A Field Guide to a Happy Life: 53 Brief Lessons for Living
Massimo Pigliucci
One of the most prominent schools of ancient philosophy is considered to be Stoicism - a philosophical system that developed in the III-II centuries BC. e. in Greece, and later adopted by Rome. The book is dedicated to the views of Epictetus, the Roman slave philosopher, one of its most prominent representatives. The author, an American philosopher, biologist and publicist, uses the few but famous works of this thinker and tries to reconstruct his worldview based on modern language, modern style and modern narratives - making the once outstanding Stoic doctrine accessible and attractive to the reader of the 21st century. The construction presented by him, called "Stoicism 2.0", also has a practical purpose: according to the author's intention, it can teach a person of today the art of not just living, but living happily. Stoic wisdom, proven over two millennia, is of exceptional value in the postmodern world, the author believes.
