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“Pierre Hadot has transformed our idea, not only of ancient philosophy, but of philosophy as such.”Arnold I. Davidson, University of Chicago, USA & The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel and Daniele Lorenzini, University of Warwick, UK

“Pierre Hadot’s book Philosophy as a Way of Life has, over the last 25 years, transformed how we think about philosophy. This new volume, long overdue … is essential reading for anyone interested in philosophy as a way of life.”John Sellars, Lecturer in Philosophy, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

“An indispensable resource … Hadot’s writings, beautifully translated here by Sharpe and Testa, allow readers … to engage with philosophies such as Platonism and Stoicism as genuine lived practices rather than mere theories.”Donald Robertson, author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius (2019)

For the first time, this volume gathers together previously untranslated material from Pierre Hadot, one of the world’s most prominent classical philosophers and historians of thought.

As a passionate proponent of philosophy as a ‘way of life’, Hadot rejuvenated interest in the ancient philosophers and developed a philosophy based on their work which is particularly contemporary. His radical recasting of Western philosophy was both provocative and substantial, inspiring later figures like Michel Foucault.

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 Hadot himself might have put it, a ‘spiritual life’.

PIERRE HADOT (1922-2010) was Professor Emeritus at the Collège de France, France. His books include Philosophy as a Way of Life (1995) and Plotinus (1998).

MATTHEW SHARPE is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Deakin University, Australia. 

FEDERICO TESTA is Early Career Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study at the University of Warwick, UK.

RE-INVENTING PHILOSOPHY AS A WAY OF LIFE Series Editors: Keith Ansell-Pearson, Matthew Sharpe & Michael Ure

FO R EWO R D BY A R N O L D I . DAV I D S O N

A N D DA N I E L E LO R E N Z I N I9 0 1 0 0

9 7 8 1 4 7 4 2 7 2 9 9 5

ISBN 978-1-4742-7299-5

Series design by Charlotte DanielsCover image: Statue of Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD)

(© Peter Horree / Alamy Stock Photo)

PHILOSOPHY

198 x 129 PB SPINE: 17mm

Also available from Bloomsbury Academic

www.bloomsbury.com