Pierre Hadot 

Pierre Hadot was a French philosopher who looked at the ancient Stoics and Epicureans and thought: ‘Guys, this isn't just theory, it's a survival manual!’ 
Born in 1922, he began with a religious education and almost became a priest, but decided to swap the altar for classical philosophy — and what a good thing he did, by the way. 

A professor at the Collège de France, Hadot became known for showing that, for the Greeks and Romans, philosophising was more a way of life than classroom talk. His books became references for proposing that ancient philosophical thought was a spiritual practice, a daily exercise for the mind and soul. He died in 2010, leaving a legacy that teaches that philosophy does not have to be a theoretical maze — it can simply be a more lucid way of facing the chaos of life.