The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter XXVIII Stoicism
Zeno, the founder of Stoicism was a materialist who combined Cynicism with Heraclitus. Later, Stoicism took on a bit of Platonism and eventually materialism died out.
Stoicism is the least Greek form of philosophy with the earliest Stoics coming from Syria and the later ones being primarily Roman.
Zeno was primarily concerned with virtue and ethics. Everything else was important only in how it pertained to virtue.
Zeno denied the existence of chance. Zeno believed in a determinism that was rigid, but set up by a beneficent creator through natural laws.
"In the life of an individual man, virtue is the sole good; such things as health, happiness,
possessions, are of no account. Since virtue resides in the will, everything really good or bad in a
man's life depends only upon himself. He may become poor, but what of it? He can still be virtuous. A tyrant may put him in prison, but he can still persevere in living in harmony with Nature. He may be sentenced to death, but he can die nobly, like Socrates" (Russell, 254-55).
There is a coldness to Stoicism as not only bad passions are condemned, but all passions.
"The Stoic is not virtuous in order to do good, but does good in order to
be virtuous" (Russell, 256).
"Kant--who resembles them--says that you must be kind to your brother, not because you are fond of him, but because the moral law enjoins kindness; I doubt, however, whether, in private life, he lived down to this precept" (Russell, 256).
Gradually stoicism incorporated other elements and became Platonic in nature under Panaetius (who in turn influenced Cicero). Under Posidonius (circa 135 - 51 BC) the Platonic element was stronger in Stoicism then in the Skeptical theories present at the Academy.
The three Roman Stoics: Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius were much more important historically than philosophically.
Seneca turned out to be the tutor of Nero and was forced to commit suicide in A.D. 65. His dying legacy of a virtuous life remained important to his followers and to later Christians.
Epictetus, a slave who flourished between 60 and 100 AD was originally a slave and then served as a minister for the emperors until Domitian banished all philosophers.
Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 121 - 180) was an emperor. His Meditations were a personal journal of Stoic virtue.
Stoicism is a philosophy of a tired age, not a hopeful one. Stoicism suited both Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus because it was a philosophy of survival.
"If we understand that virtue is the only true good, we shall see that no real evil can befall us" (Russell, 263).
"Every man is an actor in a play, in which God has assigned the parts; it is our duty to perform our part worthily, whatever it may be" (Russell, 264).
Aurelius taught that life in harmony with the universe is what was good and one should act accordingly.
Aurelius taught that all men were brothers and that we are to love them even when they do wrong because they only do wrong out of ignorance.
Although Stoics were mostly concerned with ethics, they made great strides in the theory of knowledge as well.
The theory of knowledge avoided Plato's distrust of the perceptions. They concluded that while the perceptions might not be certain, they are probable on the whole and worthy of trust.
The Stoics also believed in innate ideas and principles.
The Stoic notion of the equality of man and the doctrine of natural law, when backed by the weight of Christianity saw the end of despotism in the 17th century.
Showing posts with label Cicero. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cicero. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Notes on Confessions Book III
Confessions
St. Augustine
Book III
Ch. 1
In loving for the sake of loving, some pleasure is to be found because love was created by God. But love, not rooted in God, is unsatisfying.
Love, when abstracted for its own sake, opens man to the scourging of jealousy, fear, anger and strife.
Augustine polluted the spring of friendship with lust. (The notion here of polluting at the spring of friendship is interesting. It denotes that all the water coming forth from the spring is polluted. Later in the chapter he uses another water analogy, the rivers are flowing but he questions where they wind up).
Ch. 2
What kind of compassion is it that arises from viewing fictitious and unreal sufferings? Without considering God in this compassion we pervert it, turn it into pity and seek to achieve some sort of feeling from the sorrows of others. It is not compassion at all, but selfish.
Augustine sought out the sorrowful plays because the sorrow captured his imagination. Apart from God, being in his own sorrowful place because of it, it was obvious why Augustine sought it out. In seeking out the imagined sorrows of the stage, he didn't have to dig deeper into his own sorrow, which stemmed from his ignoring of God.
Ch. 3
Even in this state God's mercy hovered over Augustine from afar.
The wreckers (a group of intellectuals who mocked others with their eloquence) became wreckers because they were wrecked themselves. It's a "hurt people hurt people" kind of thing.
Ch. 4
Augustine was struck by Cicero's Hortensius. It was through this lost book that a sudden realization came over Augustine. He was struck by the substance and not the style of Cicero. Now, Augustine would seek wisdom for its own sake and not for the glory that studying would bring him.
Ch. 5
After Cicero, Augustine read the Scriptures and was nonplussed. He regarded them as beneath him and stylistically inferior to the Roman writers.
Ch. 6
He tried the Manicheans but the dishes they served him did not satisfy his hunger.
The spirit is before the material: "For thy spiritual works came before these material creations, celestial and shining though they are".
God had mercy on Augustine before he confessed his sins.
Ch. 7
Evil is nothing but a privation of good. Evil has no being.
To judge the patriarchs for their "sins" or "follies" is to judge men whom God called righteous as unrighteous. They apply a human standard to something that is divine. That they judge this way is not surprising because they do not know God; they do not know the divine. "It is as if a man in an armory, not knowing what piece goes on what part of the body, should put a greave on his head and a helmet on his shin and then complain because they did not fit."
Augustine then makes some interesting points on men being upset with the Scriptures because men whom God had called righteous were allowed to do something that they are now no longer permitted to do. "Or as if, on some holiday when afternoon business was forbidden, one were to grumble at not being allowed to go on selling as it had been lawful for him to do in the forenoon." Some of Augustine's arguments could be used to favor a very stratified society and likely has been some of the foundation stones for aristocratic thinking. But, his point in showing it is that God is just in all his actions towards man. He also takes on the idea that this makes justice a relative concept. He answers this by saying that, no, justice is not variable but the times over which she presides are.
Ch. 8
"The fellowship that should be between God and us is violated whenever that nature is polluted by perverted lust".
God is the greatest authority of all and to be obeyed over all.
When men sin against God they also sin against their own souls.
This is arrogance or a false sense of freedom: to love our own good more than God, the common good of all.
Ch. 9
There are also sins committed by men who are making progress towards God. These men are to be censored for their sins but not condemned, because, "they show the hope of bearing fruit, like the green shoot of the growing corn"
Ch. 10
Augustine condemns Manichean teaching as it focuses on the created things rather than who the things were created for and for whom the things were created by.
Ch. 11
Augustine's mother saw by the light of faith that Augustine was dead.
Ch. 12
Augustine admits that deep in his Manichean thought he was unteachable and taken in by the novelty of heresy. She even implored a bishop to talk with him but the bishop refused. When Monica persisted and wept the bishop exclaimed that, a man who is surrounded by so many tears can not perish. Monica took these exclamations as a word from God
St. Augustine
Book III
Ch. 1
In loving for the sake of loving, some pleasure is to be found because love was created by God. But love, not rooted in God, is unsatisfying.
Love, when abstracted for its own sake, opens man to the scourging of jealousy, fear, anger and strife.
Augustine polluted the spring of friendship with lust. (The notion here of polluting at the spring of friendship is interesting. It denotes that all the water coming forth from the spring is polluted. Later in the chapter he uses another water analogy, the rivers are flowing but he questions where they wind up).
Ch. 2
What kind of compassion is it that arises from viewing fictitious and unreal sufferings? Without considering God in this compassion we pervert it, turn it into pity and seek to achieve some sort of feeling from the sorrows of others. It is not compassion at all, but selfish.
Augustine sought out the sorrowful plays because the sorrow captured his imagination. Apart from God, being in his own sorrowful place because of it, it was obvious why Augustine sought it out. In seeking out the imagined sorrows of the stage, he didn't have to dig deeper into his own sorrow, which stemmed from his ignoring of God.
Ch. 3
Even in this state God's mercy hovered over Augustine from afar.
The wreckers (a group of intellectuals who mocked others with their eloquence) became wreckers because they were wrecked themselves. It's a "hurt people hurt people" kind of thing.
Ch. 4
Augustine was struck by Cicero's Hortensius. It was through this lost book that a sudden realization came over Augustine. He was struck by the substance and not the style of Cicero. Now, Augustine would seek wisdom for its own sake and not for the glory that studying would bring him.
Ch. 5
After Cicero, Augustine read the Scriptures and was nonplussed. He regarded them as beneath him and stylistically inferior to the Roman writers.
Ch. 6
He tried the Manicheans but the dishes they served him did not satisfy his hunger.
The spirit is before the material: "For thy spiritual works came before these material creations, celestial and shining though they are".
God had mercy on Augustine before he confessed his sins.
Ch. 7
Evil is nothing but a privation of good. Evil has no being.
To judge the patriarchs for their "sins" or "follies" is to judge men whom God called righteous as unrighteous. They apply a human standard to something that is divine. That they judge this way is not surprising because they do not know God; they do not know the divine. "It is as if a man in an armory, not knowing what piece goes on what part of the body, should put a greave on his head and a helmet on his shin and then complain because they did not fit."
Augustine then makes some interesting points on men being upset with the Scriptures because men whom God had called righteous were allowed to do something that they are now no longer permitted to do. "Or as if, on some holiday when afternoon business was forbidden, one were to grumble at not being allowed to go on selling as it had been lawful for him to do in the forenoon." Some of Augustine's arguments could be used to favor a very stratified society and likely has been some of the foundation stones for aristocratic thinking. But, his point in showing it is that God is just in all his actions towards man. He also takes on the idea that this makes justice a relative concept. He answers this by saying that, no, justice is not variable but the times over which she presides are.
Ch. 8
"The fellowship that should be between God and us is violated whenever that nature is polluted by perverted lust".
God is the greatest authority of all and to be obeyed over all.
When men sin against God they also sin against their own souls.
This is arrogance or a false sense of freedom: to love our own good more than God, the common good of all.
Ch. 9
There are also sins committed by men who are making progress towards God. These men are to be censored for their sins but not condemned, because, "they show the hope of bearing fruit, like the green shoot of the growing corn"
Ch. 10
Augustine condemns Manichean teaching as it focuses on the created things rather than who the things were created for and for whom the things were created by.
Ch. 11
Augustine's mother saw by the light of faith that Augustine was dead.
Ch. 12
Augustine admits that deep in his Manichean thought he was unteachable and taken in by the novelty of heresy. She even implored a bishop to talk with him but the bishop refused. When Monica persisted and wept the bishop exclaimed that, a man who is surrounded by so many tears can not perish. Monica took these exclamations as a word from God
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Fifth Century Pythagoreanism
Early Greek Philosophy
Jonathan Barnes
2001
Chapter 13 - Fifth-Century Pythagoreanism
The followers of Pythagoras organized themselves as a communal living group. It was also a political group centered around the cult of Pythagoras.
FMAG - Pythagoras' cult
At some point Magna Graecia erupted in political turmoil and many of the Pythagoreans dispersed and went into exile in Mainland Greece. They were divided into two groups the acusmatici (aphorists) and the mathematici (scientists). The Acusmatici did not consider the Mathematici to be true followers of Pythagoras. The Acusmatici treated Pythagoras as a god and that everything he said was a divine decree.
The Acusmatici had three types of Aphorisms:
1) What a thing is
2) What is the best thing
-What is the most wise thing in the world? Medicine
-What is most noble? Harmony
-What is most good? Happiness
-What is most truly said? That men are wretched
3) What you should and shouldn't do
-Have children (one must leave servants of God for later)
-Always put the right shoe on first
-"Do not help anyone to put down a burden (for one must not become a cause of idleness)" (Barnes, 163).
-Do not speak in the dark
-Labor is good, pleasure is bad
-"Human souls enter all animals except those which it is right to sacrifice; that is why one must eat only sacrificial animals" (Barnes, 164).
Cicero, on commenting about the Pythagorean notion of not eating beans, mentions that it was probably abstained from because of the flatulence it produces and flatulence does not let a mind be at ease during sleep. But, some took the Pythagorean notion, especially from Empedocles' line 'Wretches, utter wretches, keep your hand from beans' as allegorical. In this understanding of the Pythagoreans staying away from beans, the commentaries equate beans with testicles and say that abstaining from beans was abstaining from sexual indulgence. It is possible that it was meant allegorical, but contemporaries mocked the Pythagorean notion of abstaining from beans.
Antiphanes, an comic poet mocked their dietary patterns numerous times: "First, like a Pythagorizer, he eats no meat but takes and chews a blackened piece of cheap bread". Alexis, another poet says, "The Pythagorizers, as we hear, eat no fish nor anything else alive; and they're the only ones who don't drink wine. - But Epicharides eats dogs, and he's a Pythagorean. - Ah, but he kills them first and then they're no longer alive." Alexis also calls the Pythagorean diet a prison diet. These satirical lines are especially for the Acusmatici, not the Mathematici.
The Mathematici were obsessed with numbers. They assigned numbers and ratios to everything. "Everything in numbers and harmonies which cohered with the properties and parts of the heaven and with the universe as a whole, they collected and fitted together; and if there was anything missing anywhere they eargerly made additions so that the whole of their theory should hang together" (Barnes, 169).
Ten was the perfect number for them and since there were only 9 observable celestial bodies they theorized that there was a 10th, a sort of counter-earth.
They believed the heavenly bodies created sounds and that the sounds created a sort of musical quality of immense proportions.
They believed the universe to be infinite.
They believed the soul to be a harmony of blended contraries.
Jonathan Barnes
2001
Chapter 13 - Fifth-Century Pythagoreanism
The followers of Pythagoras organized themselves as a communal living group. It was also a political group centered around the cult of Pythagoras.
FMAG - Pythagoras' cult
At some point Magna Graecia erupted in political turmoil and many of the Pythagoreans dispersed and went into exile in Mainland Greece. They were divided into two groups the acusmatici (aphorists) and the mathematici (scientists). The Acusmatici did not consider the Mathematici to be true followers of Pythagoras. The Acusmatici treated Pythagoras as a god and that everything he said was a divine decree.
The Acusmatici had three types of Aphorisms:
1) What a thing is
2) What is the best thing
-What is the most wise thing in the world? Medicine
-What is most noble? Harmony
-What is most good? Happiness
-What is most truly said? That men are wretched
3) What you should and shouldn't do
-Have children (one must leave servants of God for later)
-Always put the right shoe on first
-"Do not help anyone to put down a burden (for one must not become a cause of idleness)" (Barnes, 163).
-Do not speak in the dark
-Labor is good, pleasure is bad
-"Human souls enter all animals except those which it is right to sacrifice; that is why one must eat only sacrificial animals" (Barnes, 164).
Cicero, on commenting about the Pythagorean notion of not eating beans, mentions that it was probably abstained from because of the flatulence it produces and flatulence does not let a mind be at ease during sleep. But, some took the Pythagorean notion, especially from Empedocles' line 'Wretches, utter wretches, keep your hand from beans' as allegorical. In this understanding of the Pythagoreans staying away from beans, the commentaries equate beans with testicles and say that abstaining from beans was abstaining from sexual indulgence. It is possible that it was meant allegorical, but contemporaries mocked the Pythagorean notion of abstaining from beans.
Antiphanes, an comic poet mocked their dietary patterns numerous times: "First, like a Pythagorizer, he eats no meat but takes and chews a blackened piece of cheap bread". Alexis, another poet says, "The Pythagorizers, as we hear, eat no fish nor anything else alive; and they're the only ones who don't drink wine. - But Epicharides eats dogs, and he's a Pythagorean. - Ah, but he kills them first and then they're no longer alive." Alexis also calls the Pythagorean diet a prison diet. These satirical lines are especially for the Acusmatici, not the Mathematici.
The Mathematici were obsessed with numbers. They assigned numbers and ratios to everything. "Everything in numbers and harmonies which cohered with the properties and parts of the heaven and with the universe as a whole, they collected and fitted together; and if there was anything missing anywhere they eargerly made additions so that the whole of their theory should hang together" (Barnes, 169).
Ten was the perfect number for them and since there were only 9 observable celestial bodies they theorized that there was a 10th, a sort of counter-earth.
They believed the heavenly bodies created sounds and that the sounds created a sort of musical quality of immense proportions.
They believed the universe to be infinite.
They believed the soul to be a harmony of blended contraries.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Class notes: Religion and Society
(Originally written February 2, 2007 in Book 9)
Well, De Officiis just didn't happen. The remainder of this book will focused on my class SOC 310: Religion and Society.
I missed the first day because of the whole tuition remission mess. It's a small class; there's only eleven people here. My professor is Naned Olagoke. He's (I'm guessing) actually from Africa. I lied; the class just got much bigger at the last second.
Religion and Society MWF 11-11:50
Ezekiel Olagoke, Ph.D.
The Scandal of the American Mind
Mark A. Noll
Religion and Society: A Sociology of Religion 8th Ed.
Ronald L. Johnstone
5 (2) page reports are assigned readings (100 pts)
Term Paper: 10-15 pages (150 pts)
APA format
Field Work: Interview 2 people who lived in different cultures
Go to a Catholic Church and write a 4-5 pg paper (100 pts)
Mid-Term: 100 pts
Final: 150 pts
Defining Religion
As of 2006, there were 62 recognized definitions of 'religion'. The number keeps growing.
Religion
Etymology: -Latin word "leg" or "lig"
(Cicero) Roman writer uses the root word "leg" meaning "to take up, gather, count or observe". To observe signs of the Divine communication.
Another Roman writer, Servius noted that it came from the root word "lig" - to bind. The communion between the human and super-human.
"religore" - to bind together
Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
coined the word 'sociology'
3 phrases of progress
1. Theological (religious) stage
-Fetishism
-Polytheism
-Monotheism
2. Metaphysical stage
3. Positivism - science
"It is also worth remarking that a definition reached out of a personal experience of religion may be different in quality from that reached through a mere academic deduction by someone who has not been spiritually or emotionally involved in religion, or one whose purpose is to debunk religion" - Bolaji Idows
"Religion is a perception of the infinite" - Max Muller
Religion implies a psychic activity of the whole person.
"Religion is the belief which sets what is essential in all adoration of God in morality" - Kant
Don't just be a cerebral Christian.
Well, De Officiis just didn't happen. The remainder of this book will focused on my class SOC 310: Religion and Society.
I missed the first day because of the whole tuition remission mess. It's a small class; there's only eleven people here. My professor is Naned Olagoke. He's (I'm guessing) actually from Africa. I lied; the class just got much bigger at the last second.
Religion and Society MWF 11-11:50
Ezekiel Olagoke, Ph.D.
The Scandal of the American Mind
Mark A. Noll
Religion and Society: A Sociology of Religion 8th Ed.
Ronald L. Johnstone
5 (2) page reports are assigned readings (100 pts)
Term Paper: 10-15 pages (150 pts)
APA format
Field Work: Interview 2 people who lived in different cultures
Go to a Catholic Church and write a 4-5 pg paper (100 pts)
Mid-Term: 100 pts
Final: 150 pts
Defining Religion
As of 2006, there were 62 recognized definitions of 'religion'. The number keeps growing.
Religion
Etymology: -Latin word "leg" or "lig"
(Cicero) Roman writer uses the root word "leg" meaning "to take up, gather, count or observe". To observe signs of the Divine communication.
Another Roman writer, Servius noted that it came from the root word "lig" - to bind. The communion between the human and super-human.
"religore" - to bind together
Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
coined the word 'sociology'
3 phrases of progress
1. Theological (religious) stage
-Fetishism
-Polytheism
-Monotheism
2. Metaphysical stage
3. Positivism - science
"It is also worth remarking that a definition reached out of a personal experience of religion may be different in quality from that reached through a mere academic deduction by someone who has not been spiritually or emotionally involved in religion, or one whose purpose is to debunk religion" - Bolaji Idows
"Religion is a perception of the infinite" - Max Muller
Religion implies a psychic activity of the whole person.
"Religion is the belief which sets what is essential in all adoration of God in morality" - Kant
Don't just be a cerebral Christian.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Rhetoric Class Notes on Augustine
(Originally written January 24, 2007 in Book 12)
Class Notes
Augustine of Hippo
Definition of Rhetoric
- Eloquence with wisdom
- good teaching and correcting the wrong
- the means of instruction
The function of discourse
- conciliate the hostile
- arouse the careless
- inform the ignorant
Augustine states that we must make truth:
1) Clear
2) Appealing
3) Convincing
Why do we need rhetoric?
- Godliness
- To move people to God
-To make obscure things clear
- To be able to respond to the audience
Augustine is more interested in teaching, rather than persuasion in rhetoric.
Style
The way you speak ought to be proper to the subject matter.
Be careful not to make the audience weary of a point.
The point of the speech is to make the listener understand.
The most important thing is clarity.
Augustine is primarily concerned with rhetoric in dealing with ecclesiastical oratory.
Augustine's emphasis of prayer
- One ought to pray before speaking
- One should pray in labor to make himself understood
- One ought to pray to God to put a good speech upon one's lips
Role of the Holy Spirit
use Pathos & Ethos
Augustine's usage ethos as the life
- live in a way that cannot be condemned
- the life of the speaker is most persuasive
- How can one express in words what they do not do in deeds?
- An ecclesiastic orator must have a godly life
Augustine is the first to advocate the usage of vernacular. It doesn't matter how eloquent you are if the audience can't understand you.
Important ideas:
- Clarity, not victory is the goal of rhetoric
- Using Scripture as proof
- teaching emphasis
- 3 Styles in the same speech
In the process of learning rhetoric, Augustine follows Cicero's method of imitation, theory and practice.
The goal of rhetoric is the glorification of God.
(I am so BoReDeDeD!)
Class Notes
Augustine of Hippo
Definition of Rhetoric
- Eloquence with wisdom
- good teaching and correcting the wrong
- the means of instruction
The function of discourse
- conciliate the hostile
- arouse the careless
- inform the ignorant
Augustine states that we must make truth:
1) Clear
2) Appealing
3) Convincing
Why do we need rhetoric?
- Godliness
- To move people to God
-To make obscure things clear
- To be able to respond to the audience
Augustine is more interested in teaching, rather than persuasion in rhetoric.
Style
The way you speak ought to be proper to the subject matter.
Be careful not to make the audience weary of a point.
The point of the speech is to make the listener understand.
The most important thing is clarity.
Augustine is primarily concerned with rhetoric in dealing with ecclesiastical oratory.
Augustine's emphasis of prayer
- One ought to pray before speaking
- One should pray in labor to make himself understood
- One ought to pray to God to put a good speech upon one's lips
Role of the Holy Spirit
use Pathos & Ethos
Augustine's usage ethos as the life
- live in a way that cannot be condemned
- the life of the speaker is most persuasive
- How can one express in words what they do not do in deeds?
- An ecclesiastic orator must have a godly life
Augustine is the first to advocate the usage of vernacular. It doesn't matter how eloquent you are if the audience can't understand you.
Important ideas:
- Clarity, not victory is the goal of rhetoric
- Using Scripture as proof
- teaching emphasis
- 3 Styles in the same speech
In the process of learning rhetoric, Augustine follows Cicero's method of imitation, theory and practice.
The goal of rhetoric is the glorification of God.
(I am so BoReDeDeD!)
Friday, January 19, 2007
Roman Rhetoric Review
(Originally written January 19, 2007 in Book 12)
I. Cicero's definition of rhetoric - all rhetoric is argument, any discussion of matters pertaining to citizenship (duty, moral character is implied)
II. Quintilian's definition of rhetoric: a good man speaking well, art (theory) guided by principles, artist guided by moral character and speech.
III. Cicero's Four Stages:
1) Fact
2) Definition
3) Qualitative
4) Translative
IV. Facilities the speaker needs according to the author of Rhetorica ad Herennium? The canon of rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, delivery and memory.
V. What are the three things necessary for the education of a orator according to the author of Rhetorica ad Herennium?
1) Theory
2) Imitation
3) Proactive
VI. What are Cicero's requirements for an orator? Must be a citizen, must possess good tone and delivery; possess great dignity, pleasantry, and wit; must be fertile in argument and analogies; must know stasis theory; must instruct listeners, give him pleasure and stir his emotions.
VII. What are Quintilian's requirements of an orator? Must be a good man, must be trained, must possess exceptional gift of speech, must possess a sort of phronesis to make wise decisions on a daily basis; must possess the virtues of courage, justice and self-control; must possess strong memory.
VIII. Cicero's four ways of arguing assumptive issues:
1) Confession and avoidance
2) Shifting the charge
3) Retort of accusation
4) Comparison
IX. Cicero's three styles of oration:
1) Dignified
2) Middle
3) Plain
X. Quintilian's primary stasis point - definition
XI. Significant contributions
A. Cicero
- Stasis theory (outlined it thoroughly)
- Rhetoric as argument
- Critiqued other rhetorician's style
- 3 levels of style
B. Quintilian
- Modifies pupil/teacher relationship
- Exhaustive philosophy of rhetorical education
- treatment of reading and writing
- treatment of memory
I. Cicero's definition of rhetoric - all rhetoric is argument, any discussion of matters pertaining to citizenship (duty, moral character is implied)
II. Quintilian's definition of rhetoric: a good man speaking well, art (theory) guided by principles, artist guided by moral character and speech.
III. Cicero's Four Stages:
1) Fact
2) Definition
3) Qualitative
4) Translative
IV. Facilities the speaker needs according to the author of Rhetorica ad Herennium? The canon of rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, delivery and memory.
V. What are the three things necessary for the education of a orator according to the author of Rhetorica ad Herennium?
1) Theory
2) Imitation
3) Proactive
VI. What are Cicero's requirements for an orator? Must be a citizen, must possess good tone and delivery; possess great dignity, pleasantry, and wit; must be fertile in argument and analogies; must know stasis theory; must instruct listeners, give him pleasure and stir his emotions.
VII. What are Quintilian's requirements of an orator? Must be a good man, must be trained, must possess exceptional gift of speech, must possess a sort of phronesis to make wise decisions on a daily basis; must possess the virtues of courage, justice and self-control; must possess strong memory.
VIII. Cicero's four ways of arguing assumptive issues:
1) Confession and avoidance
2) Shifting the charge
3) Retort of accusation
4) Comparison
IX. Cicero's three styles of oration:
1) Dignified
2) Middle
3) Plain
X. Quintilian's primary stasis point - definition
XI. Significant contributions
A. Cicero
- Stasis theory (outlined it thoroughly)
- Rhetoric as argument
- Critiqued other rhetorician's style
- 3 levels of style
B. Quintilian
- Modifies pupil/teacher relationship
- Exhaustive philosophy of rhetorical education
- treatment of reading and writing
- treatment of memory
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Introduction to De Officiis
(Originally written January 18, 2007 in Book 8)
So, I escaped logic, surviving it with a "C". But, that was last semester. Now, it is J-Term and "Classical Rhetoric". I'm working on researching a topic for a paper on Roman rhetoric and have hit a brick wall. I liked my essay on episteme and doxa in Georgian rhetoric, but I'm tired of dealing with knowledge and epistemology. I am going to read Cicero's On Duties.
On Duties
Cicero
translated by M.T. Griffin and E.M. Atkins
Cambridge University Press: NY, NY. 2004.
Introduction
So, I escaped logic, surviving it with a "C". But, that was last semester. Now, it is J-Term and "Classical Rhetoric". I'm working on researching a topic for a paper on Roman rhetoric and have hit a brick wall. I liked my essay on episteme and doxa in Georgian rhetoric, but I'm tired of dealing with knowledge and epistemology. I am going to read Cicero's On Duties.
On Duties
Cicero
translated by M.T. Griffin and E.M. Atkins
Cambridge University Press: NY, NY. 2004.
Introduction
- Marcus Tullius Cicero was born in 106 B.C.
- He was a 'new man', the first of his family to hold public office.
- He was from Arpinum
- Cicero and his brother, Quintus, were taught by L. Licinius Crassus
- He studied under the Stoic Diodotus and the head of the Academy, Philo of Larissa.
- He then traveled to Greece to study. There he encountered the philosophers Antiochus of Escalon and the Stoic polymath, Posidonius
- Cicero adhered to Philo of Larissa's skeptical teaching: "rejecting the possibility of certain knowledge and asserting his right to adopt what position seemed most persuasive on any occasion" (x)
- His first public office was quaestor (financial officer) of Sicily.
- He rose to consul in 63 B.C. at the age of 43.
- The political shift to militarism took some of his power and he began to write
- "Cicero had once suggested to his brother that his consulship was the realization of Plato's dream of the philosopher ruler" (xi).
- Cicero sided with Pompey in the last days of the Republic, but was pardoned by Caesar.
- He was one of the first to attempt philosophy in Latin.
The Political Context of De Officiis
Written post-assassination of Caesar, Cicero attempts to justify tyrannicide. He believed Caesar wanted tyrannical power, was bent on revolutionary social policy, was economically irresponsible and was distrusting of his clemency.
He then turned on Antony, whom he believed ought to have been assassinated with Caesar.
Above all, he wanted to restore/uphold the Republic.
His chastising of Antony in the Philippic Orations led to his downfall.
Class notes on Cicero (Rhetoric)
(Originally written January 18, 2007 in Book 12)
Class notes
The main purpose of rhetoric is to discuss matters of citizenship - Rhetorica ad Herennium
Rhetorica ad Herennium is the first defining of the canon of Rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. (The first text still extant)
Means to acquiring rhetorical canon:
1) Theory
2) Imitation
3) Practice
Cicero: Stasis Theory
I. Fact
II. Definition
A. Nature or character of act
III. Qualitative
A. Absolute
B. Assumptive
1. Confession and avoidance
a. Purgation (when deed is acknowledged)
b. But not intent
i. Ignorance
ii. Accident
iii. Necessity
c. Deprecation - when intent is acknowledged but pardon is sought
2. Shifting the charge - magnify the culpability of the person, blame is shifted
a. Whose fault?
b. Good Will of Defendant
3. Retort
a. justified in doing it.
b. transfer
4. Comparison
a. separate the crime from the act
b. use of topics: intent, time, reason and magnitude
IV. Translative
Cicero is the first to pen rhetoric as argument. (All rhetoric is argument).
Cicero used argument much more broadly than the Greeks.
The orator ought to effect:
1) Instruct the listener
2) Give the listener pleasure
3) Stir the emotions of the listener
Three kinds of style:
1) Dignified
2) Middle
3) Plain
Class notes
The main purpose of rhetoric is to discuss matters of citizenship - Rhetorica ad Herennium
Rhetorica ad Herennium is the first defining of the canon of Rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. (The first text still extant)
Means to acquiring rhetorical canon:
1) Theory
2) Imitation
3) Practice
Cicero: Stasis Theory
I. Fact
II. Definition
A. Nature or character of act
III. Qualitative
A. Absolute
B. Assumptive
1. Confession and avoidance
a. Purgation (when deed is acknowledged)
b. But not intent
i. Ignorance
ii. Accident
iii. Necessity
c. Deprecation - when intent is acknowledged but pardon is sought
2. Shifting the charge - magnify the culpability of the person, blame is shifted
a. Whose fault?
b. Good Will of Defendant
3. Retort
a. justified in doing it.
b. transfer
4. Comparison
a. separate the crime from the act
b. use of topics: intent, time, reason and magnitude
IV. Translative
Cicero is the first to pen rhetoric as argument. (All rhetoric is argument).
Cicero used argument much more broadly than the Greeks.
The orator ought to effect:
1) Instruct the listener
2) Give the listener pleasure
3) Stir the emotions of the listener
Three kinds of style:
1) Dignified
2) Middle
3) Plain
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Cicero and Rhetoric
(Originally written January 17, 2007 in Book 12)
Roman Rhetoric
Rhetoric enabled upper class individuals to rise socially and gain influence (ethos was key).
Roman sense of character alters rhetoric.
Cicero is unique - not from a family with political connections - a "new man" who used rhetoric to influence people.
Education
- Primary means of communication was still oral
- Based on Isocrates
Cicero
106-43 BC
-Saw philosophy as integrally tied to rhetoric
-Ideas changed over time
-Alters meaning of "kairos" to propriety
-Built on Stoicism
-Patriotic
De Inventione
Stasis Theory
- Fact/conjectural
- Quality/Definition
- Nature of the act/ qualitative
- Legal process/ translative
4 Strands of Stasis
- Fact - if he did do it
- Quantity - How much was done
- Quality - what was the level of action
- Justice - what is the reasonable penalty
- Equitability - what are the customs of the area
Stasis: at what point the argument turns
Oratoryian attractive but difficult study
- Vast knowledge
- Distinctive style
- Understand mental emotions
- Humor
- Wit
- Culture
- Quickness in attack, defense on attack
- Delicate charm
- Memory
"Excellence in speaking cannot be made manifest unless the speaker fully comprehends the matter he speaks about" (296)
- Consumate knowledge
Orators must have:
- Subtlety of the logician
- Thoughts of the philosopher
- Diction of the poet
- Memory of the lawyer
5 Divisions of necessary skills
1) Find what to stay
2) Use order and understand appropriate weight
3) Memory
4)
5)
Relation of oratory to philosophy
- Both require wealth, free time and intellect
- Both have the power of molding men's minds
- We must understand humanity to practice oratory
Divisions of Rhetoric
1) Invention
2) Arrangement
3) Expression
4) Memory and Delivery
Educational Theory
Aim of education: highly educated young men trained in eloquence
Method:
1) Read and listen
2) Learn Proofs
Talent is most important, but training is necessary
Romans placed more emphasis on training than the Greeks
Purpose of Rhetoric
Def. - a science using language and arguments to convince
Oration: 6 Parts - exordium, narration, partition, confirmation, refutation, peroratio
Power of rhetoric - he believed that the power of speech, along with natural ability, could shape the character and shape of society
Purpose: convince audience that he is who he would like them to believe he is and that his audience is touched in a way that moves them to accept his words
Educational Program
1) Grammar School
2) Logic School
3) Rhetoric school
Progymnasmata
- Narrative
- action, agent, time, place, manner, cause
- Description
Time: length, movement,recurrence
Action: motion, direction, velocity, force
- Fable
Retelling of a story,flat characters that personify virtues and vices
- Proverb
- Anecdote
- Refutation/confirmation
- Common place
- Praising and blaming
- Comparison
- Speech in character
- Thesis
- For and against laws
Roman Rhetoric
Rhetoric enabled upper class individuals to rise socially and gain influence (ethos was key).
Roman sense of character alters rhetoric.
Cicero is unique - not from a family with political connections - a "new man" who used rhetoric to influence people.
Education
- Primary means of communication was still oral
- Based on Isocrates
Cicero
106-43 BC
-Saw philosophy as integrally tied to rhetoric
-Ideas changed over time
-Alters meaning of "kairos" to propriety
-Built on Stoicism
-Patriotic
De Inventione
Stasis Theory
- Fact/conjectural
- Quality/Definition
- Nature of the act/ qualitative
- Legal process/ translative
4 Strands of Stasis
- Fact - if he did do it
- Quantity - How much was done
- Quality - what was the level of action
- Justice - what is the reasonable penalty
- Equitability - what are the customs of the area
Stasis: at what point the argument turns
Oratoryian attractive but difficult study
- Vast knowledge
- Distinctive style
- Understand mental emotions
- Humor
- Wit
- Culture
- Quickness in attack, defense on attack
- Delicate charm
- Memory
"Excellence in speaking cannot be made manifest unless the speaker fully comprehends the matter he speaks about" (296)
- Consumate knowledge
Orators must have:
- Subtlety of the logician
- Thoughts of the philosopher
- Diction of the poet
- Memory of the lawyer
5 Divisions of necessary skills
1) Find what to stay
2) Use order and understand appropriate weight
3) Memory
4)
5)
Relation of oratory to philosophy
- Both require wealth, free time and intellect
- Both have the power of molding men's minds
- We must understand humanity to practice oratory
Divisions of Rhetoric
1) Invention
2) Arrangement
3) Expression
4) Memory and Delivery
Educational Theory
Aim of education: highly educated young men trained in eloquence
Method:
1) Read and listen
2) Learn Proofs
Talent is most important, but training is necessary
Romans placed more emphasis on training than the Greeks
Purpose of Rhetoric
Def. - a science using language and arguments to convince
Oration: 6 Parts - exordium, narration, partition, confirmation, refutation, peroratio
Power of rhetoric - he believed that the power of speech, along with natural ability, could shape the character and shape of society
Purpose: convince audience that he is who he would like them to believe he is and that his audience is touched in a way that moves them to accept his words
Educational Program
1) Grammar School
2) Logic School
3) Rhetoric school
Progymnasmata
- Narrative
- action, agent, time, place, manner, cause
- Description
Time: length, movement,recurrence
Action: motion, direction, velocity, force
- Fable
Retelling of a story,flat characters that personify virtues and vices
- Proverb
- Anecdote
- Refutation/confirmation
- Common place
- Praising and blaming
- Comparison
- Speech in character
- Thesis
- For and against laws
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Book Notes - Cicero
(Originally written November 9, 2006 in Book 11)
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)
Cicero was a lawyer. He became a consulship in 63 BC. But his excellent lawyer skills did not make him a good politician. He was ill equipped to deal with Rome's problems.
Cicero advocated for the Republic. His loyalty to the Senate and the old ways go him executed by Marc Antony in 43 BC.
Cicero turned to philosophy late in his political career. His roots were in the Peripatetic, Academic, old Roman and even Stoic schools.
Cicero was not at all original, but his hodgepodge background is indicative of Roman thought at his time.
What is Nature?
Cicero adopted the Stoic ethic, so his first job was to define nature.
Cicero criticized extreme Stoicism for its impracticality.
Cicero's modified Stoicism
Cicero hoped to marry the Stoic ideal of virtue (altruism) and real life practicalities.
Cicero distinguished between:
1) Laws as products of government
2) Laws based on the nature of things
Reason was the force that commanded men to act in accordance with nature, not some divine will.
All men are citizens of one state and subject to one law and equal.
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)
Cicero was a lawyer. He became a consulship in 63 BC. But his excellent lawyer skills did not make him a good politician. He was ill equipped to deal with Rome's problems.
Cicero advocated for the Republic. His loyalty to the Senate and the old ways go him executed by Marc Antony in 43 BC.
Cicero turned to philosophy late in his political career. His roots were in the Peripatetic, Academic, old Roman and even Stoic schools.
Cicero was not at all original, but his hodgepodge background is indicative of Roman thought at his time.
What is Nature?
Cicero adopted the Stoic ethic, so his first job was to define nature.
Cicero criticized extreme Stoicism for its impracticality.
Cicero's modified Stoicism
Cicero hoped to marry the Stoic ideal of virtue (altruism) and real life practicalities.
Cicero distinguished between:
1) Laws as products of government
2) Laws based on the nature of things
Reason was the force that commanded men to act in accordance with nature, not some divine will.
All men are citizens of one state and subject to one law and equal.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Three Doctors of the Church
(Originally Written July 16, 2006 in Book 5)
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter III - Three Doctors of the Church
By the way I am watching "Take Home Defensive Driving". Rest of all it cost $40 bucks. Ridiculous. Secondly, it is four hours long. Absurd. Thirdly, it is immensely boring. Irritating.
There are four men regarded as Doctors of the Western Church. (I believe there are a number who have been added since Russell wrote this).
1) St. Ambrose
2) St. Jerome
3) St. Augustine
4) Pope Gregory the Great
"Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine all flourished during the brief period between the victory of the Catholic Church in the Roman Empire and the barbarian invasion" (Russell, 334).
The Barbarian invasions stunted intellectual growth and men of this caliber were not produced for another thousand years.
They, more than any other men molded the Church in how it would be shaped.
Ambrose determined the Church as being dominant to the State. Jerome produced the Latin Vulgate and made great strides in monasticism. Augustine laid the foundation of theology until the reformation and was widely used by both Luther and Calvin.
Ambrose's establishment as the Church being independent of the State was not challenged (philosophically) until Hobbes. It was revolutionary. The capital of the Western Empire at the end of the fourth century was Milan. Ambrose was the bishop of Milan.
His duties brought him into contact with the emperors frequently. He always treated them at least as equals, sometimes as subordinates.
At his time the State was "feeble, incompetent, governed by unprincipled self-seekers, and totally without any policy beyond that of momentary expedients. Contrarily, the Church was vigorous, able, guided by men prepared to sacrifice everything personal in its interests, and with a policy so far-sighted that it brought victory for the next thousand years" (Russell, 335).
Ambrose had every opportunity to become a powerful political figure.
Ambrose was born at Augusta Treverorum to a prefect of the Guals. At thirteen he went to Rome, was educated and learned a strong grounding in Greek. The young adult Ambrose took to law and was successful.
At 30 he became the governor of Liguria and Æmilia. At 34 he turned away from the secular government and became bishop of Milan. He gave all his wealth to the poor and served the Church the rest of his life, sometimes in the face of peril.
All three Doctors of this period, Jerome, Augustine and Ambrose wrote innumerable letters, many of which have survived. For this reason we know them better than any pagan philosopher or ecclesiastics of the Middle Ages.
Jerome wrote mostly to women, instructing them on how to maintain their virginity. Augustine wrote letters to everyone, mostly on doctrine or Church discipline. Ambrose wrote most interesting letters to emperors, chastising them when they failed in their duties and praising them when they fulfilled them.
The first public matter Ambrose dealt with was the altar and stature to Victory in Rome. It was a pagan icon removed by Constantinius (son of Constantine) reinstated by Julian the Apostate and then removed again by Emperor Gratian. Paganism lasted longer in the Senate than elsewhere in Rome. After Gratian's death a senator named Symmachus (a pagan) fought to bring it back. In 384 he became the prefect of Rome. When Symmachus sought to have the new Emperor Valentian II put it back, Ambrose wrote the boy king. He wrote "Let no one take advantage of your youth" and put for the thesis that "as all Romans owed military service to their sovereign, so he (the Emperor) owed service to the Almighty God" (Russell, 337). In addition to flattery, Ambrose threatened the young emperor with not being able to see a priest in Church or receiving a hostile greeting from a priest. Ambrose won the argument. But a usurper of Valentian II, Eugenics (a pagan) restored the idol. In 394 Emperor Theodosius defeated Eugenics and removed the altar.
Initially Ambrose had favor in the imperial court. But when the mother of Valentian II, Empress Justina (an Arian) asked for an Arian church in Milan, the Catholic Ambrose refused. The Empress sent troops to a church in Milan demanding it as it belonged to the Emperor. Ambrose assured the Empress that she may take anything that belonged to the emperor but since the wealth of the church belonged to the poor and the church to God, he had nothing to give her. The soldiers refused to take the church by force because the citizens backed Ambrose. The empress gave in. This established the precedent of the Church having authority over the State in some matters.
Ambrose's next conflict came with the Emperor Theodosius. A synagogue was burned at a bishop's instigation. Theodosius demanded that those responsible be punished and the synagogue be rebuilt at the bishop's expense. Ambrose was furious. He demanded that no such action be taken because it would cause only trouble. If the punishment is carried out the bishop will be martyred for standing up for his faith in Christ or acquiesce and become apostate. Also, money of the Church should not be used to support unbelief (as occurs in a synagogue). Theodosius backed down.
The next conflict between these two occurred when a mob in Thessolonica murdered a Roman captain. Theodosius orchestrated the slaughter of 7,000 Thessalonians in revenge. Ambrose withheld the sacraments from Theodosius until the emperor rented. Theodosius repented, without his purple kingly robes and paid public penance.
Ambrose was a remarkable statesman, but inferior to Augustine in philosophy and inferior to Jerome as a scholar.
Jerome is most notable for producing the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. The Vulgate was translated from original Hebrew texts, not the more erroneous Septuagint. Because Jerome illicit help from Jews in the translation it was initially met with harsh responses. Augustine's endorsement helped it to become the accepted version of the Catholic Church.
Jerome was born in 345 AD near Aquileia to a well-to-do, but not rich family. He studied rhetoric in Rome but he sinned there. He traveled through Gaul, retiring to Aquileia and became ascetic. He became a hermit in the Syrian desert and performed penance for his sinfulness in Rome. He then went back to Rome and befriended Pope Damasus, who encouraged him to create the Vulgate.
Jerome was quarrelsome to say the least. He fought with Augustine over the behavior of St. Peter. He fought with his friend Rufinius over Origen. He opposed Pelagius so avidly that his monastery was attacked by a Pelagian mob. He also fought with the Pope after the death of Damasus.
He left Rome for Bethlehem in 386 and lived there until his death in 420.
He converted and convinced many noble women to become nuns, pissing off people all over.
A young girl he convinced to become a nun was Eustochium. He wrote letters to her on how to maintain her virginity, exact meanings of Old Testament euphemisms, erotic mystical praise of covenantal life, stated that a nun is the Bride of Christ and the the Song of Solomon praises this type of relationship.
Linehan - I believe that this is a very bad misrepresentation of this book.
In a vision Jerome heard Christ tell him that he was a follower of Cicero, not Christ. Upon waking from this vision he denounced his love of Greek and Roman learning.
In his letters he embodies the Christian otherworldly hope of redemption outside of the collapsing world of the temporal Roman Empire.
It is strange (Russell contends) that Jerome, Augustine, and Ambrose all devoted themselves to Church issues, but no practical measures to save their collapsing state.
Linehan - The emphasis on virginity by the early church to me seems harmful. It is true that some men and women may be called to a life of abstinence, but I do not think that this is a very likely occurrence. I know from a personal standpoint that living an abstinent life makes it hard to focus on anything other than virginity or how to lose it. I remained a virgin because of fear (partially) and because of failure (mostly). This was a source of enormous tension, self-turmoil, disappointment, frustration, agony, desperation, depression, guilt and countless hours of wasted time and effort. Virginity or abstinence as an end is not a virtue. What makes it virtuous is the reasoning behind it. If one declares perpetual virginity in accordance to God's plan then it is virtuous, but if it (or anything) is done as a way to impress God it is boastful and not a virtue at all. Also I find the practice of father's giving their daughters over to virginity reprehensible. It's a shame that things like this happened within Christianity because it gives ammo to those who are seeking to attack Christianity.
Augustine was born in 354 in Africa to a Christian mother and Pagan father. He spent time as a Manichaean, then became a Christian. He then became the bishop of Hippo, near Carthage, where he remained until he died in 430.
We know much of Augustine's life because of his autobiographical work Confessions.
Augustine was a passionate youth, unconcerned with virtue and impulsive. He searched for truth and righteousness relentlessly.
His youthful sins caused him to have a strong sense of sin later in life, "which made his life stern and his philosophy inhuman" (Russell, 345).
Linehan - I'm sure Russell meant this as a stab, but Augustine may very well have modestly accepted it as a compliment. I must admit that there are a few philosophers, theologians, or men that matter, with whom I identify with or respect more than Augustine.
Augustine opens Confessions with the story of stealing a pear for mischief's sake alone. He condemns himself for loving the act of sinning so much. Russell mocks this and calls it morbid to the modern mind. While this may be true it is a blight on the modern mind, not on Augustine.
Christian theology had two parts:
1) that concerned with the Church
2) that concerned with the individual.
The Catholics emphasized the first. The Protestants emphasized the second. Augustine created a harmonious synthesis that focused on both without any inconsistencies.
Augustine believed individual soul wee predestined to salvation, but had to be baptized and become a member of the Church. Predestination marks a direct connection between God and man, the Church was an intermediate between.
Sin was essential to the direct relation for two reasons:
1) Shows how God can cause man to suffer
2) Shows how souls are the most important member of the created order.
Russell calls Augustine's sense of sin 'abnormal'. Russell's indifference to sin however, is much more abnormal than any developed sense of it.
Augustine grabbed Latin easily, but hated Greek.
Lust overcame him at the age of sixteen.
Augustine's father did not pay any attention to his sins but kept him focused on school. His mother, in vain, tried to keep him chaste. He went to Carthage at 16 and fell in love with love. He also took a mistress because he was not ready for a wife, but was faithful to her and had a son he loved by her.
His mother then encouraged him to marry a girl worthy of his social status (which his mistress was not). In breaking up with his mistress to be married he broke his heart. He then took another mistress while waiting for his bride-to-be to come of age. At this time he prayed, "give me chastity and continence, only not yet" (Russell, 348).
By the time his marriage was to occur he had devoted himself to religion and chastity.
Augustine was excellent in rhetoric and introduced to philosophy by Cicero. He then became a Manichaean and taught rhetoric. He was fond of astrology at this time, but later despised it.
He read as much philosophy as was translated into Latin and mentions Aristotle's 'Ten Categories'. He grasped these works without a teacher, but decried his understanding because it profited him none.
Initially he began to reject Manichaeism because of scientific reasons, citing astronomy and Mani's (the founder of Manichaeism) blatant errors on astronomical matters. After doubting Manichaeism he went to teach in Rome.
He began to feel at odds with the Manichaeans more and more in Rome and began to slide in to skepticism, but still believed that something in men, some nature caused them to sin.
He believed evil to be a substance.
From Rome he went to Milan to teach rhetoric. He began to love Ambrose and admire the Catholic faith, but his newfound skepticism held him back.
His mother joined him in Milan and hastened his conversion.
In Milan he became acquainted with Platonism and fused the Platonic metaphysical doctrine of Logos with Christianity.
He then completely rejected Manichaeism and the notion of Evil as a substance, instead believing evil to come from the perverseness of the will.
Augustine found comfort in the writings of St. Paul (one reason I identify with him so well).
He gave up his new mistress and his wife-to-be and devoted himself to the Church. He moved back to Africa in 388 and spent the remainder of his life fighting heresies like the Donates, Manichaeism and Pelagianism.
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter III - Three Doctors of the Church
By the way I am watching "Take Home Defensive Driving". Rest of all it cost $40 bucks. Ridiculous. Secondly, it is four hours long. Absurd. Thirdly, it is immensely boring. Irritating.
There are four men regarded as Doctors of the Western Church. (I believe there are a number who have been added since Russell wrote this).
1) St. Ambrose
2) St. Jerome
3) St. Augustine
4) Pope Gregory the Great
"Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine all flourished during the brief period between the victory of the Catholic Church in the Roman Empire and the barbarian invasion" (Russell, 334).
The Barbarian invasions stunted intellectual growth and men of this caliber were not produced for another thousand years.
They, more than any other men molded the Church in how it would be shaped.
Ambrose determined the Church as being dominant to the State. Jerome produced the Latin Vulgate and made great strides in monasticism. Augustine laid the foundation of theology until the reformation and was widely used by both Luther and Calvin.
Ambrose's establishment as the Church being independent of the State was not challenged (philosophically) until Hobbes. It was revolutionary. The capital of the Western Empire at the end of the fourth century was Milan. Ambrose was the bishop of Milan.
His duties brought him into contact with the emperors frequently. He always treated them at least as equals, sometimes as subordinates.
At his time the State was "feeble, incompetent, governed by unprincipled self-seekers, and totally without any policy beyond that of momentary expedients. Contrarily, the Church was vigorous, able, guided by men prepared to sacrifice everything personal in its interests, and with a policy so far-sighted that it brought victory for the next thousand years" (Russell, 335).
Ambrose had every opportunity to become a powerful political figure.
Ambrose was born at Augusta Treverorum to a prefect of the Guals. At thirteen he went to Rome, was educated and learned a strong grounding in Greek. The young adult Ambrose took to law and was successful.
At 30 he became the governor of Liguria and Æmilia. At 34 he turned away from the secular government and became bishop of Milan. He gave all his wealth to the poor and served the Church the rest of his life, sometimes in the face of peril.
All three Doctors of this period, Jerome, Augustine and Ambrose wrote innumerable letters, many of which have survived. For this reason we know them better than any pagan philosopher or ecclesiastics of the Middle Ages.
Jerome wrote mostly to women, instructing them on how to maintain their virginity. Augustine wrote letters to everyone, mostly on doctrine or Church discipline. Ambrose wrote most interesting letters to emperors, chastising them when they failed in their duties and praising them when they fulfilled them.
The first public matter Ambrose dealt with was the altar and stature to Victory in Rome. It was a pagan icon removed by Constantinius (son of Constantine) reinstated by Julian the Apostate and then removed again by Emperor Gratian. Paganism lasted longer in the Senate than elsewhere in Rome. After Gratian's death a senator named Symmachus (a pagan) fought to bring it back. In 384 he became the prefect of Rome. When Symmachus sought to have the new Emperor Valentian II put it back, Ambrose wrote the boy king. He wrote "Let no one take advantage of your youth" and put for the thesis that "as all Romans owed military service to their sovereign, so he (the Emperor) owed service to the Almighty God" (Russell, 337). In addition to flattery, Ambrose threatened the young emperor with not being able to see a priest in Church or receiving a hostile greeting from a priest. Ambrose won the argument. But a usurper of Valentian II, Eugenics (a pagan) restored the idol. In 394 Emperor Theodosius defeated Eugenics and removed the altar.
Initially Ambrose had favor in the imperial court. But when the mother of Valentian II, Empress Justina (an Arian) asked for an Arian church in Milan, the Catholic Ambrose refused. The Empress sent troops to a church in Milan demanding it as it belonged to the Emperor. Ambrose assured the Empress that she may take anything that belonged to the emperor but since the wealth of the church belonged to the poor and the church to God, he had nothing to give her. The soldiers refused to take the church by force because the citizens backed Ambrose. The empress gave in. This established the precedent of the Church having authority over the State in some matters.
Ambrose's next conflict came with the Emperor Theodosius. A synagogue was burned at a bishop's instigation. Theodosius demanded that those responsible be punished and the synagogue be rebuilt at the bishop's expense. Ambrose was furious. He demanded that no such action be taken because it would cause only trouble. If the punishment is carried out the bishop will be martyred for standing up for his faith in Christ or acquiesce and become apostate. Also, money of the Church should not be used to support unbelief (as occurs in a synagogue). Theodosius backed down.
The next conflict between these two occurred when a mob in Thessolonica murdered a Roman captain. Theodosius orchestrated the slaughter of 7,000 Thessalonians in revenge. Ambrose withheld the sacraments from Theodosius until the emperor rented. Theodosius repented, without his purple kingly robes and paid public penance.
Ambrose was a remarkable statesman, but inferior to Augustine in philosophy and inferior to Jerome as a scholar.
Jerome is most notable for producing the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. The Vulgate was translated from original Hebrew texts, not the more erroneous Septuagint. Because Jerome illicit help from Jews in the translation it was initially met with harsh responses. Augustine's endorsement helped it to become the accepted version of the Catholic Church.
Jerome was born in 345 AD near Aquileia to a well-to-do, but not rich family. He studied rhetoric in Rome but he sinned there. He traveled through Gaul, retiring to Aquileia and became ascetic. He became a hermit in the Syrian desert and performed penance for his sinfulness in Rome. He then went back to Rome and befriended Pope Damasus, who encouraged him to create the Vulgate.
Jerome was quarrelsome to say the least. He fought with Augustine over the behavior of St. Peter. He fought with his friend Rufinius over Origen. He opposed Pelagius so avidly that his monastery was attacked by a Pelagian mob. He also fought with the Pope after the death of Damasus.
He left Rome for Bethlehem in 386 and lived there until his death in 420.
He converted and convinced many noble women to become nuns, pissing off people all over.
A young girl he convinced to become a nun was Eustochium. He wrote letters to her on how to maintain her virginity, exact meanings of Old Testament euphemisms, erotic mystical praise of covenantal life, stated that a nun is the Bride of Christ and the the Song of Solomon praises this type of relationship.
Linehan - I believe that this is a very bad misrepresentation of this book.
In a vision Jerome heard Christ tell him that he was a follower of Cicero, not Christ. Upon waking from this vision he denounced his love of Greek and Roman learning.
In his letters he embodies the Christian otherworldly hope of redemption outside of the collapsing world of the temporal Roman Empire.
It is strange (Russell contends) that Jerome, Augustine, and Ambrose all devoted themselves to Church issues, but no practical measures to save their collapsing state.
Linehan - The emphasis on virginity by the early church to me seems harmful. It is true that some men and women may be called to a life of abstinence, but I do not think that this is a very likely occurrence. I know from a personal standpoint that living an abstinent life makes it hard to focus on anything other than virginity or how to lose it. I remained a virgin because of fear (partially) and because of failure (mostly). This was a source of enormous tension, self-turmoil, disappointment, frustration, agony, desperation, depression, guilt and countless hours of wasted time and effort. Virginity or abstinence as an end is not a virtue. What makes it virtuous is the reasoning behind it. If one declares perpetual virginity in accordance to God's plan then it is virtuous, but if it (or anything) is done as a way to impress God it is boastful and not a virtue at all. Also I find the practice of father's giving their daughters over to virginity reprehensible. It's a shame that things like this happened within Christianity because it gives ammo to those who are seeking to attack Christianity.
Augustine was born in 354 in Africa to a Christian mother and Pagan father. He spent time as a Manichaean, then became a Christian. He then became the bishop of Hippo, near Carthage, where he remained until he died in 430.
We know much of Augustine's life because of his autobiographical work Confessions.
Augustine was a passionate youth, unconcerned with virtue and impulsive. He searched for truth and righteousness relentlessly.
His youthful sins caused him to have a strong sense of sin later in life, "which made his life stern and his philosophy inhuman" (Russell, 345).
Linehan - I'm sure Russell meant this as a stab, but Augustine may very well have modestly accepted it as a compliment. I must admit that there are a few philosophers, theologians, or men that matter, with whom I identify with or respect more than Augustine.
Augustine opens Confessions with the story of stealing a pear for mischief's sake alone. He condemns himself for loving the act of sinning so much. Russell mocks this and calls it morbid to the modern mind. While this may be true it is a blight on the modern mind, not on Augustine.
Christian theology had two parts:
1) that concerned with the Church
2) that concerned with the individual.
The Catholics emphasized the first. The Protestants emphasized the second. Augustine created a harmonious synthesis that focused on both without any inconsistencies.
Augustine believed individual soul wee predestined to salvation, but had to be baptized and become a member of the Church. Predestination marks a direct connection between God and man, the Church was an intermediate between.
Sin was essential to the direct relation for two reasons:
1) Shows how God can cause man to suffer
2) Shows how souls are the most important member of the created order.
Russell calls Augustine's sense of sin 'abnormal'. Russell's indifference to sin however, is much more abnormal than any developed sense of it.
Augustine grabbed Latin easily, but hated Greek.
Lust overcame him at the age of sixteen.
Augustine's father did not pay any attention to his sins but kept him focused on school. His mother, in vain, tried to keep him chaste. He went to Carthage at 16 and fell in love with love. He also took a mistress because he was not ready for a wife, but was faithful to her and had a son he loved by her.
His mother then encouraged him to marry a girl worthy of his social status (which his mistress was not). In breaking up with his mistress to be married he broke his heart. He then took another mistress while waiting for his bride-to-be to come of age. At this time he prayed, "give me chastity and continence, only not yet" (Russell, 348).
By the time his marriage was to occur he had devoted himself to religion and chastity.
Augustine was excellent in rhetoric and introduced to philosophy by Cicero. He then became a Manichaean and taught rhetoric. He was fond of astrology at this time, but later despised it.
He read as much philosophy as was translated into Latin and mentions Aristotle's 'Ten Categories'. He grasped these works without a teacher, but decried his understanding because it profited him none.
Initially he began to reject Manichaeism because of scientific reasons, citing astronomy and Mani's (the founder of Manichaeism) blatant errors on astronomical matters. After doubting Manichaeism he went to teach in Rome.
He began to feel at odds with the Manichaeans more and more in Rome and began to slide in to skepticism, but still believed that something in men, some nature caused them to sin.
He believed evil to be a substance.
From Rome he went to Milan to teach rhetoric. He began to love Ambrose and admire the Catholic faith, but his newfound skepticism held him back.
His mother joined him in Milan and hastened his conversion.
In Milan he became acquainted with Platonism and fused the Platonic metaphysical doctrine of Logos with Christianity.
He then completely rejected Manichaeism and the notion of Evil as a substance, instead believing evil to come from the perverseness of the will.
Augustine found comfort in the writings of St. Paul (one reason I identify with him so well).
He gave up his new mistress and his wife-to-be and devoted himself to the Church. He moved back to Africa in 388 and spent the remainder of his life fighting heresies like the Donates, Manichaeism and Pelagianism.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
The Stoics
(Originally written July 15, 2006 in Book 4)
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter 28 - Stoicism
Stoicism was founded by Zeno, a contemporary of Epicurus, but the doctrine evolved much more gradually than Epicureanism. Zeno's Stoicism was a fusion of Cynicism and Heraclitus. By the time of Marcus Aurelius (a stoic), it had morphed into a system with Platonic and anti-materialistic elements.
Stoicism was less Greek than any other Greek philosophy. The earliest Stoics were mostly Syrian, the later were mostly Roman.
Zeno was a Phoenician from Cyprus, born in the second half of the 4th century BC.
Stoicism of Zeno formed around Cynicism but adopted some of the Academy's views and looked at Socrates as a saint.
Virtue was ultimately important to Zeno. Metaphysical subtleties were of no use for him.
Zeno did not doubt the senses because he thought that was useless and absurd. Zeno denied chance and nature was determined by strict natural laws.
He believed that everything was cyclical.
God was the soul of the sensible world.
All things possessed some bits of God, the Divine Fire.
Nature was one integrated system of many individual parts.
Free will produced virtue when one acted in accordance with nature.
Physical things were of no merit when concerned to virtue. Virtue can be found in all men, regardless of their physical surroundings.
Not just bad passions are condemned by the Stoic; all passions are.
Sympathy for death was bad. Friendship is of no account. Politics are useful, but unimportant. Nothing matters except virtue.
Zeno condemned the building of temples because there is no virtue in buildings.
He believed in astrology and divination.
Cleanthes of Asso immediately carried on the Stoic torch. He is known for 2 main things:
1) Condemning Aristarchus of Samos for promulgating a heliocentric belief.
2) The "Hymn to Zeus'.
Chrysippus (280-207 BC) followed Cleanthes and systematized Stoicism.
He believed that if a thing was to exist, the opposite necessarily exists. Thus, since good exists, evil necessarily exists.
He held logic to be fundamental.
He held an empirical theory of knowledge based on perception.
Post-Chrysippus, stoicism was altered by two men, Panaetius and Posidonius.
Panaetius introduced a lot of Platonic elements into Stoicism. He abandoned all materialism.
Panaetius befriended Scipio and influenced Cicero. Posidonius taught and further influenced Cicero.
Cicero brought Stoicism to the Romans.
Posidonius was a Syrian Greek and escaped the anarchy of Syria upon the collapse of Seleucid Empire. He moved to Athens.
He traveled extensively in Western Europe, North Africa and saw the heads on pikes on the Barbaric Spanish coast.
He was scientific, an extraordinary astronomer, and a historian of note.
He further combined Stoicism and Platonic elements.
By the way, a cover up of the Mary Magdelene by the Catholic Church is appalling. Obviously she was Jesus' husband. Just look at the Gnostic Gospels for the truth! (sarcasm obviously)
Posidonius believed the soul did not perish with the body (as most Stoics did) but rose into the air. The more virtuous a soul, the higher it rose. Extremely sinful souls were reincarnated.
Te most virtuous souls floated among the stars and helped out the living; thus, his belief in astrology.
Posidonius may have laid the foundation for Gnosticism.
The Copernican theory, not Christianity, finally doomed his philosophy.
The three most important Stoics (historically, not philosophically) were Romans:
1) Seneca - a preacher
2) Epictetus - a slave
3) Marcus Aurelius - an emperor.
Seneca lived from 3 BC - AD 65. He was a politician in Rome, though of Spanish origin. He was banished by the Emperor Claudius but was later recalled to tutor the future Roman Emperor, Nero.
Seneca amassed riches by usury in Roman Britain.
He was accused of treason by Nero and permitted to commit suicide.
He died in a Stoically virtuous way leaving 'the example of a virtuous life to his grieving family'.
Some Church Fathers considered him a Christian. St. Jerome believed he correspond with St. Paul.
Epictetus (AD 60 - 100) was born a slave. He was lame (probably from cruel punishment). He was banished along with all other philosophers by Emperor Domitian.
Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) became emperor in 161. He devoted himself to be a Stoic Emperor.
He persecuted Christians (Russell contends as a political necessity) for not bowing to the State religion.
His life and ring were married by horrors: wars, an immoral wife (accused), earthquakes, rebellion, pestilence, etc.
Stoic beliefs proved reasonably consistent, in that virtue is not dependent on outside circumstances. As emperor, Marcus Aurelius and the slave Epictetus held nearly identical philosophical views.
The Stoic ethic fit the hopeless age in which Aurelius lived.
"If we understand that virtue is the only true good, we shall see that no real evil can befall us" (Russell, 263).
All men are sons of God but doomed to death. Stoics go out to death without 'whining' or 'groaning'.
A Stoic is one who is sick yet happy, in trouble yet happy, dying yet happy...
Epictetus hold that one should love his enemies.
"Every man is an actor in a play, in which God has assigned the parts; it is our duty to perform our part worthily, whatever it may be" (Russell, 264).
Marcus Aurelius held that since life is fragile, virtue must always be asserted.
He regards the universe as a closely knit whole and as one living being, one substance, and one soul [pantheism?].
Despite his status as Emperor and the preeminence of the Roman people, he held all men to be brothers.
Stoic ethics and theology contradict on one point. The universe is wholly deterministic, yet man has free will. Then man can do neither harm nor good to another, but the virtuous good will is the sole good.
The Stoics held that these contradictions were of necessity because it was impossible for all men to live up to their rigorous standards. They offered lower standards to those who could not live up to the high ones.
Kant's ethical standards are similar to the Stoics (according to Russell, but I don't see the correlation).
While Stoics concerned themselves mainly in Ethics they advanced progress in two main areas:
1) Theory of knowledge
2) Doctrine of natural law and natural rights
The Stoic theory of knowledge accepted perception in the face of Platonic theory.
King Ptolemy invited a Stoic by the name of Sphaerus to dinner and to embarrass him he gave Sphaerus a wax pomegranate to eat. The king laughed and pointed out the obvious deceptive nature of the senses. Sphaerus fired back that he had felt no certainty of it being real, but figured it unlikely that anything inedible would be served at a royal meal, thus shaming the king.
The Stoic theory of knowledge also included innate ideas and principles.
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter 28 - Stoicism
Stoicism was founded by Zeno, a contemporary of Epicurus, but the doctrine evolved much more gradually than Epicureanism. Zeno's Stoicism was a fusion of Cynicism and Heraclitus. By the time of Marcus Aurelius (a stoic), it had morphed into a system with Platonic and anti-materialistic elements.
Stoicism was less Greek than any other Greek philosophy. The earliest Stoics were mostly Syrian, the later were mostly Roman.
Zeno was a Phoenician from Cyprus, born in the second half of the 4th century BC.
Stoicism of Zeno formed around Cynicism but adopted some of the Academy's views and looked at Socrates as a saint.
Virtue was ultimately important to Zeno. Metaphysical subtleties were of no use for him.
Zeno did not doubt the senses because he thought that was useless and absurd. Zeno denied chance and nature was determined by strict natural laws.
He believed that everything was cyclical.
God was the soul of the sensible world.
All things possessed some bits of God, the Divine Fire.
Nature was one integrated system of many individual parts.
Free will produced virtue when one acted in accordance with nature.
Physical things were of no merit when concerned to virtue. Virtue can be found in all men, regardless of their physical surroundings.
Not just bad passions are condemned by the Stoic; all passions are.
Sympathy for death was bad. Friendship is of no account. Politics are useful, but unimportant. Nothing matters except virtue.
Zeno condemned the building of temples because there is no virtue in buildings.
He believed in astrology and divination.
Cleanthes of Asso immediately carried on the Stoic torch. He is known for 2 main things:
1) Condemning Aristarchus of Samos for promulgating a heliocentric belief.
2) The "Hymn to Zeus'.
Chrysippus (280-207 BC) followed Cleanthes and systematized Stoicism.
He believed that if a thing was to exist, the opposite necessarily exists. Thus, since good exists, evil necessarily exists.
He held logic to be fundamental.
He held an empirical theory of knowledge based on perception.
Post-Chrysippus, stoicism was altered by two men, Panaetius and Posidonius.
Panaetius introduced a lot of Platonic elements into Stoicism. He abandoned all materialism.
Panaetius befriended Scipio and influenced Cicero. Posidonius taught and further influenced Cicero.
Cicero brought Stoicism to the Romans.
Posidonius was a Syrian Greek and escaped the anarchy of Syria upon the collapse of Seleucid Empire. He moved to Athens.
He traveled extensively in Western Europe, North Africa and saw the heads on pikes on the Barbaric Spanish coast.
He was scientific, an extraordinary astronomer, and a historian of note.
He further combined Stoicism and Platonic elements.
By the way, a cover up of the Mary Magdelene by the Catholic Church is appalling. Obviously she was Jesus' husband. Just look at the Gnostic Gospels for the truth! (sarcasm obviously)
Posidonius believed the soul did not perish with the body (as most Stoics did) but rose into the air. The more virtuous a soul, the higher it rose. Extremely sinful souls were reincarnated.
Te most virtuous souls floated among the stars and helped out the living; thus, his belief in astrology.
Posidonius may have laid the foundation for Gnosticism.
The Copernican theory, not Christianity, finally doomed his philosophy.
The three most important Stoics (historically, not philosophically) were Romans:
1) Seneca - a preacher
2) Epictetus - a slave
3) Marcus Aurelius - an emperor.
Seneca lived from 3 BC - AD 65. He was a politician in Rome, though of Spanish origin. He was banished by the Emperor Claudius but was later recalled to tutor the future Roman Emperor, Nero.
Seneca amassed riches by usury in Roman Britain.
He was accused of treason by Nero and permitted to commit suicide.
He died in a Stoically virtuous way leaving 'the example of a virtuous life to his grieving family'.
Some Church Fathers considered him a Christian. St. Jerome believed he correspond with St. Paul.
Epictetus (AD 60 - 100) was born a slave. He was lame (probably from cruel punishment). He was banished along with all other philosophers by Emperor Domitian.
Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) became emperor in 161. He devoted himself to be a Stoic Emperor.
He persecuted Christians (Russell contends as a political necessity) for not bowing to the State religion.
His life and ring were married by horrors: wars, an immoral wife (accused), earthquakes, rebellion, pestilence, etc.
Stoic beliefs proved reasonably consistent, in that virtue is not dependent on outside circumstances. As emperor, Marcus Aurelius and the slave Epictetus held nearly identical philosophical views.
The Stoic ethic fit the hopeless age in which Aurelius lived.
"If we understand that virtue is the only true good, we shall see that no real evil can befall us" (Russell, 263).
All men are sons of God but doomed to death. Stoics go out to death without 'whining' or 'groaning'.
A Stoic is one who is sick yet happy, in trouble yet happy, dying yet happy...
Epictetus hold that one should love his enemies.
"Every man is an actor in a play, in which God has assigned the parts; it is our duty to perform our part worthily, whatever it may be" (Russell, 264).
Marcus Aurelius held that since life is fragile, virtue must always be asserted.
He regards the universe as a closely knit whole and as one living being, one substance, and one soul [pantheism?].
Despite his status as Emperor and the preeminence of the Roman people, he held all men to be brothers.
Stoic ethics and theology contradict on one point. The universe is wholly deterministic, yet man has free will. Then man can do neither harm nor good to another, but the virtuous good will is the sole good.
The Stoics held that these contradictions were of necessity because it was impossible for all men to live up to their rigorous standards. They offered lower standards to those who could not live up to the high ones.
Kant's ethical standards are similar to the Stoics (according to Russell, but I don't see the correlation).
While Stoics concerned themselves mainly in Ethics they advanced progress in two main areas:
1) Theory of knowledge
2) Doctrine of natural law and natural rights
The Stoic theory of knowledge accepted perception in the face of Platonic theory.
King Ptolemy invited a Stoic by the name of Sphaerus to dinner and to embarrass him he gave Sphaerus a wax pomegranate to eat. The king laughed and pointed out the obvious deceptive nature of the senses. Sphaerus fired back that he had felt no certainty of it being real, but figured it unlikely that anything inedible would be served at a royal meal, thus shaming the king.
The Stoic theory of knowledge also included innate ideas and principles.
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