Ask the philosopher: practical advice and self-help in antiquity and today

This paper examines the genre of practical philosophical treatises in antiquity, contrasting it with contemporary literature in philosophical practice. Its main focus concerns the role of the philosopher as a guide to practical everyday concerns and the relationship between theoretical and practical ethics. An important question for ancient works on practical philosophy (and to a lesser extent their contemporary equivalents) has to do with whether, and to what extent, adopting the philosopher’s advice also requires an adoption of that person’s broader philosophical framework (Stoicism, Neoplatonism, Skepticism, etc.). Philosophers tend to put heavy emphasis on the existence of a broader philosophical theory that coheres logically with the practical advice a philosopher may offer. This emphasis is clearly reduced in contemporary works on practical philosophy. I discuss some evident advantages of the ancient philosophical approach in connecting theoretical principles with practical advice, and conclude with some thoughts on how philosophers might write popular works on practical philosophy nowadays.