Pierre Hadot on Habit, Reason, and Spiritual Exercises

This essay is a reappraisal of Pierre Hadot's concept of spiritual exercises in response to recent criticisms of his work. The author argues that contrary to the claims of his critics, Hadot articulates a compelling argument that spiritual exercises that employ imaginative, rhetorical, and cogn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of religious ethics
Main Author: Del Nido, Daniel (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell [2018]
In: Journal of religious ethics
Further subjects:B Habit
B John Cooper
B Spiritual Exercises
B Pierre Hadot
B Moral Psychology
B Reason
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:This essay is a reappraisal of Pierre Hadot's concept of spiritual exercises in response to recent criticisms of his work. The author argues that contrary to the claims of his critics, Hadot articulates a compelling argument that spiritual exercises that employ imaginative, rhetorical, and cognitive techniques are both necessary for and successful at producing a subject in which reason is integrated into human character. Such exercises are critical for overcoming the effects of habit, as a result of which everyday conduct resists rational control, and Hadot provides a nuanced account of how particular practices affect different aspects of emotion, behavior, and thought. The concept of spiritual exercises remains a viable component of theoretical frameworks for the study of religious ethics, though the author concludes that Hadot's position on habit and its role in ethical practice requires further investigation.
ISSN:1467-9795
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of religious ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/jore.12205