Practical Philosophy: The Greco-Roman Moralists is rated 4.5 out of 5 by 52 .

Rated 4 out of 5 by GermanHistoryFan from The Dullness of “Practical” Philosophy Professor Johnson offers his course as a cure for what he considers neglect among classical scholars of “practical” philosophy, meaning ethical philosophy that people could practice in their everyday lives by cultivating habits of virtue rather than vice. He argues that such philosophy filled an important need during the Roman Empire, when people no longer enjoyed local self-determination and local cults could no longer measure up to the huge and impersonal universal state. It was an era, says Johnson, when influential men could not imagine improving government, so instead concentrated on improving themselves. Several of the characters will be familiar to you if you have studied Roman history, such as Cicero, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Plutarch and perhaps Epictetus. Others are comparatively obscure, such as Lucian of Samosata, Dio Chrysostom and Musonius Rufus. Still others are prominent Jews, Josephus the historian and Philo of Alexandria. I call the course dull because most of its heroes said much the same things. Practice self-restraint, set a good example for others, keep your body fit, and develop virtuous habits. In opposition to Epicureans they advised against pursuing pleasure and in favor of remaining engaged in society and government. I make an exception for Lectures 18 and 19. They interested me because they showed how even Jewish thinkers committed to the God of Israel and the Mosaic Law defended their beliefs by resorting to Greco-Roman philosophy. Such is the power of cultural hegemony. Although Professor Johnson argues that practical philosophy appealed to all ranks in society, including slaves like Epictetus, Roman history suggests that it was irrelevant to how men and women lived their lives. The ideal of self-control didn’t stop crowds from demanding gladiatorial games, rich men from seeking public influence or armies from rebelling against emperors. Reason had little to do with the continuing vitality of local religious cults and mysteries. The meditations that Marcus Aurelius wrote up for his own use didn’t stop him from leaving the empire to his worthless son Commodus. Even two of Johnson’s philosophers came to a bad end because they got into political trouble. Cicero, a former consul, was murdered on orders from Marc Antony after making hostile and vituperative speeches against him. Seneca was banished for adultery by Emperor Claudius and then executed by Nero for supposed participation in a conspiracy. These facts, and not an unfair preference for epistemology or ontology, might be why historians have neglected “practical” philosophy. Still, the course is a cheap download, so there’s little harm in getting it if you’re interested in ancient history or philosophy.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Truthmystic from The voice of reason Overall, I think this is a great course. Professor Johnson explains things clearly though at times, he will make a statement without fully explaining why. For example, he states it is a paradox that only the wise are happy. I realize this is not always true but I would have appreciated a fuller explanation to see what his insight on the statement is. I feel like I learned a lot about the Greco-Roman moralists. I liked Professor Johnson’s voice.

Rated 2 out of 5 by Marc26 from Platitudes and Glittering Generalities Prepare to hear such things as "Only the wise man is happy" and that that is somehow a "paradox". Prepare to be enthralled by such insights as "People should be dutiful and moral", "People should not seek base forms of pleasure", "Friendship is good", "Philosophers aren't perfect men", "Don't fear death", "You can be old and happy", "Old and young men alike must pursue virtue" and "Don't be a slave to your emotions." I didn't learn anything from this sparkly fluff and I am amazed at the positive reviews. The speaker emphasizes something in every single sentence he speaks and consequently, there is no emphasis; he is, despite my greatest efforts at attention, as easy to tune out as the rythmic sounds of city traffic: lots of honking and engines revving but utterly predictable. I listened to one of the lectures three times, but could not remember anything useful. Maybe listeners feel smart that ancient philosophers agree with modern people's common sense morality, but there is truly no profound substance or wisdom here. For all the talk about a "philosophers duty to openly oppose conventional beliefs", the speaker himself has proved to be the furthest thing from a philosopher.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Moshen from Excellent and exciting If I had had this professor as an undergraduate student, I might very well have majored in classics and plunged myself into the learning of ancient Greek. He is that good! What I liked most in the course was the extent to which he made the intellectual world of the Greco-Roman period come alive, with its various factions and figures, as well as the literary modes in which people couched their ideas at the time. Most of the time, the translations of ancient works that he offered us were extremely vivid and relatable from today's perspective. I have just one small complaint. The course covers the time period from the second century BC to the second century AD (or BCE and CE respectively, if you prefer). Unfortunately the professor often gave dates without specifying whether they were before or after the year zero. For someone who already had a very clear idea of when Plato or Cicero or Nero lived, this would not have been a problem. But it was disconcerting for me. If you're like me, you may need to keep the course book handy while listening to look up various dates in the timeline contained there. I took this course wanting to understand more about the Stoics, and got that plus quite a lot more. Definitely a worthwhile use of my listening time.

Rated 4 out of 5 by maxxfield1998 from Very educational I purchased this course while taking some philosophy classes at the university. This course really helped flesh out the other things I had been learning. Very enjoyable.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Brightman from The Greco-Roman Moralists This is an excellent course by an excellent instructor. I was so impressed by Professor Johnson that I plan to buy his book about the influences of these thinkers on the early Christians. He gives these thinkers there just due and also reminds us several times that we might have something to learn from them. I've bought a lot of teaching company courses and if I had to choose only one instructor to listen to it would be Luke Timothy Johnson.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Corydon79 from Humans are called to their conduct of life! Excellent course! Excellent professor! Excellent subject! After listening to courses on Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, it was wonderful to learn about Stoicism, Epicurean, and especially Plutarch, Seneca, and Cicero. I'd love another course on these last three philosophers; the one drawback of this course is it's brevity on these giants. But as Luke Timothy Johnson mentions in the last lecture, this is a survey course - understanding the varied differences, relationships, philosophies of the great schools; the wisdom of our minds makes us powerful. Its a missing page in philosophy!