Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 1-6: Stoic Therapy and Psychological Health.

The main aim of this project is to write a substantial book, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations 1-VI, for publication in an Oxford University Press series, the Clarendon Later Ancient Philosophers. This book is directed at scholars and students of ancient philosophy and Classics (Greek and Roman studies); a special aim of the series is to encourage those interested in philosophy to explore the rich, but less studied, works of later antiquity. The book consists of a new translation of the first half of Marcus' Meditations, together with a full introduction and philosophical commentary. This format enables the combination of general analysis of the content and significance of the work with close detailed study of specific passages.
The Meditations do not take the form of a technical treatise but a philosophical notebook or diary, with a series of unrelated short entries, written by a Roman emperor (probably on military campaign) who was not a philosophical specialist. Scholars have debated how far the work consistently reflects the teachings of Stoicism (which is the most important influence on Marcus) or whether it expresses a purely personal mix of ideas. This book will argue that the Meditations are overwhelmingly shaped by Stoic ideas and that they represent a powerful attempt to encapsulate the core principles of Stoic ethics, conceived as the basis for living a good human life. However, the book will also show that Marcus' formulation of these ideas is sometimes non-standard, and that he is sometimes led to put forward unorthodox ideas because of his eagerness to reach a moral conclusion without doing all the intellectual work needed to support that conclusion. The book will represent the most sustained scholarly discussion to date of this question and will make it easier for scholars and students to determine what kind of philosophical content the Meditations have.
The book will also consider the significance of the literary form of the Meditations for understanding its philosophical character and discuss how far this reflects broader cultural tendencies in its age (second-century AD Rome). For instance, the work has been seen as constituting a set of meditative or 'spiritual' exercises. Also, the work, which is addressed by Marcus to himself (not an external reader) has sometimes been seen as reflecting a broader preoccupation in his age with what Michel Foucault called 'the care of the self'. This book will be rather sceptical of these ideas, which seem in part to reflect purely modern ideas about selfhood. But it will suggest that the Meditations do express a kind of 'care of the self' which reflects ancient attitudes but which is also potentially of interest to modern readers too. The Meditations (in line with the intellectual culture in his period) assume that it is appropriate for adult human beings to take responsibility for promoting their own psychological health and happiness. The Meditations can also be seen as a kind of quasi-medical 'regimen' or psychological healthcare, helping to prepare one for the disasters (including one's own death and that of loved ones) that inevitably affects all human beings.
A secondary aim of the project is to explore the idea that the Meditations could be made useful for modern readers (especially for the reasons just pointed out). This idea will be pursued in a workshop with those involved in psychological healthcare in contemporary Britain and in a public engagement event, with the discussions posted on a web-site. In particular, it will be asked whether the Meditations could be of practical use in contemporary psychotherapy or counselling or whether it would be more useful as a contributor to the expanding body of modern writings on the search for well-being and happiness. The workshop will prepare the ground for producing a specially written resource (a handbook, for instanceor web-resource), through the production of this resource does not form part of this project.

As is clear from the Case in Support, the main focus of the project is on research leading to a monograph which is primarily of interest to the academic community. However, the project also plans to address explicitly questions which are of interest to professionals outside the academic community, working on psychotherapy, counselling or the promotion of happiness and well-being. Also, the project addresses scholars (for instance, psychologists linked with the Exeter Mood Disorders Unit and health psychologists in the Peninsula Medical School), whose academic research informs current UK practice regarding psychological healthcare. Thus, the research potentially offers benefit to UK psychological healthcare professionals and so to a wide range of people receiving psychotherapeutic treatment or counselling. The project aims to address such users by discussion of the potential relevance of the Meditations for current concerns, partly in a section of the Introduction of the Clarendon book, and partly in the July 2012 workshop and public engagement event and in the publication of the papers of these events in a dedicated web-site. The project also lays the basis for preparation of a specially designed publication or handbook, which could significantly expand the potential impact and benefit of the research project. This aspect of the project is the point on which it is most obviously relevant to the AHRC 'Concern for the Future: Thinking Forward Through the Past' theme. The project aims to bring out the way in which Marcus' Meditations (taken in its philosophical and cultural context) can be used to inform current and future debate and practice regarding psychological healthcare and the promotion of happiness.
The main ways in which such users (e.g. psychological healthcare professionals) may be benefited is as follows:
The Clarendon book and the impact-related activities are designed to make such users aware of the rich resources available in Marcus' Meditations and in other texts of Stoic philosophical therapy. Specifically, it is designed to make them aware of the potential relevance of these materials for two issues that form a significant part of current healthcare debate. These are (1) the role of what could be called 'preventative medicine' in promoting psychological health and (2) the question of the extent to which adults (or to some extent children) can reasonably be expected to be responsible for the management of their own psychological health and happiness. The project workshop and website is designed to bring out the relevance of the Meditations to these questions and thus to make users aware of the extent to which ancient writings and practices can be used to inform current debate and practice.
As explained more fully in the Pathways to Impact, the workshop is planned as a feasibility study to define more precisely which area of current practice is most likely to benefit from the introduction of these ancient materials: psychotherapy, counselling or literature on the search for happiness and well-being. The workshop is also designed to prepare the ground for the production of a published resource, whose precise target audience will depend on the outcome of the discussions in the workshop and subsequently. This resource would be designed to be of practical use in psychotherapy, counselling or as a widely accessible part of the literature on the search for happiness. Although the production of this resource falls outside the scope and time-scale of what is feasible in the present project, the benefit of the project lies partly in its contribution to the planning and preparation of this resource.