What have 'spiritual exercises' got to do with philosophy?
Continuing the theme of exploring the goals of philosophy and Solomon's suggestion that 'secular spirituality' might be the ultimate one.
For an overview on philosophy:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy
Here, I found an entry on Pierre Hadot:
..The philosophy teacher's discourse could be presented in such a way that the disciple, as auditor, reader, or interlocutor, could make spiritual progress and transform himself within."[7]
Hadot shows that the key to understanding the original philosophical impulse is to be found in Socrates.
What characterizes Socratic therapy above all is the importance given to living contact between human beings.
Hadot's recurring theme is that philosophy in antiquity was characterized by a series of spiritual exercises intended to transform the perception, and therefore the being, of those who practice it; that philosophy is best pursued in real conversation and not through written texts and lectures; and that philosophy, as it is taught in universities today, is for the most part a distortion of its original, therapeutic impulse. He brings these concerns together in What Is Ancient Philosophy?,[7] which has been critically reviewed.[8]'
So, is it the case that philosophy is best pursued in real conversation...and is academic philosophy a distortion of its original therapeutic impulse?
And what kind of 'spiritual exercises' were undertaken to transform perception and the being of practising philosophers ?
For starters:
'The four stages of the spiritual exercises are: learning to live, learning to dialogue, learning to die and lastly learning to read' from:
https://mikeysmetaphysics.wordpress.com ... rre-hadot/
I am not sure that this resource is the best interpretation, only that it was the first I found.
I disagree with the final conclusion about reading.
'Once we view every philosophical writing as a dialogue then we start to live, dialogue and die, thus making philosophy a way of life, a life geared towards the True and the Good, free from passions, desires, fears, free to be united to nature.'
Why this need to be free from passions ?
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Another take on academic v nonacademic philosophy, with follow-up questions/ objections and replies:
Dear Earlier Self,
I am writing this to you as you are taking your first philosophy courses in college. You are seventeen, a freshman in college and you are trying to make sense of it all: what is academic philosophy and how does it relate to the broader society. I am now thirty-seven, went through academic philosophy as a student and a professor, and I am trying to make sense of it all. Perhaps what I say might be helpful to you...
http://theroughground.blogspot.co.uk/20 ... sophy.html
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You know what, given the above and the complaint that there is no common intellectual space:
' Why did this transition happen in the last two centuries? Where did the shared, public intellectual space go? '
I have come to a new appreciation of Rick Lewis who followed his dream to create 'Philosophy Now' - the magazine and 'pub'.
Congratulations, to him and all the team. You have your place in history
Have fun at Saturday's Festival !
https://philosophynow.org/festival
May the spirit and passion of Elvis be with you
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xA142IsjQiE