Foucault on Correspondence as a Technique of the Self

This paper begins with a discussion of Foucault's examination of Seneca's epistles in his late essay, "Self Writing." I argue that Foucault offers an accurate and interesting account of the practices Seneca employs in his epistles pursuant to his art of living. This paper then co...

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Main Author:	Toby Svoboda
Format:	Article
Language:	deu
Published:	Open Library of Humanities 2020-01-01
Series:	Le foucaldien
Subjects:	aesthetics of existence care of the self philosophy seneca writing
Online Access:	https://foucaldien.net/articles/69

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spelling	doaj-8212159bf4bf46f389ebec25d47765052020-11-25T02:52:05ZdeuOpen Library of HumanitiesLe foucaldien2515-20762020-01-016110.16995/lefou.6951Foucault on Correspondence as a Technique of the SelfToby Svoboda0Fairfield UniversityThis paper begins with a discussion of Foucault's examination of Seneca's epistles in his late essay, "Self Writing." I argue that Foucault offers an accurate and interesting account of the practices Seneca employs in his epistles pursuant to his art of living. This paper then considers Foucault's interpretation of Seneca's art of living as an aesthetics of existence. I argue that this interpretation is unsatisfactory, instead suggesting that Seneca's art of living is a plausible response to the problem of suffering. I close by arguing that such a conception of Seneca's art of living makes it relevant for present-day human beings, who, like Seneca, are subject to the problem of suffering.https://foucaldien.net/articles/69aesthetics of existencecare of the selfphilosophysenecawriting
collection	DOAJ
language	deu
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Toby Svoboda
spellingShingle	Toby Svoboda Foucault on Correspondence as a Technique of the Self Le foucaldien aesthetics of existence care of the self philosophy seneca writing
author_facet	Toby Svoboda
author_sort	Toby Svoboda
title	Foucault on Correspondence as a Technique of the Self
title_short	Foucault on Correspondence as a Technique of the Self
title_full	Foucault on Correspondence as a Technique of the Self
title_fullStr	Foucault on Correspondence as a Technique of the Self
title_full_unstemmed	Foucault on Correspondence as a Technique of the Self
title_sort	foucault on correspondence as a technique of the self
publisher	Open Library of Humanities
series	Le foucaldien
issn	2515-2076
publishDate	2020-01-01
description	This paper begins with a discussion of Foucault's examination of Seneca's epistles in his late essay, "Self Writing." I argue that Foucault offers an accurate and interesting account of the practices Seneca employs in his epistles pursuant to his art of living. This paper then considers Foucault's interpretation of Seneca's art of living as an aesthetics of existence. I argue that this interpretation is unsatisfactory, instead suggesting that Seneca's art of living is a plausible response to the problem of suffering. I close by arguing that such a conception of Seneca's art of living makes it relevant for present-day human beings, who, like Seneca, are subject to the problem of suffering.
topic	aesthetics of existence care of the self philosophy seneca writing
url	https://foucaldien.net/articles/69
work_keys_str_mv	AT tobysvoboda foucaultoncorrespondenceasatechniqueoftheself
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Foucault on Correspondence as a Technique of the Self

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