This part of the exercise will ask that you do some research, reading, and writing with one philosopher from our work together.
Choose one philosopher we have studied and read beyond what has been offered in our PDFs. You can purchase such works as The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday, or any of Holidays other books, or feel free to purchase a book by Alain de Botton or The School of Life. If you would like more suggestions, please feel free to reach out! Many of the ancient texts are available with a simple Google search. Such titles include but are not limited to, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Gregory Hays translation), The Art of Living by Epictetus, and Enchiridion by Epictetus. I will provide options in the Files section on Canvas as well.
In the essay, choose 1-3 topics that the philosopher focuses on. Spend time reading the text and find examples of how the philosopher discusses the topic(s). Using the reading questions from the syllabus as guides, write how the philosopher understands that topic.
Some examples might include an essay discussing Marcus Aurelius ideas on the importance of focusing on what you can control, his thoughts on serving the human community, or his writing about the nature of time. Find where in Meditations he discusses these things and establish how his ideas might be helpful in developing your own philosophy as the art of living. The aim of this exercise is to deepen your understanding of a philosophers work that has resonated with you this summer on topics of your interest.
Please respond to this in size 12, Times New Roman font in 3-4 double-spaced pages. Also, be sure to use direct textual evidence from the source of your choice.
* A brief note: please be sure to elaborate on your thinking enough to exceed 3 pages. Please do not include extra spaces to reach this requirement. It is important that you spend time and attention on these ideas. Although the length of the paper is not the most important aspect, it does work to demonstrate the time and attention offered to the task.
