How Should One Live? Ancient tragedy and modern philosophy - Prof Sue Mendus

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9th March 7:30pm-8:40pm

In his 1985 book, Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, Bernard Williams claims that the

central question of moral philosophy is ‘How Should One Live?’. If that is indeed the central

question, then where should we look for an answer? Many modern philosophers deny that

‘the ancients’ especially the ancient Greek poets and tragedians – can give us much help: our

lives are so different from theirs that they cannot illuminate our predicament. Or so it is said.

In this talk, I will dispute that claim and try to show how ancient tragedy can inform modern philosophy.