Abstract

This article presents Pierre Hadot’s treatment of a philosophical mode of life as it originated in ancient philosophy and fared down through the centuries. Hadot contends that philosophical discourse begins with a choice of life—an existential option from which philosophical discourse arises. The concept of philosophy as a purely theoretical attitude developed after the ancient period and reflects the domestication of philosophy within the context of the medieval and modern universities. The ancient schools of philosophy were concerned with a way of life that demanded the conversion of one’s being, a change of life­style, and a specific view of the world. Philosophical discourse, on this view, was designed to reveal, justify, and represent the existential option to the world.