Philosophy as a Way of Life: History, Dimensions, Directions

by Matthew Sharpe, Michael Ure

In this first ever introduction to philosophy as a way of life in the Western tradition, Matthew Sharpe and Michael Ure take us through the history of the idea from Socrates and Plato, via the medievals, Renaissance and Enlightenment thinkers, to Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, Foucault and Hadot. They examine the kinds of practical exercises each thinker recommended to transform their philosophy into manners of living.

Philosophy as a Way of Life also examines the recent resurgence of thinking about philosophy as a practical, lived reality and why this ancient tradition still has so much relevance and power in the contemporary world.

Genres: Philosophy

424 pages, Paperback

Published August 12, 2021

About the author

Matthew Sharpe (born 1962) is a U.S. novelist and short story writer. Born in New York City, but grew up in a small town in Connecticut. Sharpe graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio. Afterwards, he worked at US Magazine until he went back to school at Columbia University, where he pursued an MFA. Since then, he has been teaching creative writing at various institutions including Columbia University, Bard College, the New College of Florida, and Wesleyan University. Sharpe says he started writing fiction at age ten but was finally inspired and encouraged to be a writer after reading Sam Shepard's play La Turista when he was 21.

Matthew Sharpe is the author of the novels Nothing Is Terrible (Villard, 2000), The Sleeping Father (Soft Skull, 2003, translated into nine languages), Jamestown (Soft Skull, 2007) and You Were Wrong (Bloomsbury, 2010) as well as the short-story collection Stories from the Tube (Villard, 1998). He teaches creative writing at Wesleyean University. His stories and essays have appeared in Harper's, Zoetrope, BOMB, McSweeney's, American Letters & Commentary, Southwest Review, and Teachers & Writers magazine.

Reviews

[Jef Gerets · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ondanks het feit dat de thematiek van het boek mij enorm aangaat, is dit toch een eerder langdradig boek dat handig is om uit te citeren maar niet om zomaar te lezen, ook al heb je enige nieuwsgierigheid in het concept van filosofie als een manier van leven. Het boek baseert zich enorm op Pierre Hadot's Filosofie als een manier van leven en repliceert enorm veel materiaal hieruit. De schrijvers geven eigenlijk slechts een meer systematisering en geschiedenis van het concept dan echt een waardevolle nieuwe bijdrage. Op zich niets mis mee maar dat maakt het boek wel wat moeilijker om te lezen. Na de tiende keer te horen dat filosofie leren sterven is, heb je het wel wat gehad. Toch zeker een aanrader voor zij die hierin geïnteresseerd zijn, al zou ik toch het eerder genoemde boek naar voren schuiven.

[Karlo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book on the history of metaphilosophy in the Western tradition. The authors attempt to show how the concept of philosophy as a way of life (PWL) has developed and evolved over the centuries, focusing on the general characteristics of philosophy as a spiritual practice, which is mainly about cultivating knowledge/wisdom and practicing virtues. Beginning with Socrates, the Stoics and Epicureans, through medieval scholastic authors and the Renaissance revival of PWL, to modern authors such as Descartes, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Foucault.