Plutarch of Chaeronea, Platonist, polymath, and prolific writer, was by no means an armchair philosopher. He believed in the necessity for a philosopher to affect the lives of his fellow citizens. That urge inspired many of his writings to meet what he considered people's true needs. Although these writings on practical ethics illustrate in various ways Plutarch's authorial talents and raise many challenging questions (regarding their overall structure, content, purpose, and underlying philosophical and social presuppositions), they have attracted only limited scholarly attention.
 

Virtues for the People contains a collection of essays that deal with these questions from different perspectives and as such throw a new light upon this multifaceted domain of Plutarch's thinking and writing. Special points of interest are the concept of ‘popular philosophy' itself and its implications, its dependence on a more theoretical philosophical background, and the importance of moral progress, the therapy of wickedness, and the common experiences of everyday life.

Efficiency and Effectiveness of Plutarch's Broadcasting Ethics
G. Roskam - L. Van der Stockt

1. Virtues for the people

Semper duo, numquam tres? Plutarch's Popularphilosophie
on Friendship and Virtue in On having many friends
L. Van der Stockt

What is Popular about Plutarch's ‘Popular Philosophy'?
Chr. Pelling

Plutarch's Lives and the Critical Reader
T.E. Duff

Greek Poleis and the Roman Empire: Nature and Features of Political Virtues in an Autocratic System
P. Desideri

Del Satiro che voleva baciare il fuoco (o Come trarre vantaggio dai nemici)
J.C. Capriglione

Plutarch's ‘Diet-Ethics'. Precepts of Healthcare Between Diet and Ethics
L. Van Hoof

2. Some theoretical questions on ethical praxis

Plutarchan Morality: Arete, Tyche, and Non-Consequentialism
H.M. Martin

Virtue, Fortune, and Happiness in Theory and Practice
J. Opsomer

Plutarch Against Epicurus on Affection for Offspring. A Reading of De amore prolis
G. Roskam

3. Virtues and vices

Plutarch's ‘Minor' Ethics: Some Remarks on De garrulitate, De curiositate, and De vitioso pudore
A.G. Nikolaidis

Plutarchs Schrift gegen das Borgen (Περὶ τοῦ μὴ δεῖν δανείζεσθαι): Adressaten, Lehrziele und Genos
H.G. Ingenkamp

Competition and its Costs: Φιλονικία in Plutarch's Society and Heroes
Ph.A. Stadter

4. ‘Popular philosophy' in context

Astrometeorología y creencias sobre los astros en Plutarco
A. Pérez Jiménez

Bitch is Not a Four-Letter Word. Animal Reason and Human Passion in Plutarch
J. Mossman - F. Titchener

Autour du miroir. Les miroitements d'une image dans l'oeuvre de Plutarque
F. Frazier

Bibliography

Index Locorum

Abstracts

• 635 | Literatuurgeschiedenis buitenland

• Number of pages: 384
• Width: 160 cm
• Height: 240 cm

• Geert Roskam, Editor (all publications from this author/editor with Leuven University Press)
  

  Geert Roskam is Professor of Greek language and literature at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

• Luc Van der Stockt, Editor (all publications from this author/editor with Leuven University Press)
  

  Luc Van der Stockt is Professor of Greek language and literature at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and Honorary President of the International Plutarch Society.