The Bodily Turn and Stoic Philosophy
The Bodily Turn and Stoic Philosophy

Summary/Abstract: As a branch of “technical” learning, medicine was held in high regard by the educated elite during the High Imperial era (ca. first–second century CE), a pivotal period in both medical and political history. Confronted with the sheer reality of illness, medical uncertainty, and the prominence of the medical art in the public sphere, numerous eminent members of learned society – including philosophers, sophists, politicians, and even emperors – wrote extensively on medicine and health-related topics, to the extent that some scholars contemptuously speak of an “Age of Hypochondria.” The time is right for a revaluation of this cultural phenomenon, based on a more sensitive and contextual reading of the available sources. This contribution delves into the patient perspective in this era, with a special emphasis on Stoic approaches to health, illness, and the expectation of death.

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