions to a tradition in which some of the authors are considered the main referents. Also, it offers an innovative understanding of Alfred Schutz's philosophy of the Lifeworld and a fruitful application of Van Manen's method of written protocols." -Carlos Belvedere, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Buenos Aires" "Moving beyond the social phenomenology carved out by Alfred Schutz, this impressive volume of action-based experiential research displays the efficacy of applying phenomenological protocols to explore Deathworlds, the tacit side of the foundational conception of Lifeworlds. Over twenty-one chapters, plus an epilogue, readers are transported by the train of Transformative Phenomenology, created during what's been called the Silver Age of Phenomenology (1996 - present) at the Fielding Graduate University. An international amalgam of students and faculty from universities in Poland, the United States, the Virigin Islands, Canada, and socio-cultural locations throughout the world harnessed their collective energy to advance the practical call of phenomenology as a pathway to meaning-making through rich descriptions of lived experience. Topics include dwelling with strangers, dealing with trash, walking with the homeless, death of a young person, overcoming colonialism, precognition, environmental destruction, and so much more. The research collection enhances what counts as phenomenological inquiry, while remaining respectful of Edmund Husserl's philosophical roots." -David Rehorick, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of New Brunswick (Canada) & Professor Emeritus, Fielding Graduate University (U.S.A.), Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Domestication of Derrida - Rorty, Pragmatism and Deconstruction (Hardcover): Lorenzo Fabbri The Domestication of Derrida - Rorty, Pragmatism and Deconstruction (Hardcover)
Lorenzo Fabbri
R4,948 Discovery Miles 49 480 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

In The Domestication of Derrida, Lorenzo Fabbri argues that Rorty's powerful reading protocol is motivated by the necessity to contain the risks of Derrida's critique of Western philosophy and politics. Rorty claims that Derrida reduces philosophy to a production of private fantasies that do not have any political or epistemological relevance. Fabbri challenges such an aberrant appropriation by investigating the two key features of Rorty's privatization of deconstruction: the reduction of deconstructive writing to an example of merely autobiographical literature; and the idea that Derrida not only dismisses, but also mocks the desire to engage philosophy with political struggle. What is ultimately questioned in The Domestication of Derrida is the legitimacy of labelling deconstruction as a post-modern withdrawal from politics and theory. By discussing Derrida's resistance against the very possibility of theoretical and political ascetism, Fabbri shows that there is much more politics and philosophy in deconstruction than Rorty is willing to admit.

On the Plurality of Worlds (Hardcover, New Ed): D. Lewis On the Plurality of Worlds (Hardcover, New Ed)
D. Lewis
R3,519 Discovery Miles 35 190 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This book is a defense of modal realism; the thesis that our world is but one of a plurality of worlds, and that the individuals that inhabit our world are only a few out of all the inhabitants of all the worlds. Lewis argues that the philosophical utility of modal realism is a good reason for believing that it is true.

After putting forward the type of modal realism he favors, Lewis answers numerous objections that have been raised against it. These include an insistence that everything must be actual; paradoxes akin to those that confront naive set theory; arguments that modal realism leads to inductive skepticism, or to disregard for prudence and morality; and finally, sheer incredulity at a theory that disagrees so badly with common opinion. Lewis grants the weight of the last objection, but takes it to be outweighed by the benefits to systematic theory that acceptance of modal realism brings. He asks whether these same benefits might be gained more cheaply if we replace his many worlds by many merely 'abstract' representations; but concludes that all versions of this 'ersatz modal realism' are in serious trouble. In the final chapter, Lewis distinguishes various questions about trans-world identity, and argues that his 'method of counterparts' is preferable to alternative approaches.

Introduction to Medieval Philosophy (Hardcover): J Koterski Introduction to Medieval Philosophy (Hardcover)
J Koterski
R2,988 Discovery Miles 29 880 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

By exploring the philosophical character of some of the greatest medieval thinkers, An Introduction to Medieval Philosophy provides a rich overview of philosophy in the world of Latin Christianity. Explores the deeply philosophical character of such medieval thinkers as Augustine, Boethius, Eriugena, Anselm, Aquinas, Bonaventure, Scotus, and Ockham Reviews the central features of the epistemological and metaphysical problem of universals Shows how medieval authors adapted philosophical ideas from antiquity to apply to their religious commitments Takes a broad philosophical approach of the medieval era by,taking account of classical metaphysics, general culture, and religious themes

The Political Works of Remigius Dei Girolami (Hardcover): Nicholas Newman The Political Works of Remigius Dei Girolami (Hardcover)
Nicholas Newman
R538 R502 Discovery Miles 5 020 Save R36 (7%) Ships in 18 - 22 working days
Meditations (Hardcover): Marcus Aurelius Meditations (Hardcover)
Marcus Aurelius; Translated by George Long
R577 Discovery Miles 5 770 Ships in 18 - 22 working days

Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things which exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web.A" Marcus Aurelius - 'Meditations' Marcus Aurelius is considered to one of the great Emperors of Rome who was not only a skilled military leader but also a great philosopher in the Stoic tradition. He was born in 121 AD and both of his parents came from wealthy backgrounds. His father died when Marcus was 3 years old and by the time he was 6 he had gained the attention of the Emperor Hadrian who oversaw his education. Hadrian ensured that Marcus was taught by some of the greatest scholars in Rome who educated him in literature, drama, geometry, Greek oratory, Greek and Latin. Marcus later abandoned most of those subjects in favor of philosophy, with the work of the Greek philosopher Epictetus being a major influence on his thinking. In 138, while still a young man, the Emperor Antoninus Pius adopted Marcus, and in 161 he himself became Emperor. Marcus insisted he would only take up the Emperorship if Lucius Verus were also installed. Marcus's insistence on Lucius joining him as Emperor was a military one. At that time Rome was fighting wars on multiple fronts and Marcus wanted someone he could trust to marshal the troops who he knew would not at some point lead a revolt against him. Lucius and Marcus were loyal to each other up until Lucius's death in 169 AD. After Lucius's death, Marcus was the sole Emperor and due to the incessant wars in the provinces he was unable to spend much time indulging his philosophical pursuits. He did manage to found four Chairs of Philosophy in Athens, one for each of the main philosophical schools of thought, Aristotelian, Epicurean, Platonic and Stoic. Although Marcus spent almost all of his reign on campaigns in foreign territories, he managed to write down his thoughts and these became what are now considered a masterpiece of Roman philosophy, the discourses 'Meditations'. Marcus wrote 'Meditations' around 170 - 180, whilst on a campaign in central Europe, most probably in what is now Serbia, Hungary and Austria. The 12 books that make up 'Meditations' were not written as an exercise in explaining his philosophy but rather as a personal notebook for self-improvement and study. 'Meditations' illustrates just how important Epictetus was to Marcus as he quotes the Greek philosopher's famed 'Discourses' on more than one occasion. Epictetus was a legendary figure in Greek philosophy and many claim he is the greatest of the Stoics; texts that remain in existence from the period suggest that in his native Greece, he was even more popular than Plato. As was previously mentioned, 'Meditations' was not written for public consumption but rather as an aid to personal development. Marcus wanted to change his way of living and thinking and to do this he embarked on a set of philosophical exercises. He would reflect on philosophical ideas and by writing them down and by repeating them he hoped to re-programme his mind and find his own philosophy to live by. One of the key exercises in the book discusses Marcus attempting to look at the world from 'the point of view of the cosmos' in a bid to try and look at life and the universe outside of the common and limited parameters of individual concerns. You have the power to strip away many superfluous troubles located wholly in your judgment, and to possess a large room for yourself embracing in thought the whole cosmos, to consider everlasting time, to think of the rapid change in the parts of each thing, of how short it is from birth until dissolution, and how the void before birth and that after dissolution are equally infinite.A" Marcus Aurelius died on March 17, 180, in the city of Vindobona which was situated where Vienna is today. History remembers him as the last of the 'Five Good Emperors' of the Nervan-Antonian dynasty. Marcus' son Commodus replaced his father as Emperor and although he reigned over a relatively stable period in Roman history, in terms of war and peace, his personal behavior and antics were not in the spirit of those Emperors that came immediately before him. Commodus was eventually murdered in a plot that involved his mistress Marcia, thus bringing to an end the highly regarded Nervan-Antonian dynasty.

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