John Sellars
Biographic Data
| ID | 3594215 |
|---|---|
| NAME | John Sellars |
| GIVEN NAMES | John |
| FAMILY NAME | Sellars |
| SIGNATURE | SELLARS J |
| AFFILIATIONS | King's College London |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2041-8549 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 16 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
The Cambridge Companion to Marcus Aurelius' Meditations
The Meditations of the second-century Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius is consistently one of the best-selling philosophy books among the general public. Over the years it has also attracted famous admirers, from the Prussian king Frederick the Great to US President Bill Clinton. It continues to attract large numbers of new readers, drawn to its reflections on life and death. Despite this, it is not the sort of text read much by professional philoso…
The Early Modern Legacy of the Stoics
This chapter examines the reception of Stoicism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, from Justus Lipsius to Immanuel Kant. It considers topics often associated with Stoicism during the period, notably the inter-connected concepts of fate, necessity, and providence, as well as the rise and development of scholarship on Stoicism during the period. While this was an especially rich period for the reception of Stoicism (as can be seen in the …
Cambridge Companion to Marcus Aurelius' Meditations
Marcus Aurelius and the Tradition of Spiritual Exercises
This chapter examines Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations and considers its status as a work of philosophy by placing it within a broader tradition of spiritual exercises in ancient philosophy. It presents the Meditations as a private notebook, never intended for publication, in which Marcus engaged in a series of written exercises aimed at self-examination. In particular, these exercises were aimed at assimilating and digesting key philosophical princ…
Barlaam of Seminara on Stoic Ethics
This volume contains the first critical edition and translation of Barlaam of Seminara's fourteenth century treatise Ethics According to the Stoics , along with a series of interpretative essays explaining its content and context. Barlaam's text is the earliest interpretative work written on Stoic ethics, a product of the burgeoning Italian Renaissance but also drawing on Barlaam's experience in the Byzantine intellectual world of Constantinople.…
Revisiting the three topoi in Dissertationes 3.2
I re-examine the three topoi or areas of study outlined in Epictetus, Dissertationes 3.2 and the claim that they align with the traditional three parts of Stoic philosophy. I argue that they do not correspond to the three parts, but instead map out a series of stages in philosophical training. I then compare these three topoi with another set outlined in Enchiridion 52. I argue that these are distinct from the set outlined in Dissertationes 3.2 a…
The Pocket Epicurean
Lecciones de estoicismo
The Pocket Epicurean
Lessons in Stoicism
Roman Stoic Mindfulness
This chapter examines Michel Foucault’s notion of cultivation of the self by focusing on an example of an ancient practice contributing to that goal, namely the attitude of attention or mindfulness proposed by the Roman Stoics Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. It contrasts this Stoic attitude with modern versions of mindfulness, showing that both the object of attention and the goal of the process are different. It argues that the primary object of …
A Disputed Fragment of Epictetus in Marcus Aurelius
Epictetus, Dissertationes 1.18.10
In the late nineteenth century J.L.G. Mowat published a short note in the Journal of Philology pointing out that in the Bodleian's MS of the Dissertationes of Epictetus there is an ink smudge (on fol. 25r) where all the other MSS have lacunae in several lines, leading to the conclusion that the Bodleian MS is the archetype for all other surviving copies
The Routledge Handbook of the Stoic Tradition
Introduction John Sellars Part 1: Antiquity and the Middle Ages 1. Stoicism in Rome Gretchen Reydams-Schils 2. Stoicism in Early Christianity Troels Engberg-Pedersen 3. Plotinus and the Platonic Response to Stoicism Lloyd Gerson 4. Augustine's Debt to Stoicism in the Confessions Sarah Byers 5. Boethius and Stoicism Matthew Walz 6. Stoic Themes in Peter Abelard and John of Salisbury Kevin Guilfoy 7. Stoic Influences in the Later Middle Ages Mary B…
An Essay on the Unity of Stoic Philosophy
Stoicism
Context
Stoic Fate in Justus Lipsius’s De Constantia and Physiologia Stoicorum
Stoic Fate in Justus Lipsius’s De Constantia and Physiologia Stoicorum John Sellars (bio) 1. lipsius and the neostoic project justus lipsius (1547–1606) has been credited as the founder of Neostoicism,1 doing for the ancient Stoics what Marsilio Ficino had done for Platonism before him and what Pierre Gassendi would do for Epicureanism after.2 Like Ficino and Gassendi, Lipsius’s project involved making a group of pagan ancient philosophers palata…
Is God a Mindless Vegetable? Cudworth on Stoic Theology
In the late sixteenth century a number of influential writers claimed Stoicism to be compatible with Christianity but by the mid eighteenth century, Stoicism had come to be associated with atheism. What happened during the course of the reception of Stoicism in the intervening period? While it remains unclear who was the first person to call the Stoics atheists, there is no doubt that the most philosophically sustained analysis of Stoic theology …
Stoic Ontology and Plato's Sophist
Book synopsis: Plato is perhaps the most readable of all philosophers. Recent scholarship on Plato has focused attention on the dramatic and literary form through which Plato presents his philosophy, an integral part of that philosophy. \n \nThe papers in this volume for the first time consider Aristotle and the Stoics as readers of Plato. That these successors were influenced by the thought of Plato is a commonplace: the ‘whole of western philos…
Iv — Stoic Practical Philosophy in the Imperial Period
Journal Article IV — STOIC PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE IMPERIAL PERIOD Get access JOHN SELLARS JOHN SELLARS King's College London Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, Volume 50, Issue Supplement_94_Part_1, June 2007, Pages 115–140, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-5370.2007.tb02420.x Published: 20 January 2014
Justus Lipsius'sDe Constantia
This essay offers an introduction to Justus Lipsius's dialogue De Constantia, first published in 1584. Although the dialogue bears a superficial similarity to philosophical works of consolation, I suggest that it should be approached as a spiritual exercise written by Lipsius primarily for his own benefit
Stoicism
Stoicism was one of the most influential schools of philosophy in antiquity and its influence has persisted to the present day. Originating in Athens around 300 BCE, Stoicism flourished for some five hundred years and has remained a constant presence throughout the history of Western philosophy. As one of the most popular philosophies of the Roman world, its doctrines appealed to people from all strata of ancient society - from the slave Epictetu…
An Ethics of the Event
Deleuze, philosopher, son of Diogenes and Hypatia, sojourned at Lyon. Nothing is known of his life. He lived to be very old, even though he was often very ill. This illustrated what he himself had said: there are lives in which the difficulties verge on the prodigious. He defined as active any force that goes to the end of its power. This, he said, is the opposite of a law. Thus he lived, always going further than he had believed he could. Even t…
Qu’est-Ce Que La Philosophie Antique?
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
The Routledge Handbook of the Stoic Tradition
Introduction John Sellars Part 1: Antiquity and the Middle Ages 1. Stoicism in Rome Gretchen Reydams-Schils 2. Stoicism in Early Christianity Troels Engberg-Pedersen 3. Plotinus and the Platonic Response to Stoicism Lloyd Gerson 4. Augustine's Debt to Stoicism in the Confessions Sarah Byers 5. Boethius and Stoicism Matthew Walz 6. Stoic Themes in Peter Abelard and John of Salisbury Kevin Guilfoy 7. Stoic Influences in the Later Middle Ages Mary B…
Justus Lipsius'sDe Constantia
This essay offers an introduction to Justus Lipsius's dialogue De Constantia, first published in 1584. Although the dialogue bears a superficial similarity to philosophical works of consolation, I suggest that it should be approached as a spiritual exercise written by Lipsius primarily for his own benefit
An Ethics of the Event
Deleuze, philosopher, son of Diogenes and Hypatia, sojourned at Lyon. Nothing is known of his life. He lived to be very old, even though he was often very ill. This illustrated what he himself had said: there are lives in which the difficulties verge on the prodigious. He defined as active any force that goes to the end of its power. This, he said, is the opposite of a law. Thus he lived, always going further than he had believed he could. Even t…
Simon the Shoemaker and the Problem of Socrates
TEST 02 - Elsevier's Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. Search and access research from the science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts and humanities fields.
Qu’est-Ce Que La Philosophie Antique?
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
The Aristotelian Commentators
Journal Article THE ARISTOTELIAN COMMENTATORS: A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL GUIDE Get access JOHN SELLARS JOHN SELLARS King's College London Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, Volume 47, Issue Supplement_83_Part_1, January 2004, Pages 239–268, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-5370.2004.tb02305.x Published: 22 February 2011
Stoicism
Stoicism was one of the most influential schools of philosophy in antiquity and its influence has persisted to the present day. Originating in Athens around 300 BCE, Stoicism flourished for some five hundred years and has remained a constant presence throughout the history of Western philosophy. As one of the most popular philosophies of the Roman world, its doctrines appealed to people from all strata of ancient society - from the slave Epictetu…
An Ethics of the Event
Deleuze, philosopher, son of Diogenes and Hypatia, sojourned at Lyon. Nothing is known of his life. He lived to be very old, even though he was often very ill. This illustrated what he himself had said: there are lives in which the difficulties verge on the prodigious. He defined as active any force that goes to the end of its power. This, he said, is the opposite of a law. Thus he lived, always going further than he had believed he could. Even t…
Iv — Stoic Practical Philosophy in the Imperial Period
Journal Article IV — STOIC PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE IMPERIAL PERIOD Get access JOHN SELLARS JOHN SELLARS King's College London Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, Volume 50, Issue Supplement_94_Part_1, June 2007, Pages 115–140, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-5370.2007.tb02420.x Published: 20 January 2014
Justus Lipsius'sDe Constantia
This essay offers an introduction to Justus Lipsius's dialogue De Constantia, first published in 1584. Although the dialogue bears a superficial similarity to philosophical works of consolation, I suggest that it should be approached as a spiritual exercise written by Lipsius primarily for his own benefit
Is God a Mindless Vegetable? Cudworth on Stoic Theology
In the late sixteenth century a number of influential writers claimed Stoicism to be compatible with Christianity but by the mid eighteenth century, Stoicism had come to be associated with atheism. What happened during the course of the reception of Stoicism in the intervening period? While it remains unclear who was the first person to call the Stoics atheists, there is no doubt that the most philosophically sustained analysis of Stoic theology …
Stoic Ontology and Plato's Sophist
Book synopsis: Plato is perhaps the most readable of all philosophers. Recent scholarship on Plato has focused attention on the dramatic and literary form through which Plato presents his philosophy, an integral part of that philosophy. \n \nThe papers in this volume for the first time consider Aristotle and the Stoics as readers of Plato. That these successors were influenced by the thought of Plato is a commonplace: the ‘whole of western philos…
Stoicism
Context
Stoic Fate in Justus Lipsius’s De Constantia and Physiologia Stoicorum
Stoic Fate in Justus Lipsius’s De Constantia and Physiologia Stoicorum John Sellars (bio) 1. lipsius and the neostoic project justus lipsius (1547–1606) has been credited as the founder of Neostoicism,1 doing for the ancient Stoics what Marsilio Ficino had done for Platonism before him and what Pierre Gassendi would do for Epicureanism after.2 Like Ficino and Gassendi, Lipsius’s project involved making a group of pagan ancient philosophers palata…
An Essay on the Unity of Stoic Philosophy
Epictetus, Dissertationes 1.18.10
In the late nineteenth century J.L.G. Mowat published a short note in the Journal of Philology pointing out that in the Bodleian's MS of the Dissertationes of Epictetus there is an ink smudge (on fol. 25r) where all the other MSS have lacunae in several lines, leading to the conclusion that the Bodleian MS is the archetype for all other surviving copies
The Routledge Handbook of the Stoic Tradition
Introduction John Sellars Part 1: Antiquity and the Middle Ages 1. Stoicism in Rome Gretchen Reydams-Schils 2. Stoicism in Early Christianity Troels Engberg-Pedersen 3. Plotinus and the Platonic Response to Stoicism Lloyd Gerson 4. Augustine's Debt to Stoicism in the Confessions Sarah Byers 5. Boethius and Stoicism Matthew Walz 6. Stoic Themes in Peter Abelard and John of Salisbury Kevin Guilfoy 7. Stoic Influences in the Later Middle Ages Mary B…
A Disputed Fragment of Epictetus in Marcus Aurelius
Roman Stoic Mindfulness
This chapter examines Michel Foucault’s notion of cultivation of the self by focusing on an example of an ancient practice contributing to that goal, namely the attitude of attention or mindfulness proposed by the Roman Stoics Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. It contrasts this Stoic attitude with modern versions of mindfulness, showing that both the object of attention and the goal of the process are different. It argues that the primary object of …
Lessons in Stoicism
The Pocket Epicurean
Lecciones de estoicismo
The Pocket Epicurean
Barlaam of Seminara on Stoic Ethics
This volume contains the first critical edition and translation of Barlaam of Seminara's fourteenth century treatise Ethics According to the Stoics , along with a series of interpretative essays explaining its content and context. Barlaam's text is the earliest interpretative work written on Stoic ethics, a product of the burgeoning Italian Renaissance but also drawing on Barlaam's experience in the Byzantine intellectual world of Constantinople.…
Revisiting the three topoi in Dissertationes 3.2
I re-examine the three topoi or areas of study outlined in Epictetus, Dissertationes 3.2 and the claim that they align with the traditional three parts of Stoic philosophy. I argue that they do not correspond to the three parts, but instead map out a series of stages in philosophical training. I then compare these three topoi with another set outlined in Enchiridion 52. I argue that these are distinct from the set outlined in Dissertationes 3.2 a…
Marcus Aurelius and the Tradition of Spiritual Exercises
This chapter examines Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations and considers its status as a work of philosophy by placing it within a broader tradition of spiritual exercises in ancient philosophy. It presents the Meditations as a private notebook, never intended for publication, in which Marcus engaged in a series of written exercises aimed at self-examination. In particular, these exercises were aimed at assimilating and digesting key philosophical princ…
The Cambridge Companion to Marcus Aurelius' Meditations
The Meditations of the second-century Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius is consistently one of the best-selling philosophy books among the general public. Over the years it has also attracted famous admirers, from the Prussian king Frederick the Great to US President Bill Clinton. It continues to attract large numbers of new readers, drawn to its reflections on life and death. Despite this, it is not the sort of text read much by professional philoso…
Philosophy (18 works) · Classical Philosophy and Thought (17 works) · History (12 works) · Art (11 works) · Epistemology (10 works) · Classics (9 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Literature (8 works) · Classical Antiquity Studies (5 works) · Classics (5 works)