Don't Forget to Live: Goethe and the Tradition of Spiritual Exercises [Hardcover]

The esteemed French philosopher Pierre Hadot’s final work, now available in English.
With a foreword by Arnold I. Davidson and Daniele Lorenzini.
 
In his final book, renowned philosopher Pierre Hadot explores Goethe’s relationship with ancient spiritual exercises—transformative acts of intellect, imagination, or will. Goethe sought both an intense experience of the present moment as well as a kind of cosmic consciousness, both of which are rooted in ancient philosophical practices. These practices shaped Goethe’s audacious contrast to the traditional maximmemento mori(Don’t forget that you will die) with the aim of transforming our ordinary consciousness. Ultimately, Hadot reveals how Goethe cultivated a deep love for life that brings to the forefront a new maxim: Don’t forget to live.Pierre Hadot(1922–2010) was professor of the history of Hellenistic and Roman thought at the Collège de France. He was the author of many books, includingPlotinus, or The Simplicity of Vision.Michael Chaseis a senior researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique–Centre Jean Pépin and adjunct professor of Greek and Roman studies at the University of Victoria.Arnold I. Davidsonis Distinguished Professor of Humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as well as the Robert O. Anderson Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago.Daniele Lorenziniis associate professor of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.Translator’s Introduction
Preface
1. “The Present Is the Only Goddess I Adore”
   Faust and Helen
   The Present, the Trivial, and the Ideal
   Idyllic Arcadia
   Unconscious Health or Conquered Serenity?
   The Philosophical Experience of the Present
   The Tradition of Ancient PhilosoplC"