This collection of essays addresses Plutarch's writings on practical ethics from different perspectives, including regarding their overall structure, content, purpose, and underlying philosophical and social presuppositions.

Efficiency and Effectiveness of Plutarch's Broadcasting Ethics
G. Roskam - L. Van der Stockt

1. Virtues for the people

Semper duo, numquam tres? Plutarch's Popularphilosophie
on Friendship and Virtue in On having many friends
L. Van der Stockt

What is Popular about Plutarch's 'Popular Philosophy'?
Chr. Pelling

Plutarch's Lives and the Critical Reader
T.E. Duff

Greek Poleis and the Roman Empire: Nature and Features of Political Virtues in an Autocratic System
P. Desideri

Del Satiro che voleva baciare il fuoco (o Come trarre vantaggio dai nemici)
J.C. Capriglione

Plutarch's 'Diet-Ethics'. Precepts of Healthcare Between Diet and Ethics
L. Van Hoof

2. Some theoretical questions on ethical praxis

Plutarchan Morality: Arete, Tyche, and Non-Consequentialism
H.M. Martin

Virtue, Fortune, and Happiness in Theory and Practice
J. Opsomer

Plutarch Against Epicurus on Affection for Offspring. A Reading of De amore prolis
G. Roskam

3. Virtues and vices

Plutarch's 'Minor' Ethics: Some Remarks on De garrulitate, De curiositate, and De vitioso pudore
A.G. Nikolaidis

Plutarchs Schrift gegen das Borgen (ΠεÏὶ τοῦ μὴ δεῖν δανείζεσθαι): Adressaten, Lehrziele und Genos
H.G. Ingenkamp

Competition and its Costs: Φιλονικία in Plutarch's Society and Heroes
Ph.A. Stadter

4. 'Popular philosophy' in context

Astrometeorología y creencias sobre los astros en Plutarco
A. Pérez Jiménez

Bitch is Not a Four-Letter Word. Animal Reason and Human Passion in Plutarch
J. Mossman - F. Titchener

Autour du miroir. Les miroitements d'une image dans l'oeuvre de Plutarque
F. Frazier

Bibliography

Index Locorum

Abstracts

Plutarch of Chaeronea, Platonist, polymath, and prolific writer, was by no means an armchair philosopher. He believed in the necessity for a philosopher to affect the lives of his fellow citizens. That urge inspired many of his writings to meet what he considered people's true needs. Although these writings on practical ethics illustrate in various ways Plutarch's authorial talents and raise many challenging questions (regarding their overall structure, content, purpose, and underlying philosophical and social presuppositions), they have attracted only limited scholarly attention. Virtues for the People contains a collection of essays that deal with these questions from different perspectives and as such throw a new light upon this multifaceted domain of Plutarch's thinking and writing. Special points of interest are the concept of ‘popular philosophy' itself and its implications, its dependence on a more theoretical philosophical background, and the importance of moral progress, the therapy of wickedness, and the common experiences of everyday life.

The series Plutarchea Hypomnemata, published by Leuven University Press, focuses on the voluminous oeuvre of Plutarch of Chaeronea (c. 46–120 AD), one of the most prolific and multifaceted authors of the ancient Greek world. Nearly all of his works illustrate both his intelligent interpretation and appropriation of the Greek tradition, as well as his critical interaction with contemporary society. His work exerted an immense influence on the education of the Western intelligentsia up to the nineteenth century. The second half of the twentieth century witnessed a renaissance of scholarly research on his works, with the international Plutarch society acting as a forceful catalyst. The editors of Plutarchea Hypomnemata welcome monographs that explore specific themes developed in one or more Plutarchan writings, offer a thorough interpretation of and/or commentary on a particular text, or discuss various aspects of Plutarch's authorial activity, philosophical thinking, religious ideas, political convictions, and attitude toward history, science, and the arts. They also welcome studies that situate him in broader ideological and literary contexts and/or in a contemporary political, social, and religious context. Editorial Board: Jan Opsomer (K.U.Leuven), Geert Roskam (K.U.Leuven), Frances Titchener (Utah State University, Logan), Luc Van der Stockt (K.U.Leuven)