The Structured Self in Hellenistic and Roman Thought

by Christopher Gill

Overview

Christopher Gill offers a new analysis of what is innovative in Hellenistic—especially Stoic and Epicurean—philosophical thinking about selfhood and personality. His wide-ranging discussion of Stoic and Epicurean ideas is illustrated by a more detailed examination of the Stoic theory of the passions and a new account of the history of this theory. His study also tackles issues about the historical study of selfhood and the relationship between philosophy and literature, especially the presentation of the collapse of character in Plutrarch's Lives, Senecan tragedy, and Virgil's Aeneid. As all Greek and Latin is translated, this book presents original ideas about ancient concepts of personality to a wide range of readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198152682
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/01/2006
Pages:	544
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Christopher Gill is Professor of Ancient Thought, University of Exeter.

Table of Contents

IntroductionI. The Structured Self in Stoicism and Epicureanism1. Psychophysical Holism in Stoicism and Epicureanism2. Psychological Holism and Socratic Ideals3. Development and the Structured SelfII. The Unstructured Self: Stoic Passions and the Reception of Plato4. Competing Readings of Stoic Passions5. Competing Readings of Platonic PsychologyIII. Theoretical Issues and Literary Reception6. Issues in Selfhood: Subjectivity and Objectivity7. Literary Reception: Structured and Unstructured Selves