Special Topics: Stoic Philosophy in Ancient Rome

For more than three hundred years, Stoicism was the dominant philosophy of Rome. From the Republic to St. Paul, Stoic philosophy was more than just an abstract set of doctrines, but a living mode of thought that changed dynamically in response to the changing social and political environment. Cicero's exhortations in the Senate, Seneca's tutoring of Nero, Marcus Aurelius' Emperorship, the slave Publius Syrus's life in bondage, and early Christianity's incorporation of Stoic morality- nearly all aspects of Ancient Roman society were deeply imbued with Stoic teaching. Accordingly, one can neither understand Ancient Rome without Stoicism nor Stoicism without Ancient Rome.

In this course, we will closely investigate the major texts of Roman Stoicism alongside the relevant socio-political developments with the city of Rome as our backdrop. Each week?s lesson will combine the philosophical doctrines of the most important Stoics and the contemporary socio-political context of Rome.