Invitation to public lecture by Han Baltussen (University of Adelaide)

The Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, and the Department of Philosophy cordially invite you to the next Lecture of the 6th CEMS Colloquia Series by Han Baltussen (University of Adelaide) on Roman Perspectives on grief and loss: Self-address and/or -consolation in Cicero and Marcus Aurelius Time: 2 December 2010, 17:30 Place: CEU, Gellner Room, Nador 9, Budapest Abstract: The very notion of self-consolation is problematic, since the traditional act of consolation is between (at least) two individuals. Here I present work in progress, in which I explore some issues related to grief, self, consolation and literary constructs from an interdisciplinary perspective. In the case of Cicero it involves limited evidence and a persistently misguided approach to his grief experience, for Marcus Aurelius I propose to use Frankfurt’s idea of secondary motivation as a possible key to the purpose of the text. I end with some thoughts on the question whether these works constitute a new Roman genre.