Footnotes in the History of Philosophy - The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius - Book I

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius are only sometimes taught in a typical Introduction to Philosophy course in American colleges and universities, which is a shame, as Marcus Aurelius is a veritable fountain of practical wisdom and advice. In my view, students should be exposed to Marcus Aurelius early in their adult lives and in their academic and professional careers.

Even if Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations are taught, it is unlikely that the emphasis is on Book I, in which Marcus Aurelius acknowledges and gives thanks to the many people in his life from whom he learned the practical lessons that inform his stoic philosophy and the emperor and person he would eventually become.

Some of the individuals named by Marcus Aurelius as influences in Book I of the Meditations are known by name only, such as the philosophers Baccheius, Tandasis, and Marcianus, whose lectures Marcus Aurelius was encouraged to attend at the behest of Diognetus (Meditations, Book I, No. 6) but about whom nothing else is known. The fact that there were presumably then-well-known philosophers and teachers that were important enough of an influence on Marcus Aurelius to be named on the very first page of his Meditations, but about whom nothing else is known, fascinates me. Maybe these philosophers produced wondrous but now-lost written works, or perhaps they were merely traveling philosophical teachers, harkening back to the traveling sophists of old.

Thinking about these presumably influential philosophers, about whom nothing is known but their names and that they were influential for Marcus Aurelius, I find myself wondering what my own philosophical legacy will be, say a hundred or a thousand years hence, and the legacy of the various philosophers I’ve been influenced by, directly or indirectly. Will some future student of mine write one of the seminal philosophical works of the 21st century and be kind enough to remember me in the preface or in a footnote (e.g., “I once attended the lectures of Fruhling.”)? I have similar thoughts about the most influential philosophy teachers in my own education and career. Am I writing them into history when I say that I was a student of Tom Warren and Kurt Roggli at Solano College; that I was a student of Philip Clayton, Andrew Botterell, Edward Mooney, and Roger Bell at Sonoma State University; that I was a student of Tom McKay, Linda Alcoff, Laurence Thomas, and Fred Beiser at Syracuse University; that I was a student of Jon Ellis, Dan Guevara, John Bowin, Julie Tannenbaum, David Hoy, Robert Goff, Ric Otte, Casey O’Callaghan, and Jerome Neu at UC Santa Cruz; that I studied Latin under Ken Bubb at Solano College; that I once shook hands with David Lewis at a metaphysics conference in Syracuse; that I hosted a podcast with theologian, philosopher, and novelist Mike Morrison; that I worked for and alongside such world-class individuals as Paul Romer (the founder of Aplia and winner of the Nobel prize in Economics), Rick Meyers (Aplia’s CTO who once worked with Steve Jobs on the Lisa project at Apple), Chris Miller (head of the Aplia platform team), Chris Makler (Aplia’s content architect), Kristen Ford (head of the Aplia content team), Paul Wells (my friend, mentor, and managing editor at Aplia), and scores of other unnamed individuals each worthy of mention in his or her own right at Aplia, the little EdTech company that could?

Surely the written works and achievements of my philosophical mentors far outweigh the barely-footnote-worthy fact that I or any other students of theirs attended their classes or seminars, or that I/we learned the fundamentals of philosophical thinking, writing, and teaching under them. On the other hand, isn’t it the hope of every student eventually to surpass one’s masters—whether in achievement or by legacy? (if not, then it should be!) Perhaps the lost works (if any) of Baccheius, Tandasis, and Marcianus far surpassed anything that Marcus Aurelius ever wrote in his Meditations or otherwise, but surely this is a case of the student surpassing the masters if ever there was such a case.

Do I likewise write my peers and fellow philosophy students into the history of philosophy if I say that I studied alongside Keith Dilbeck at Solano College; alongside Janice (Messecar) Roodsari, Jill Yaconelli Franco, Tom Burkart, Per Roth, and my lifelong friend Julia (Schallock) Thomsen at Sonoma State University; alongside Jessica Wollam, Chris Calvert-Minor, and Shanon Love at Syracuse University; and alongside Sandra Dreisbach, Jacob Metcalf, Alexandra Plakias, Kaija Mortensen, and two of my dearest friends Brian Prosser (my brother from another philosophical mother) and Jessica Samuels at UC Santa Cruz? Will people know me only by name and by association with these greater thinkers whose philosophical works and legacy already far surpass my own? Or will their works go unread and ultimately be lost to time in the digital dark ages to come, perhaps known only by name merely because I thought to remember them as influential (or vice versa), each in his or her own way, to my own philosophical thought and meditations?

How many people acknowledged by Marcus Aurelius in Book I of his Meditations would be completely unknown to history had Marcus Aurelius not thought to remember and mention them as influential in shaping the person and emperor he would become?

• His grandfather Verus

• His biological father Annius Verus

• His mother Domitia Lucilla

• His unnamed great grandfather

• His unnamed tutor

• The aforementioned Diognetus

• Rusticus

• Appollonius of Chalcedon

• Alexander of Cotiaeum

• Fronto

• Alexander the Platonist

• Catulus

• Severus

• Maximus

• His adopted father, Antoninus Pius

Marcus Aurelius would likely not have become the emperor, person, and/or philosopher he became without the influence of each of these individuals. However much or however little history remembers about them, they were significant enough to be named by Marcus Aurelius as important in his own life and in the development of his character and his philosophical temperament. And while Marcus Aurelius’s written words and achievements may indeed be greater and better-known than the works and achievements of the individuals he names in the Meditations, their legacy is just as rich and significant as that of Marcus Aurelius, if indirectly and by proxy.

The lesson is clear: don’t underestimate the value of being a mere footnote—in the history of philosophy or otherwise. Not all influences are recorded, and many of the most important and influential friendships and relationships go unsung, perhaps receiving barely a line or two in some great philosopher’s memoirs or meditations. Those relationships, however, perhaps especially the unsung and invisible ones, have the power to shape world history, the course of human progress, and the course of ideas across the ages. Undoubtedly the philosophical works and legacy of everyone I mentioned here will far outweigh my own in due time, and yet I would be satisfied merely to have been influenced by them, and to have influenced them in turn, even in some small (or significant) way, perhaps worthy of a footnote.

For Further Reading:

• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius