Mapping Philosophy as a Way of Life
Mapping Philosophy as a Way of Life: An Ancient Model, a Contemporary Approach
Principal Investigator: Marta Faustino
Co-Principal Investigator: António de Castro Caeiro
Funding Entity: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal) | Exploratory Project (2022.02833.PTDC)
Amount Granted: 49.969,95€
Starting Date: 01.03.2023 (18 months)
Proponent Institution: IFILNOVA
URL: https://pwl.fcsh.unl.pt/project/
Presentation
Over the past few decades, the idea of philosophy as a way of life (PWL) has given rise to several lively philosophical debates. Pierre Hadot forged the expression to emphasise the performative potential of philosophy and the role it can ideally play in transforming – rather than merely theorising about – life. In his most influential works, Hadot argues that in antiquity philosophy was not simply a set of theories or doctrines, but a practice, an art of living, a way of life that aimed at spiritual progress and transformation towards the good or flourishing life. Even though this conception and practice of philosophy was particularly typical of antiquity, Hadot, along with Foucault, stresses its reappearance in several modern and contemporary authors and describes it as his own ideal model of philosophical practice. Inspired by the work of Hadot and Foucault, recent scholarship has stressed the current metaphilosophical relevance of PWL and argued for the need of recasting this model in the face of the academic, social, political and cultural challenges of our times.