240129 What I learned in my studies this morning 4
Today's Meditation(s):
Hadot's ch. 3, The Meditations as Spiritual Exercises, which I've been reading and using this space to make some notes, is broken into 6 parts:
- "Theory and" "practice"
- Dogma and their formulation
- The three rules of life or disciplines
- Imaginative exercises
- Writing as spiritual exercise
- "Greek" exercises
Hadot's analyzes the Meditations as different ways of reinforcing Stoic effects in Marcus' psyche.
- They are the "practice" part of Stoic "theory."
- They allow Marcus to craft specific dogmas ("foundational and fundamental rules") which re-present the wisdom Marcus has learned in his way, restating and reworking them to make them stick in his mind.
- They express three Stoic rules of life: 1. use your judgment to find truth; 2. accept the world as it is; and 3. practice justice and altruism towards others.
- They elicit images of important themes to illustrate them and make them vividly memorable.
- They follow Epictetus' direction to "write down every day" the lessons we must continually renew lest they fade from our mind.
- They allowed Marcus to use his Greek, the language of philosophy.
As Hadot puts it,
[The Meditations are] exercises carried out in accordance with a program which Marcus has received from the Stoic tradition, and in particular from Epictetus." (The Inner Citadel, p. 86)
Nice to know I am at least going through the proper motions.
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Please note that I am not saying I agree or disagree with what is posted above. It is merely a recording of what I read this morning.