Christopher Gill explores the ethical ideas of the ancient Stoics and their significance for modern moral theory. He draws out the continuing value of Stoic thinking, in particular on the relationship between virtue and happiness, and on the interconnections between ethical understanding, social relationships, and emotion.
Christopher Gill offers a robust defence of Stoic ethics. He calls into question a number of common and stubbornly persistent misconceptions of Stoicism, and the account that emerges may strike some as unexpected, even provocative. Among other things, he argues that Stoicism has a lot to offer modern virtue ethics and that, in many respects, Stoic ethics is more coherent and cogent than Aristotle's ethics. The book, while no doubt of interest to specialists in ancient philosophy, has much wider ambitions and aims to make a contribution to contemporary ethical debates. As such, it has the potential to be of interest to a wide philosophical audience.