Modern Summary of Stoicism
586759
Great read, and plenty of swears! He writes about stoic philosophy without ever actually mentioning stoicism or its acolytes (that I can recall). Overall, EXCELLENT book.
1250915
_An End To Suffering: The Buddha in the World_ by Pankaj Mishra is more than an introduction to Buddha's life and philosophy. I recommend this for its clear writing style (even though the narration was bit unorganized few times) and personal anecdotes on how he discovered and learned about Buddha. It was also interesting to read quotes from Nietzsche, Hume along with Marx, Vivekananda, Tagore, Gandhi in a book about the Shakyamuni.

The books is part autobiography, part travelogue. The main focus is how Mishra discovered Buddha and how Buddhism fits into the modern world. This is how he ends the book:

"I now saw him in my own world, amid its great violence and confusion, holding out the possibility of knowledge as well as

redemption -- the awareness, suddenly liberating, with which I finally began to write about the Buddha."

It was pretty clear from the beginning that he hadn't fully came to a conclusion about his feelings on Buddha. As a student he was heavily influenced by Western thinkers such as Nietzsche, Hume and Marx (I was unaware that Nietzsche was a admirer of Buddha) and his first discovery of Buddha was through Western writers (this was the case for me as well). He has an unresolved tension between his relationship between east and west. I can relate to his frustration: modern educated mind (doesn't matter where you are from) is constantly involved with defining the self. On the other hand:

"But the Buddha seems to have rejected more than the Upanishadic idea of an eternal self or soul. He rejected too the self residing in the mind that Descartes assumed when he declared that he was a 'a thing that thinks' -- a thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, is willing, is unwilling, and imagines and has sensory perceptions. According to Cartesian view, the self is a single unified substance with the capacity to experience, desire, think, imagine, decide and act. It does not change through time, and is ontologically distinct from other selves.

The Buddha seemed to reject this notion of the individual self as a distinct substance with identity. He said that it didn't

correspond to any reality observable within the mind and the body, and, furthermore, its awareness of itself as separate from the world and other selves was false and the source of craving, pride, selfishness, and delusion. (page 255) .....

Unlike Descarte, he presented the self as a process rather than as a substance, by claiming that what we call a 'being' or an 'individual' is only a physiopsychological machine in which mental and physical energies constantly combine and change".(page 256)

It was also insightful to read about how Buddha's thought differ from the Vedic philosophy. However, Mishra is mostly preoccupied with how Buddha fits within the Western philosophy:

"In a world increasingly defined by the conflict of individuals and societies aggressively seeking their separate interests, he revealed both individuals and societies as necessarily interdependent. He challenged the very basis of conventional human self-perceptions -- a stable, essential identity -- by demonstrating a plural, unstable human self -- one that suffered but also had the potential to end its suffering. An acute psychologist, he taught a radical suspicion of desire as well as of its sublimations -- the seductive concepts of ideology and history. He offered a moral and spiritual regimen that led to nothing less than a whole new way of looking at and experiencing the world." (page 404)
2932837
This text will help you understand modern philosophers of the 20th century--existentialists, Heidegger, Sartre, Dewey, etc.  What is nice about the St. Louis U text is that it provides a flow of critique on philosophies that leave out a proper understanding of BEING--in a Thomistic and Aristotelian sense.  Consider this an addition to Etienne Gilson's Unity of Philosophical Experience.  This covers the rest of the story and updates us on post-Kantian thinkers.  A summary chapter provides a concise epistemology and existential critique.  If you can find it--read it.
2670965
I began reading the Stoics to get background on St. Paul's evangelistic sermon in Athens (Acts 17), in which Stoics and Epicureans are among his partners in dialogue, but am finding these folks fascinating in their own right.  Cicero and Seneca were in the thick of messy imperial politics, which takes some of the gloss off their otherwise attractive (at least in Seneca's case) maxims and ideals; as with Aristotle, you want to ask, "If education is the key to virtue, how did this wise man teach such a ruthless thug as Nero / Alexander?"

The Nature of the Gods was, in any case, great for my study.  A Stoic, an Epicurean, and a skeptic who moonlights as a priest (!) meet in a private home to debate the reality and nature of God and the gods.  No punchline here -- each disputant takes the time to develope his arguments in detail, in often lively prose.  Often the debate about "faith" and "reason," myth and history, design and accident, seems surprisingly contemporary.  The book also helped me make sense of Paul's line of argument in Acts, and by implication the success of Christianity.  Thoughtful Romans were looking for a God they could believe in; I can almost imagine that Paul put his brief together after reading Book II, and parts of Book III, of Cicero's work.

The tone is civil, cosmopolitan, literate, with frequent quotations from the poets and references to mythology.  (Which no one present takes seriously -- except metaphorically.)

Some of the skeptical parts of Book III also still bite.  Why does God allow the wicked to prosper, and the good to perish?  The ancients are still worth reading, not in a condescending way as primitive philosophy and bad science, but appreciated for their insights into fundamental questions, and even for some good guesses about Nature. (Cicero knows earth is much smaller than the sun, and round, for example -- though the Stoics think it round IN PART because sphericity is the ideal shape!  Strict diets not being a priority in the ancient world.)
3493177
This book is very informative on the stoic philosophy and explains everything you need to know. It starts from the history and the basics of this philosophy. I knew very little of stoicism but through this book, I have learned  all that I wanted and got a better understanding. It is well detailed and packed with wisdom and way of life of stoicism. If you want to learn more of this, then you must grab this book and you will be in a better place.
712024
A good interpretation of classic stoic literature. Some assumptions made in the introduction that expose the author's narrative on unrelated topics. Presented in bite-sized chapters which removes some of the stodgy feel of the original text and uses more modern prose.
1455900
This book is effectively a long defense of the thesis that Stoic philosophy is major predecessor to modern cognitive behavior therapy. I think myself and other reviewers on this site are biased because of affection for Robertson's work on helping modern Stoicism flourish, but I think even without that bias one would be enamored with this book. It's very well-researched and well-organized; it's a good reminder that you don't need to be a subject matter expert to 'write the book' on a topic, as Robertson has done here. -Ryan Mease
1459549
A thoughtful overview of ancient Western ethical principles, presented in a common-sense and approachable way.
4759052
This book has a lot of study summaries on the care of one's body. It also wrote on common sense in Stoicism. The book does not prohibit anything, but suggests moderation. I found it enjoyable and easy to read
1159255
Quintus reiterates the timeless knowledge of Socrates in this competent translation from the original Latin. He emphasizes, and annotates, Socrates' commentary on societal duties, a topic sorely lacking from today's discourse. If you feel this absence want to revert to the prescient and everlasting advice of the ancients further condensed by QC, then pick up a copy of this book.
1262429
I greatly appreciated the clear and concise summaries of the most solid Stoic writings.  Very well done and worth the investment of time.
4124260
For those who are interested and curious about where our modern habits attitudes about our bodies and its interactions in urban space this is the book for you.  Easy to read, and informative, yet very poignant and it is a  book that is able to be read on many different levels.
Richard Sennett  takes us from ancient Athens and its fixation with voice, logos, and  democracy.  Why sitting in the theatre is weakness and brings man to a  passive posture.  With pit-stops in Imperial Rome, Venice, Revelutionary  Paris, and other cities, Sennett layers his logic and builds from the  ground up a forceful argument to the reader.  The last stop is modern New  York City, a multi-cultural center full of dissonace and passivity.  This  chapter is especially powerful, because it strikes a chord in our  psyche.
Each chapter is a pit-stop in history displaying the condition of  the flesh in response to the stone of the city.  Sennett's thesis is that  the continual acceleration of life due to, in part by forces of capitolism,  have made man a passive player in life.  He discusses this against the  backdrop of christianity and its change and flux due to forces of the state  and commerce.  A very interseting thesis that forces you to challenge your  beliefs in the world, and maybe your own religion.  It may irk some that  this book has such a Christian-oriented slant, but Sennett comes right out  and states why he is doing in in the beginning.
This book deals also  with the philosophy of Phenomenology.  Other readings by Howard Kunstler,  Derrida and Heidigger are also recomended, but not necessary.  Overall, a  very suberb book.
1776309
These essays are a collection of blog postings and articles on Stoicism. It's a nice quick read and links the reader to some of the leaders looking to reintroduce Stoic philosophy as a method to living a full life. Kudos and thanks for putting this together.
1943678
Cahill wrote this book in 1932 which locates it historically and it needs to be read in the context of its time. With that one caveat, the book offers a complete and accessible compendium of Christian social thought. I found it after exploring classical Christian thought on economics, politics and society for over twenty years and this one book is a summary of all the key principles that today one must glean in scraps and controversy from a myriad of sources.

Much of its content is no longer politically correct, but that is not to say it is not correct. It will challenge many readers as it provides a critique of both the contemporary liberal and the contemporary conservative. For those with the humility to accept the possibility that their preferred modern ideology may not be as watertight as they would like, this is an excellent call to reflection. It also points attention to some issues that have now passed beyond the politically correct to the socially taboo. These too should give rise to reflection, especially in the light of the fact that Cahill was in no way controversial for his 1932 audience.

For those who believe that there may be some unchanging principles at the base of human society, this book is a presenation of what those principles were understood to be eighty years ago. In addition they represent connections to the longer Christian tradition as understood within the Catholic intellectual tradition.

Overall, the book presents in a single volume a thesis for the ordering of society that has perhaps been validated in recent times through its denial and the resulting social chaos of the west. Some notions that were commonplace for Cahill's audience may now seem unacceptable, but the thoughtful reader may find this as much opportunity to reflect on the grounds for their current rejection as grounds to reject the older position.
1573233
While Budziszewski offers a well-written CliffsNotes-styled survey of natural law thinkers, it is important to note that he avoids allowing his Christian worldview or Weltanschauung to interfere with the discussion - it is only in the concluding third of the text where Budziszewski relates natural law theory of the past and present to the Christian belief system. The text covers natural law thinkers Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and John Locke, as well as one of the great modern opponents of natural law, John Stuart Mill. Following these four units, the author offers a critique of these thinkers. This critique is very well done, and is a bit terse - only 9 pages long - but the following chapter on recent natural law thinkers is roughly twice the length and offers an excellent survey-within-a-survey that includes sections on Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and secular reconsidersations of natural law (Budziszewski argues that the philosophy of natural law is experiencing a renaissance, and he illuminates some of the current directions that these varied perspectives are taking). Of particular note, the author writes that "...the secular way of thinking is just as full of theological commitments as the other three - just as full of faith, but of a different sort...". Some readers may be interested in the fact that Written on the Heart includes an appendix on elementary reasoning.
1934611
It only took me a couple days to finish this book. It is very brief, and easy to read. Sproul gives a very brief summary of the major philosophers. If you are looking for an intense introduction into what the major philosophers throughout history have taught, this is not the place to go. However, if you are looking for a brief and very simple overview of some of the major philosophers (he left out some major ones too) and their views explained and a simple and easy to understand way, then this would be a nice book for you to check out.
140913
i would recommend this for anyone just starting to read or study philosophy. it gives a good uncomplicated over veiw of philosphy from pre-socratic through post modern.