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

Pierre Hadot

Nis 2023 · University of Chicago Press

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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 maxim memento 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.

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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, including Plotinus, or The Simplicity of Vision. Michael Chase is 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. Davidson is 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 Lorenzini is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.