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The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius: Selections Annotated and Explained Russell McNeil, PhD Editor, Malaspina Great Books In 1862 the English literary critic and poet Matthew Arnold described Marcus Aurelius as "the most beautiful figure in history." The Stoicism of Aurelius is grounded in rationality and rests solidly on an ethical approach rooted in nature. Stoicism promises real happiness and joy in this life and a serenity that can never be soured by personal misfortune. This philosophy has universal appeal with practical implications on problems ranging from climate change and terrorism to the personal management of sickness, aging, depression and addiction. I truly believe that the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius has much to offer us now...(Click on book cover for more)

Category:	Ancient Literature
Name:	Lao Tzu -
Birth Year:	c. 604 BCE
Death Year:	na
Representative Image:
Biography, Lectures, and Research Links:	Biography - World Philosophy Series Blog Lao Tzu SEARCH NOW: by title by author Lao Zi also spelled Lao Tzu, Lao Tse or Lao Tze lived around the 4th century BC and was a famous philosopher in ancient China. Not much is known about his life. Born in Ku Prefecture of the state of Chu (today Luyi County of Henan Province) in the later years of Spring and Autumn Period. He was an older contemporary of Confucius and worked as a librarian in the Imperial Library of the Zhou's court. As Confucius travelled around in China, they met in Zhou (approx. today Luoyang) where Confucius requested Lao Tse to discuss about rituals. Afterwards, he resigned from his post as the authority of Zhou's court was diminishing. Nothing was known about him then. Legends said he travelled west into the state of Qin and dwelt far away from China. Some of the modern standpoints of controversies about his life are: Lao Tse literally means "an old man" so he probably was a fictitious character. Discussion requested by Confucius was probably fabricated by Taoists to make their school of philisophy superior to Confucianism 2. The actual author(s) of Dao de jing created such a fictitious character so origin of the text would look more mysterious, thus making it easier to popularize. 3. Lao Tse was probably a pseudonym of Dan, Prefect of the Grand Scribes, an old man from Lai or some actual charater. Note: Lai was a prefecture of the state of Qi. His famous work, Dao de jing, has great influences in China. He believed in "Tao" (also spelled Dao), which generally means nature. He believed that none of us shall agains the wills of "Tao". He believed that violence shall always be avoided, people shall not try to change this world. Laws are just going to make everything more difficult. Although Lao Zi does not has the same influence as Confucius in China, he is still respected by the Chinese. He is the only philosopher besides Confucius in China that has been widely known by the Western world. [This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License and uses material adapted in whole or in part from the Wikipedia article on Lao Tzu .] The Great Books: Lao Tzu Please browse our Amazon list of titles about Lao Tzu. For rare and hard to find works we recommend our Alibris list of titles about Lao Tzu. Post Comments, Questions or Suggestions! This database is maintained by Malaspina Great Books.
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Best Choice Books, Music, Art:	Early Chinese Mysticism Lao Tzu and Taoism Tao Te Ching
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External Links:	Research Links: Lao Tzu Malaspina Canada Links: Lao Tzu
Online Research:	Literature Research Online at Questia
Records from Related Period and Category:	Ancient Literature

About this Database:

This web page is part of a biographical database on Great Ideas. These are living ideas that have shaped, defined and directed world culture for over 2,500 years. By definition the Great Ideas are radical. As such they are sometimes misread, or distorted by popular simplifications. Understanding a Great Idea demands personal engagement. Our selection of Great Ideas is drawn from literature and philosophy, science, art, music, theatre, and cinema. We also include biographies of pivotal historical and religious figures, as well as contributions from women and other historically under-represented minorities. The result is an integrated multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary database built upon the framework of the always controversial Great Books Core List published in 1940 by the late Great Books Pioneer Mortimer Adler (1902-2001). Most of the works on that list are available in the 60 volume Great Books of the Western World.