Books by Pierre (College de France) Hadot

This book presents a history of spiritual exercises from Socrates to early Christianity, an account of their decline in modern philosophy, and a discussion of the different conceptions of philosophy that have accompanied the trajectory and fate of the theory and practice of spiritual exercises.

In this work, Hadot examines Plotinus' views on the self, existence, love, virtue, gentleness and solitude. He shows that Plotinus, like other philosophers of his day, believed that Plato and Aristotle had already articulated the essential truths, and so his purpose was to live philosophically.