Toward a Phenomenological Stoicism in Dialogue with Seneca and Ortega y Gasset: Philosophy in Times of Crisis

The aim of this essay is to offer a reinterpretation of classical Stoic philosophy from contemporary phenomenology, hence the expression of the title “phenomenological Stoicism.” The two basic authors for this purpose will be Seneca and Ortega y Gasset, whom I will put into dialogue taking as central themes, first, the notion of human life (philosophical anthropology) and, second, the theory of value (axiology) that bases their ethical proposals. To offer a concrete example of the notions of virtue, freedom, and happiness that follow from this philosophical proposal, we will briefly analyze in the last section of the work the theory of suicide defended by Seneca.