Final take home exercise.

Summer 2020 The Art of Thriving

Please choose two of the following exercises for our final take home exercise.

Choice I

Meditation- the practice of dialogue with oneself- seems to have held a place of honor among Socrates’ disciples. When Antisthenes was asked what profit he had derived from philosophy, he replied: “The ability to converse with myself.”

• Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life (91)

Please locate and describe a space that is of philosophical significance for you, which is to say, a space where you practice philosophy and think. Please feel free to use the following questions as starting points for your response. Where do you go to meditate? Which spaces encourage this way of being? Why do they encourage it? Please describe the physical location and your interaction with it. Please be sure to use direct textual evidence to support your philosophical connection to the space.

Choice II

“Philosophy is the set of principles and practices available to one, or which one makes available to others, for taking proper care of oneself or of others.” (136)

• Michel Foucault, Hermeneutics of the Subject

Please identify two common philosophical ailments that may characterize a person’s life. The following are some potential examples: impatience, imbalance, living in a state of distraction, procrastination, living in a state of irrational fear, or always feeling disappointed. Briefly analyze each of your two ailments and define them in your own terms. Be sure to address the following questions. Why is it a problem? How would this condition manifest itself in action? How does this affect the person embodying it? How can it impact other people?

Please be sure to use direct textual evidence from both of these texts in your response and connect the philosopher’s thinking with your own on the treatment process. The following questions may serve as interesting starting points. How would Epictetus suggest we deal with impatience? How would Aristotle view and solve procrastination? What would Epictetus suggest to someone overly concerned with their grade on this paper?

The objective of this second part is to weave your own thinking with that of the philosophers to give advice on how we can fight the sickness you identify. Look at yourself as the doctor and understand the readings as your instruments for giving sound medication for these topics. We will discuss possible structures for this response in class and in total, the reflection should be 1-2 pages double spaced with 12 -point Times New Roman font.

Choice III

Please create or share three mantras that you find valuable and useful for living your most peaceful and fulfilling life. We will define that idea in the following way. A mantra is a two to three-word phrase that serves the purpose of a powerful reminder to pursue a flourishing life that can be repeated on a daily basis. As Epictetus tells us, these are short phrases to “ease our soul’s suffering,” help us “distinguish between wholesome and lazy, hurtful beliefs and habits,” and help us to understand “the art of living a good life. (76)”^[1]

Please explain the “why” or purpose behind each mantra and the “how” or the way in which you will employ each mantra.

Choice IV

“Philosophy is the set of principles and practices available to one, or which one makes available to others, for taking proper care of oneself or of others.” (136)

• Michel Foucault, Hermeneutics of the Subject

In this assignment, we will work to examine, embody and reflect on one of the many philosophical practices offered by Pierre Hadot in Philosophy as a Way of Life and work with other elements of our work this semester. These are designed to help us tend to the philosophical tasks of working to know ourselves and care for ourselves by encouraging us to learn and grow.

Please choose one practice from the book and from our discussions and practice it every day for 7 days. First, the response should address why you chose this practice. Please include direct textual evidence to demonstrate how Hadot views and understands it, and explain your own interpretations and inspiration for your decision.

Next, please think and write about your experience with the practice over the seven days. Working with at least two other texts from our semester, please identify the philosophy that you are grappling with through the exercise. This section requires the use of direct textual evidence Please do not at all feel obligated to share all or any of the “results” themselves, but do feel free to include those you deem to be shareable. Do, however, be sure to examine not only the results themselves, but, as St. Antony would encourage us, the actions you took and the feelings generated by the practice.

The following questions can serve as starting points for your inquiry: What qualities did you work to develop? Why those? How was the process of making time and space to include the practice? How did you feel before, during and after the practice? Do you feel as though this practice impacted the way you move on a daily basis? Your perspectives? The way you interacted with others? Would you continue this practice? Why? Why not?

^[1]   The Art of Living by Epictetus and translated by Sharon Lebell