Philosophy as a Way of Life: Albert Camus and Pierre Hadot

This paper compares Pierre Hadot’s work on the history of philosophy as a way of life to the work of Albert Camus. I will argue that in the early work of Camus, up to and including the publication of The Myth of Sisyphus, there is evidence to support the notions that, firstly, Camus also identified these historical moments as obstacles to the practice of ascesis, and secondly, that he proceeded by orienting his own work toward overcoming these obstacles, and thus toward a modern rehabilitation of ascesis. Moreover, in contrast to Hadot’s Platonism, Camus located the source of this practice in the pre-philosophical stage of Athenian tragedy. This points to a further contrast between these two figures, which has historical and cultural precedents, in the distinction between this pre-Platonic form of ascesis - favoured by Camus - and the latter Christian form of asceticism - favoured by Hadot, with the status of Platonic ascesis rendered in terms of prefiguring this Christian form of asceticism.     

Pierre Hadot on Habit,Reason, and Spiritual Exercises

This essay is a reappraisal of Pierre Hadot's concept of spiritual exercises in response to recent criticisms of his work. The author argues that contrary to the claims of his critics, Hadot articulates a compelling argument that spiritual exercises that employ imaginative, rhetorical, and cognitive techniques are both necessary for and successful at producing a subject in which reason is integrated into human character. Such exercises are critical for overcoming the effects of habit, as a result of which everyday conduct resists rational control, and Hadot provides a nuanced account of how particular practices affect different aspects of emotion, behavior, and thought. The concept of spiritual exercises remains a viable component of theoretical frameworks for the study of religious ethics, though the author concludes that Hadot's position on habit and its role in ethical practice requires further investigation.     

The Trial of Albert Camus

The fiftieth anniversary of Camus’ death in 2010 was largely ignored in his native Algeria, reflecting the critical response to Camus’ writings that regards him as a colonialist writer and apologist for the French domination of his native Algeria. This critique also claims that Camus’ colonial attitudes are hidden and reinforced by a European attitude that sees him as dealing first and foremost with universal questions about the human predicament and existential isolation. However, Camus’ journalism shows an Algerian closely identified with the destiny of all the peoples of Algeria, and his novel The Outsider contains sufficient indications that, whatever its existential importance, in the concrete situation of Camus’ Algeria the Arab has the precise status of outsider.     

Spiritual exercises and poetry: Pierre Hadot and Du Fu

This paper discusses poetry as a site of what Pierre Hadot calls “spiritual exercises,” with particular reference to China's greatest poet, Du Fu (712–70 C.E.). While Hadot's work has bridged gaps between (i) philosophy and religion and (ii) theory and practice, this paper suggests that spiritual exercises can also blur the modern separation between form and content. It argues for the possibility of poetry as philosophy; that is, philosophy in a less-recognized form. If poetry can be spiritual exercise and if spiritual exercise with its goal of self-transformation is the core of philosophy, then we may be able to treat poetry as one form of philosophy. The paper also demonstrates the relevance of Hadot's work for ancient Chinese and comparative philosophy more broadly.     

绝望与荒谬的抗争——关于阿尔贝·加缪《鼠疫》的解析

加缪在小说《鼠疫》中虚构了一场突如其来的鼠疫袭击奥兰小城,给人们的社会生活带来巨大冲击,展现了死亡阴影笼罩下的恐怖乱象,作者集中塑造了以里厄医生为代表的、为挽救人类自身命运而进行的集体抗争行动,不仅体现了加缪对人类生存状况的高度关注,也凸显出人类应对一切荒谬现实、勇于抗争的理性、善良与勇敢的人文价值.     

浅论《性命圭旨》中的性命观

"性命"是中国传统哲学的一对基本范畴,是儒、释、道、三家都关注的重要问题,但各家对其的理解和解释却不尽相同.<性命主旨>通过三教合通来阐释道教内丹学,融合中国传统文化中儒、释、道三家性命学的精髓,力倡性命双修,坚持性功、命功并重亦即精、气、神兼炼的原则,反对孤修一物.道教内丹是从后天的神气入手,其目的是修先天的元神、元气,最后神气合炼,提炼出元神.正是在这层意义上,该书尤其重视修心,并认为儒、释、道三家得以融合的核心就是"心性".     

实践美学视野中的自然鉴赏观

Appreciating nature may at its best feature have three levels of experience according to practical aesthetics. The first level is more sensuous as it largely pleases the ear and eye, the second level is more psychological as it chiefly pleases the mind and mood, and the third level is more sublimate as it mainly pleases the will and spirit. In Chinese culture the affinity between man and nature can be traced back to the traditional conception of tian ren he yi 天人合一 as heaven-human oneness, which will be ultimately conducive to the artistic realm or aesthetic state of being. This paper was delivered at the XVI International Congress of Aesthetics on “Changes in Aesthetics” held during 18–23 July 2004 in Rio De Janiero, Brazil.     

Thirteen days: Joseph Delboeuf versus Pierre Janet on the nature of hypnotic suggestion

The problem of post‐hypnotic suggestion was introduced in 1884. Give a hypnotic subject the post‐hypnotic command to return in 13 days. Awake, the subject remembers nothing yet nonetheless fulfills the command to return. How then does the subject count 13 days without knowing it? In 1886, Pierre Janet proposed the concept of dissociation as a solution, arguing that a second consciousness kept track of time outside of the subject's main consciousness. Joseph Delboeuf, in 1885, and Hippolyte Bernheim, in 1886, proposed an alternative solution, arguing that subjects occasionally drifted into a hypnotic state in which they were reminded of the suggestion. This article traces the development of these competing solutions and describes some of Delboeuf's final reflections on the problem of simulation and the nature of hypnosis. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Camus on the Value of Art

Philosophia - Many instances of art are valuable. Where is this value located? And how is it to be justified? In this paper I reconstruct and critically assess Albert Camus’ answers to these...     

Appreciating nature in view of practical aesthetics1

Appreciating nature may at its best feature have three levels of experience according to practical aesthetics. The first level is more sensuous as it largely pleases the ear and eye, the second level is more psychological as it chiefly pleases the mind and mood, and the third level is more sublimate as it mainly pleases the will and spirit. In Chinese culture the affinity between man and nature can be traced back to the traditional conception of tian ren he yi Y)N篢Nas heaven-human oneness, which will be ultimately conducive to the artistic realm or aesthetic state of being.     

Pierre Kerszberg,Critique and Totality

Continental Philosophy Review -