Considerations on Philosophy and Life in Marcus Aurelius

Authors

Keywords:

philosophy, life, stoicism, Marcus Aurelius

Abstract

Based mainly on step XVII of book II of the Meditations (Tá eis heautón), we will try to analyze the relationship between philosophy (philosophia) and life (bíos) in the reflections developed by the philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius. Faced with the realization of the precariousness of human life, only philosophy − as a daily exercise in noticing, paying attention, and observing, as well as caring for, watching over, and protecting the inner god (terein ton endon daimona) − emerges as a guide for getting through existence. Consisting of a method capable of making explicit the link between parts and whole, philosophy ends up summoning us to a loving disposition in which psykhé and cosmos become intertwined, without which it does not seem possible to adopt a way of life following nature (kata physin).

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References

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MARCO AURÉLIO. Aurelii Antonini ad Se Ipsum Libri XII. Leipzig: Teubner, 1987.

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SÊNECA. Ad Lucilium Epistulae Morales. L. D. Reynolds. Two Vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965.

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Published

2024-06-27

How to Cite

Condé, M. M. (2024). Considerations on Philosophy and Life in Marcus Aurelius. Nuntius Antiquus, 20(1). Retrieved from https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/nuntius_antiquus/article/view/51595

Issue

Section

Filosofia e Vida