Although written down almost two thousand years ago, the philosophical topics that are discussed in the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius are just as relevant to contemplate today as they were in his time. In the Meditations, Marcus reflects on many themes regarding the human condition and what his own individual task may be in a world full of wrongdoers, natural changes, and death. Thoughts about his own and other people’s mortality occur often throughout the work as if he always wants to keep the imminence of death present in his mind, but why is that so? In this essay, I investigate that question with the aim to better understand what role reflections on death has in his philosophy. What purpose does these contemplations on death serve? What is the meaning with reflecting on death for him? By analysing all extracts from the book concerning the theme of death, I found that Marcus primarily think about death for four different reasons: (1) to remind himself not to fear death, (2) to remind himself not to get distracted by things that, in the presence of death, appear trivial and unimportant by viewing life on earth from above, (3) to remind himself of what actually is important, namely moral virtue and maximizing the present moment, and (4) to remind himself that liberation is coming and that death soon will relieve him from his weary and exhausting life. I also place my analysis in relation to what other studies on Marcus Aurelius have found and compare my view with the likes of Pierre Hadot, William O. Stephens, and John Sellars.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:sh-54179 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Öhman, Malte |
| Publisher | Södertörns högskola, Filosofi |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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