From Epicurus to Epictetus: Studies in Hellenistic and Roman Philosophy

A. A. Long

Sep 2006 · Clarendon Press

About this ebook

A.A. Long, one of the world's leading writers on ancient philosophy, presents eighteen essays on the philosophers and schools of the Hellenistic and Roman periods---Epicureans, Stoics, and Sceptics. The discussion ranges over four centuries of innovative and challenging thought in ethics and politics, psychology, epistemology, and cosmology. In From Epicurus to Epictetus, Long's focus is on the distinctive contributions and methodologies of individual thinkers, notably Epicurus, Zeno, Pyrrho, Arcesilaus, Lucretius, Cicero, Seneca, and Epictetus. Placing their philosophy in its cultural context, and considering it in relation to the earlier ideas of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, he invites his readers to imagine themselves choosing between Stoicism and Epicureanism as philosophies of life. All but one of these pieces has been previously published in periodicals or conference volumes, but the author has revised and updated everything, and has also added postscripts to many of the essays. This is a book not only for scholars and experts but also, thanks to the author's accessible style, for everyone interested in understanding the legacy and continuing relevance of ancient thought.

About the author

A. A. Long is a Professor in the Department of Classics, University of California, Berkeley. He has been a visiting professor at many other European universities, including most recently appointment as Belle van Zuylen Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utrecht. His other books include Hellenistic Philosophy: Stoics, Epicureans, Sceptics (which has been translated into eight languages), the two-volume source book, The Hellenistic Philosophers (co-authored with David Sedley), Stoic Studies, and Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life (OUP).