Pierre Hadot
Books by Pierre Hadot
“What Hadot really helped me to realise was how unreflective we are when we study the past few centuries of thinking about nature—how unreflective we are about how difficult and slippery this concept is.” Read more...
“Pierre Hadot was the greatest exponent of classical philosophy in France in my lifetime. He is a towering figure, a brilliant intellectual, though he came from a religious background. What is fascinating here is that he takes on the sort of ‘spiritual diary’ which Marcus Aurelius kept for his own interest. These meditations have often been seen as a rather rambling collection of maxims and thoughts. Brilliantly, they are brought into line by Pierre Hadot, who understands them as spiritual exercises. Nowadays there is so much emphasis on exercise for the body. Many people go to the gym but pay far too little attention to exercises for the mind. Hadot manages to make sense of the musings of the pagan emperor. They were not written for a public audience, but by understanding them as related to spiritual exercises he has written a revelatory book.” Read more...
The best books on Religious and Social History in the Ancient World
Robin Lane Fox, Classicist
Interviews where books by Pierre Hadot were recommended
Life-Changing Philosophy Books, recommended by Eric Weiner
Can philosophy change your life? Yes, says bestselling author Eric Weiner, though partly by making it more complicated. Here, he picks five works of life-changing philosophy, from Epictetus to Jacob Needleman, a professor (emeritus) at San Francisco State University.
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The Social And Economic History Of Roman Empire
by Michael Rostovtzeff -
2
A History of Education in Antiquity
by Henri-Irénée Marrou -
3
Philosophy as a Way of Life
by Pierre Hadot -
4
Mosaics as History: The Near East from Late Antiquity to Islam
by GW Bowersock -
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Pauvreté économique et pauvreté sociale à Byzance
by Evelyne Patlagean
The best books on Late Antiquity, recommended by Peter Brown
The best books on Late Antiquity, recommended by Peter Brown
The Best Books to Read on Late Antiquity — a list by Peter Brown. His intellectual memoir, Journeys of the Mind: A Life in History was published in June 2023.
The best books on Ancient Philosophy for Modern Life, recommended by Jules Evans
The human condition has not changed down the millennia, so it’s no surprise that ancient philosophy has much to teach us about how to live our lives, argues Jules Evans. He picks the best books about ancient philosophy in modern life.
The best books on Religious and Social History in the Ancient World, recommended by Robin Lane Fox
Cultural and philosophical changes that occurred in late antiquity are essential to our understanding of the world today, but few us know much about that period. Historian Robin Lane Fox recommends the best books to read to get a good sense of late antiquity.
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The Veil of Isis: An Essay on the History of the Idea of Nature
by Pierre Hadot -
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The Way and the Word: Science and Medicine in Early China and Greece
by Geoffrey Lloyd & Nathan Sivin -
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The Lost Age of Reason: Philosophy in Early Modern India, 1450–1700
by Jonardon Ganeri -
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Atoms and Alchemy: Chymistry and the Experimental Origins of the Scientific Revolution
by William Newman -
5
Native Pragmatism: Rethinking the Roots of American Philosophy
by Scott L. Pratt
The best books on The History of Philosophy, recommended by Justin E. H. Smith
The best books on The History of Philosophy, recommended by Justin E. H. Smith
Today, we think of scientists and philosophers as distinct, but it wasn’t always this way. Back when the Royal Society was founded in the 1660s, figures like Newton, Descartes and Boyle all thought of themselves as ‘natural philosophers’. Justin E. H. Smith, professor of philosophy at the Université de Paris, introduces us to what he sees as the real history of philosophy.
Ursula Coope on Neoplatonism, Five Books interview