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Tad Brennan Associate Professor Email: tadbrennan@northwestern.edu My interests in Ancient Philosophy are fairly extensive: I read and study over the whole period, from Presocratics to Late Platonics. Most of my publications have come from the center of that period, specifically the Hellenistic era: Epicureans, Stoics, and Skeptics. But I have also published on the Presocratic Anaxagoras, and also translated a long treatise written by Simplicius, one of the last non-christian Greek philosophers, probably around 530 A.D. My most recent book treats the Stoics, and I am writing more on Plato these days as well. My topical interests center around ethics, but extend fairly far from that center. The study of ethics in antiquity is always closely linked to theories of psychology and intentional action, and these in turn to theories about epistemology and logic. I have little taste for metaphysical questions narrowly considered, but show me how they make a difference to ethics or psychology and I am instantly avid for metaphysics. Although I have not published on any contemporary topics, and make no effort to give my own work a specious allure to contemporary eyes, I nevertheless enjoy discussing contemporary problems with colleagues and visitors, and like to think that I'm tolerably conversant with a range of recent controversies. I also think that 20th century analytical tools are indispensable for the study of ancient philosophy; this is especially the case with logic. I am equally happy working with students who are interested in the history of philosophy per se, as I am, and students whose interest in historical figures or debates is largely instrumental. I am especially happy to be working with a group of colleagues who value and encourage both historical sensitivity and in-depth familiarity with current debates, and who work to foster both strengths in our students. I am a member of the editorial board of the Bryn Mawr Classical Review. Writings and Recently Taught Courses Books The Stoic Life, Oxford University Press, 2005. Simplicius: on Epictetus' Handbook (2 volumes), translation and commentary by Tad Brennan and Charles Brittain, (Ancient Commentators on Aristotle, Richard Sorabji ed.) Duckworth and Cornell, 2002. Ethics and Epistemology in Sextus Empiricus, (Dissertations in Ethics, Robert Nozick, ed.), Garland Publishing, 2000. Articles "Stoic Moral Psychology," The Cambridge Companion to the Stoics, B. Inwood, ed., 2002. "Fate and Freedom in Stoicism," Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 2001. "Criterion and Appearance in Sextus Empiricus", Acta Philosophica Fennica, 2000. "Reservation in Stoic Ethics," Archiv Für Geschichte der Philosophie, 2000. "Pyrrho on the Criterion," Ancient Philosophy, 1998. "The Old Stoic Theory of the Emotions", The Emotions in Hellenistic Philosophy, T. Engberg-Pedersen and J. Sihvola, eds., 1999. "Aristotle's Modal Syllogistic", Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 1997. "Epicurus on Sex, Marriage, and Child-Rearing," Classical Philology, 1996. "Two Modal Theses in Metaphysics Theta," Phronesis, 1994. Back to Main Faculty Page