Chapter 1: Discussions at Tusculum Summary and Analysis

The Discussions at Tusculum is a discussion between Cicero and a friend. Their topic of discussion is one of the perennial questions in ancient ethics: what things make a good and happy life? All schools of Greek philosophy agreed that the good life was the happy life. All schools of Greek philosophy agreed that all good lives require being morally good and having the virtues. Thus, evil people are always miserable; one cannot be happy unless one is good. However, some schools, most notoriously the Stoics, argued that being morally good was necessary and sufficient for happiness. This was widely regarded as counter-intuitive. On this view, a man could be happy with no external or bodily goods - no wealth, no home, no clothes, no food. A man could be happy if exiled, tortured or...