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Abstract
According to Xenophon, Socrates tried to persuade his associate Aristippus to moderate his excessive indulgence in wine, women, and food, arguing that only hard work can bring happiness. Aristippus wasn't convinced. Instead, he and his followers espoused the most radical form of hedonism in ancient Western philosophy. Before the rise of the better known but comparatively ascetic Epicureans, the Cyrenaics pursued a way of life in which moments of pleasure, particularly bodily pleasure, held the highest value. In The Birth of Hedonism, Kurt Lampe provides the most comprehensive account in any language of Cyrenaic ideas and behavior, revolutionizing the understanding of this neglected but important school of philosophy. The Birth of Hedonism thoroughly and sympathetically reconstructs the doctrines and practices of the Cyrenaics, who were active between the fourth and third centuries BCE. The book examines not only Aristippus and the mainstream Cyrenaics, but also Hegesias, Anniceris, and Theodorus. Contrary to recent scholarship, the book shows that the Cyrenaics, despite giving primary value to discrete pleasurable experiences, accepted the dominant Greek philosophical belief that life-long happiness and the virtues that sustain it are the principal concerns of ethics. The book also offers the first in-depth effort to understand Theodorus's atheism and Hegesias's pessimism, both of which are extremely unusual in ancient Greek philosophy and which raise the interesting question of hedonism's relationship to pessimism and atheism. Finally, the book explores the "new Cyrenaicism" of the nineteenth-century writer and classicist Walter Pater, who drew out the enduring philosophical interest of Cyrenaic hedonism more than any other modern thinker.
... Segundo Lampe (2015: 2) "a origem do hedonismo filosófico -geralmente vem acompanhada de agendas explicativas e críticas trans -históricas". Tais O hedonismo onfrayreano propaga que a vontade dos prazeres não deve causar mal a nenhuma pessoa, uma moral deve persistir, nesta lógica, o desejo do prazer deve ser mútuo, compartilhado, com finalidade de atender as pessoas para algo bom; pois a filosofia hedonista para Onfray (2010: 55) presume a busca pelo prazer, evitando contudo, o desprazer: "o bem absoluto coincide com o prazer definido pela ausência de distúrbios, a serenidade adquirida, conquista e mantida, a tranquilidade da alma e do espírito". ...
... Desta forma, ter contato com as obras de Michel Onfray possibilita uma perspectiva de diversos outros teóricos; como se nota há quem defenda o prazer e quem o repudie, há quem sugere a prudência e quem sugere o excesso. Kurt Lampe (2015) percebe Onfray como um filósofo que contribui para a propagação do pensamento hedonista, não apenas por resumir que o prazer é algo imprescindível; Onfray instrui a estilizar seu "comportamento, ações e conduta" através de uma atenção minuciosa aos "flashes de brilho" e "potencialidades vitais do corpo" (Lampe, 2015: 196 -tradução nossa). ...
This study aims at identifying whether the behaviour of gay tourists on leisure trips manifests categories of post‑modern hedonism as posited by the French philosopher, Michel Onfray. The methodology used was a quali‑qualitative study, based on exploratory‑descriptive research. We chose to prepare a survey‑ ‑type research, which collected 1,403 responses from gay and bisexual male tourists. The results identified a profile of gay Brazilian tourists diverging from that found in the world tourism organisation reports. Al‑ though the group analysed does not represent high income nor international travel, they are domestic tour‑ ists and show no interest in travelling to participate in LGBTQIA+ Pride Parades; and disassociate them‑ selves from the LGBTQIA+ sex tourism segment. Michel Onfray’s hedonistic behavior is thus confirmed
... Fun is sometimes described as Autotelic; an activity that is an end in itself, rather than a means of achieving something else (Csikzentmihalyi, 1990). 7 Many threads of hedonistic philosophy claim that pleasure is the ultimate good that life can offer, justifying its pursuit as an end in itself; making it the only way to evaluate virtue and ethics (Lampe, 2014). ...
Ultimately, consumption drives the global economy and high levels of consumption among the wealthiest fraction of the population are responsible for a disproportionate amount of carbon emissions. Many experiences that motivate overconsumption include the pursuit of fun, a term that cuts across other conventional categories like pleasure, entertainment, leisure and play. This article surveys the scattered literature on fun and finds the concept useful in framing issues of overconsumption. Consumer capitalism is constantly finding and marketing new ways of having fun. I suggest that we should carefully assess the potential of particular kinds of fun to increase or reduce carbon emissions and use social and policy measures to discourage one and promote the other.
... Brunschwig (2001, 476 -477), Brisson (1997, 175 -181). 36 Etický rozmer Aristippovho životného štýlu, ako aj epistemologického učenia kyrenaikov zdôrazňuje Kurt Lampe vo svojej knihe venovanej kyrenaikom (Lampe 2015 ...
... A título de oferecer um conjunto de trabalhos recentes dispostos a reavaliar as contribuições de Aristipo e dos Cirenaicos como genuinamente filosóficas, em face da recusa ou do descaso em compreendê-las desse modo, tal como se viu em boa parte dos estudos sobre essa tradição, sugiro nos guiarmos pelos recentes estudos de Tsouna (1998) acerca das doutrinas epistemológicas desenvolvidas pelos Cirenaicos; pelo de Lampe (2015), que pretende ser um necessário complemento ético ao enfoque epistemológico de Tsouna; e de Zilioli (2015) acerca dos temas principais desenvolvidos pela escola de Aristipo. Os artigos de autores como Irwin (1991) e Mann (1996, e os comentários de Giannantoni (1990) servirão como interlocutores para nossa compreensão não das doutrinas cirenaicas, mas do que nos interessa propriamente: a filosofia de Aristipo como uma realização socrática. ...
Enfrentando o espinhoso Problema de Sócrates, o presente estudo procura traçar os pontos essenciais do que se poderia chamar de uma Filosofia de Sócrates, partindo não da análise do Sócrates como aparece em Platão e Xenofonte, mas a partir da comédia, da retórica e dos socráticos ditos ‘menores’. Cada um deles tornará possível resgatarmos o devido valor da educação filosófica iniciada por Sócrates, como um cuidado de si mesmo em vista da virtude.
... 305 y ss. 12 Véanse Taylor 1926, pp. 7-21 y 371-374;Levy 1956;Riginos 1976, pp. 70-85, y Monoson 2000 Véanse el testimonio de la Carta II y Monoson 2000, pp. ...
Platón proyecta en la República un programa cultural que supone la redefinición del papel de la poesía tradicional en razón de su asociación con los regímenes democrático y tiránico. Esto, según pretendo mostrar, puede vincularse de manera legítima con la polémica anticirenaica de Platón contra Aristipo. Para ello, por un lado, exploraré los rasgos del biotipo tiránico y su régimen concomitante en la República VIII–IX y, por otro, analizaré sus vínculos con los planteamientos anticirenaicos en el Gorgias. Este examen permitirá ofrecer claves de análisis para dos pasajes muy discutidos de la República IX: el símil del ascensor y el número del tirano, que cobran una nueva luz a partir de la consideración de esta polémica intrasocrática.
... Over 2,000 years ago, philosophers debated over the meaning and determinants of 'well-being'. In the 4 th century BC, Aristippus held the view that a good life was one with an abundance of pleasure and a lack of suffering, indicating that well-being could be achieved by experiencing maximum pleasure (Lampe, 2014). Aristippus' 'hedonic' well-being equated to happiness (Kahneman, Diener, & Schwarz, 1999). ...
Evidence suggests that the presence of positive emotions and the absence of negative emotions is beneficial. However, recent research shows that direct cognitive attempts to change how we feel can be counterproductive in the long run. Contextual Behavioural Science (CBS) based interventions, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), limit direct attempts to change emotional states, and focus instead, on activating value-consistent behaviours. However, most measures used by CBS researchers and practitioners still focus on emotional states and reductions in symptomology, which may misfocus the client. Therefore, this thesis seeks to develop a practical, reliable, and valid measure of valued activity that can be used to guide intervention. The Six Ways to Well-Being (6W-WeB) measures the following six behaviours that are theorised to promote well-being: connecting with others, challenging oneself, giving to others, engaging in physical activity, embracing the moment, and caring for oneself. In addition, the 6W-WeB assesses the frequency of, and autonomous versus controlled motivation for, each behaviour. Study 1 focuses on the initial validation of the 6W-WeB in a sample of American adults (N1 = 1800, 60.3% female, Age: M = 40.9, SD = 13.21). Study 2 replicates the factor structure in an independent, Australian adult sample (N2 = 855, 47.3% female, Age: M = 38.16, SD = 13.35), and extends the research by assessing the barriers and enablers of valued action. Study 3 further replicates the validity of the questionnaire in two adolescent samples (N3 = 518, 100% female, Age: M = 14.29, SD = 1.46 and N4 = 185, 51.38% female, Age: M = 19.56, SD = 0.72) and tests the associations of 6W-WeB with personality traits and variables theoretically linked to each of the six behaviour domains. Study 4 combines the previously mentioned samples to maximise statistical power and test the factor structure of the 6W-WeB as well as its measurement invariance across countries, age groups, genders, and levels of psychological distress. Results indicate that the factor structure of the 6W-WeB is best represented by a bifactor confirmatory factor analysis (bifactor CFA) model, which consists of three global factors, namely behaviour engagement, activity importance, and activity pressure, as well as the six behavioural domain factors. This model showed good fit to the data and the items showed adequate internal consistency in all samples. Further, the findings suggest that the subscales of the 6W-WeB are linked in expected ways to theoretically-relevant measures, and that the 6W-WeB can differentiate between individuals who meet criteria for high psychological distress and those who do not. Finally, participants’ qualitative responses provided information about the specific ways through which they engage in the six behaviour domains, and the kinds of barriers that get in the way of valued action. Overall, the results indicate that the 6W-WeB may offer treatment utility for CBS practitioners, as the 6W-WeB is consistent with the core message of CBS – engaging in valued action may enrich and benefit one’s life. The new questionnaire, developed and validated in this thesis, can help orient clients towards activating value-consistent behaviour and allow clinicians to gain a deeper understanding of what their clients care about and love doing.
... One of the first historical references is that of Aristippus, pupil of Socrates. Aristippus was known for defying his mentor by embracing an ideology of easy and delightful living as opposed to an existence guided by virtue along with self-control [59]. Nevertheless, Aristippus did not see pleasure as an end, since this would have implied being in painful situations when the end was not met. ...
Humanity is becoming more and more adept to technology, embracing it in all areas of life. From knowledge to security, hopes are increasing regarding the solution of problems that were once seen as impossible to control. In developing countries, where medical resources are becoming scarce but human capital is growing, massive and effective responses are needed to prevent and halt the expansion of unhealthy conditions. A vital topic to address is that of healthcare and the impact of changes in habits to improve following treatment regimens. Fortunately, this sector can now find support in tools whose purpose it predominantly to entertain but that may help in dealing with the hardships of living with a chronic disease.
Finding cohesive solutions among different fields of study -such as arts, science and engineering- is not a straightforward task. In this work, noncommunicable diseases serve as the inspiration to design a tool that can help patients engage with their regimens by using interactive telenovelas (i.e. soap operas) to entertain and promote self-reflection. To analyze the impact of this tool, the research revolves around two inquiries: how is smart storytelling experienced by noncommunicable disease patients and in what ways are dimensions of engagement stimulated by smart storytelling. To develop this idea, an extensive process was performed through a literature review, ideation & prototypes, an implementation of the final concept (Chreune) and the validation of the tool with a modest set of potential users in a developing country: Mexico. The analysis of the evaluation outcomes brings to light that patients can engage with interactive telenovelas and question their own actions when the plot depends on them.
The work illustrates a viable path between medical and entertainment fields that may lead to a more enticing way of dealing with prevention and/or treatment of noncommunicable diseases.
... One of the first historical references is that of Aristippus, pupil of Socrates. Aristippus was known for defying his mentor by embracing an ideology of easy and de- lightful living as opposed to an existence guided by virtue along with self-control [59]. Nevertheless, Aristippus did not see pleasure as an end, since this would have implied being in painful situations when the end was not met. ...
Humanity is becoming more and more adept to technology, embracing it in all areas of life. From knowledge to security, hopes are increasing regarding the solution of problems that were once seen as impossible to control. In developing countries, where medical resources are becoming scarce but human capital is growing, massive and effective responses are needed to prevent and halt the expansion of unhealthy conditions. A vital topic to address is that of healthcare and the impact of changes in habits to improve following treatment regimens. Fortunately, this sector can now find support in tools whose purpose it predominantly to entertain but that may help in dealing with the hardships of living with a chronic disease.
Finding cohesive solutions among different fields of study -such as arts, science and engineering- is not a straightforward task. In this work, noncommunicable diseases serve as the inspiration to design a tool that can help patients engage with their regimens by using interactive telenovelas (i.e. soap operas) to entertain and promote self-reflection. To analyze the impact of this tool, the research revolves around two inquiries: how is smart storytelling experienced by noncommunicable disease patients and in what ways are dimensions of engagement stimulated by smart storytelling. To develop this idea, an extensive process was performed through a literature review, ideation & prototypes, an implementation of the final concept (Chreune) and the validation of the tool with a modest set of potential users in a developing country: Mexico. The analysis of the evaluation outcomes brings to light that patients can engage with interactive telenovelas and question their own actions when the plot depends on them.
The work illustrates a viable path between medical and entertainment fields that may lead to a more enticing way of dealing with prevention and/or treatment of noncommunicable diseases.
... The term "hedonic" or "hedonism" was derived from a Cyrenaic parable in ancient Greek. It literally means "The Choice of Pleasure" [5] in contrast to "pain". Economically, the connotation of hedonic is the meaning of gain, which is opposite to lose. ...
Cloud service providers (CSP) and consumers demand to forecast the cloud price to optimize their business strategy. However, the cloud pricing based on consumers' willingness to pay (W2P) becomes challenging due to the subjectiveness of consumers' experiences and implicit values of some non-marketable prices, such as burstable CPU, dedicated server, and cloud data center global footprints. Many existing pricing models often cannot support value-based pricing. We propose a novel solution based on value-based pricing that not only considers how much does the service cost (or intrinsic values) to a CSP but also how much customer is willing to pay (or extrinsic values). We demonstrate that the cloud extrinsic values become one of the competitive advantages for CSPs to lead the cloud market and increase the profit margin. We show that our model can capture the value of non-marketable price. This value is about 43.4% on average above the baseline. We also show that Average Annual Growth Rate (AAGR) of Amazon Web Services' (AWS) is about -20.0% per annum between 2008 and 2017, ceteris paribus. In comparison with Moore's law (-50% per annum), it is at a far slower pace. We argue this value is Moore's law equivalent in the cloud.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis perilaku konsumtif Gen Z di kabupaten Pamekasan, faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhinya dan dampak dari perilaku konsumtif tersebut dengan menggunakan pendekatan studi kasus. Data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara dan observasi terhadap tujuh informan yang memiliki latar belakang sosial dan ekonomi yang beragam yang lahir antara tahun 2002 hingga 2008. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa perilaku konsumtif Gen Z dipengaruhi oleh faktor emosional, sosial serta pemasaran digital. Gen Z lebih cenderung berbelanja berdasarkan keinginan dan tren, bukan kebutuhan, serta mudah dipengaruhi oleh media sosial, teman sebaya dan influencer. Faktor-faktor seperti hedonisme, konformitas, FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) dan rendahnya kontrol diri menjadi pendorong utama dalam perilaku konsumtif mereka. Dampak dari perilaku konsumtif ini meliputi kesulitan finansial seperti terjerat pinjaman online dan dampak psikologis berupa kecemasan dan penyesalan yang sering berujung pada konflik keluarga. Penelitian ini menyarankan perlunya peningkatan kesadaran finansial untuk membantu Gen Z mengelola perilaku konsumtif mereka secara lebih bijak. Untuk penelitian selanjutnya, disarankan untuk mengeksplorasi pengembangan bahan layanan bimbingan dan konseling yang dapat membantu individu dalam mengelola kecemasan dan pengendalian diri serta memfasilitasi pendidikan keuangan untuk meningkatkan pemahaman Gen Z tentang konsekuensi dari konsumsi impulsif dan pengelolaan keuangan yang lebih baik.
This chapter considers the socio-cultural, relational, attitudinal, and moral-psychological aspects of a healthy and authentic community in urban settings, with a special focus on the concept of Living Cities and how to foster an interdependent ecosystem of cities across the globe. It emphasises how thrivable urban development can provide pathways to ecosystemic prosperity and the regeneration of life on Earth. Systemic innovations that aim to shift development goals with regard to urban planning are presented. Actionable tools for urban designers offered in this chapter enable opportunities to rethink and remake the role of humans and their impact on their environment. For instance, the perspective that allows Western notions of sustainability/regeneration to be better understood as a decolonising practice is presented as a way to humanise emerging thrivability initiatives in both the Global North and Global South. These frameworks, perspectives, and practices seek to ensure an empathy-based shift in the cultural and moral paradigm of contemporary urban development such that the local genius expressed in diverse behaviours and systems of urban life is respected and supported. As such, this chapter offers an integral approach to the shaping of a post-postmodern ideology of city development in ways that are inclusive of the Global South through a unitive narrative that foments a praxis dedicated to planetary thrivability.
In this chapter, I consider the views of happiness (eudaimonia) from the perspective of soul in ancient Greco-Roman philosophical schools. I consider the specific way in which most schools connect happiness to soul: either as Aristotle, identifying happiness with the human good he defines it as soul’s activity in accordance with virtue or as the soul’s virtuous state as the Stoics. The Stoics famously consider a virtuous state of one’s soul to be sufficient for happiness, and it has been argued that Plato and Socrates subscribed to the claim earlier. Aristotle by contrast holds that having virtue is necessary although not sufficient. Virtue of soul is still necessary for happiness for the late ancient Platonist Plotinus but in Plotinus happiness belongs to the intellect not to the soul, since the soul is capable of evil as well. A happy life belongs to the intellect intrinsically and inevitably and we live happily to the extent to which we can live a life of intellect. All of the schools considered in this chapter also hold that becoming morally or ethically good is either a necessary condition for happiness as in Plotinus, or that ethically good action constitutes happiness as in the case of Aristotle.
Background
The purpose of the current study was to adapt and explore the psychometric properties of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire Short Form (OHQ-SF) in a Greek student sample.
Aim
This quantitative cross-sectional study was applied in order to translate and validate the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire Short Form (OHQ-SF) into Greek and to assess the psychometric properties.
Method
The English version of OHQ-SF was translated into Greek using the forward and backward translation. The sample was consisted of 88 adult students from the Public Educational Training Institution in Thessaloniki. Two self-report measures the Greek version of OHQ-SF and the Greek version of the Life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-R—to check the construct validity) were completed twice, for test and retest assessment, in full anonymity and confidentiality.
Statistical analysis
The psychometric properties of OHQ-SF/GR, namely the internal–external reliability and construct validity, were assessed, and the expected unidimensional structure was tested with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).
Results and discussion
The Greek version of OHQ-SF (OHQ-SF/GR), for both test and retest, has adequate internal reliability, satisfactory structural validity, and adequate construct validity. The CFA indicated the unidimensional structure of the OHQ-SF/GR, and the fit indexes displayed good fit with the data. One item was removed due to poor correlation with the latent factor of happiness. The current study reveals that the final seven-item OHQ-SF/GR has very satisfactory psychometric properties being useful instrument to measure happiness levels in Greek adult students and is a valid tool that can be utilised in research field.
Laura Frost’s The problem with pleasure: Modernism and its discontents has blazed a new trail and annexed the concept of pleasure to the notion of modernism in her reading of Jean Rhys’s fiction. For all her meticulously traced genealogy of pleasure, however, communal pleasure is conspicuously absent. This paper argues against a simplistic generalization of Rhys’s treatment of various kinds of pleasure. It is true that Rhys’s female protagonists all make choices that steer them away from pleasure and happiness, but a close-up look at the socio-historical contexts of their life shows that they are often forced to make such choices rather than doing so of their own accord. It is also true that they deserve sympathy, but this sympathy is not earned through their refusal to take part in collective pleasure, as Frost has claimed, but by their sufferings caused by mercenary men who take advantage of their poverty and dislocations, which reflect or refract such socio-historical factors as intense industrialization and globalized colonization. Each of Rhys’s novels contains some moments, however brief, that throw insight into her female protagonist’s genuine love for the pleasure afforded either in nature or in art whose appreciation cannot be achieved unless through taste. And they are capable of sharing such pleasure with people around, and even with strangers, which implies a sense of communal well-being and a yearning for communal feelings. Indeed, part of Rhys’s contribution to modernism is her redefinition of pleasure, but an integral part of that reconceptualization is her reshaping of communal pleasure.
In Book 3 of the Tusculans , Cicero reports that the Cyrenaics practised the premeditation of future evils. This article focuses on the philosophical consistency of this exercise with other Cyrenaic testimonies. It argues for the authenticity of Cicero’s report and provides a critical survey of previous attempts to reconstruct the theory underlying Cyrenaic premeditation, which addresses crucial questions about the management of future pleasures and pains, and the duration of affections. New evidence from Diogenes Laertius 2.94 is then used to support an alternative interpretation of the Cyrenaic praemeditatio malorum .
The account of the best life for humans – i.e. a happy or flourishing life – and what it might consist of was the central theme of ancient ethics. But what does it take to have a life that, if not happy, is at least worth living, compared with being dead or never having come into life? This question was also much discussed in antiquity, and David Machek's book reconstructs, for the first time, philosophical engagements with the question from Socrates to Plotinus. Machek's comprehensive book explores ancient views on a life worth living against a background of the pessimistic outlook on the human condition which was adopted by the Greek poets, and also shows the continuities and contrasts between the ancient perspective and modern philosophical debates about biomedical ethics and the ethics of procreation. His rich study of this relatively neglected theme offers a fresh and compelling narrative of ancient ethics.
Este ensaio teórico conceitua-se o hedonismo a partir de Sócrates, das escolas cirenaica, epicurista e utilitarista até culminar nos conceitos de hedonismo pós-moderno na concepção de Michel Onfray. O objetivo consiste em descrever de modo sintético os argumentos acerca do hedonismo construído nos últimos 2500 anos. Desta forma após análises críticas foram elaborados quadros comparativos que possibilitam confrontar os principais pensadores de cada período mencionado. O materialismo hedonista de Michel Onfray é o mais perceptível na contemporaneidade, possivelmente por refletir os pensamentos desta época. Nas considerações finais é realizada uma reflexão sobre o impacto do período pandêmico na busca pelo prazer, comprovando que o ser humano necessidade de prazeres efêmeros para o bem-estar.
The aim of this paper is to assess the evidence on Cyrenaic solipsism and show how and why some views endorsed by the Cyrenaics appear to be committing them to solipsism. After evaluating the fascinating case for Cyrenaic solipsism, the paper shall deal with an (often) underestimated argument on language attributed to the Cyrenaics, whose logic – if I reconstruct it well – implies that after all the Cyrenaics cannot have endorsed a radical solipsism. Yet, by drawing an illuminating parallel with Wittgenstein’s argument on private language and inner sensations, a case is to be made for the Cyrenaics to have subscribed to a sort of ‘residual solipsism’, which in turn helps us to understand the notion of Cyrenaic privacy at a fuller extent.
En el primer capítulo del influyente libro The Content and the Form. Narrative Discourse and Historical Representation (Baltimore & London 1987), Hayden White plantea que ni siquiera el formato historiográfico mínimo de la crónica y del catálogo le permite escapar de la formulación literaria que todo relato conlleva. En este estudio pretendemos demostrar que, en algunos casos, el catálogo puede incluso vertebrar los mecanismos de construcción de la ficción literaria en un relato historiográfico, particularmente en el subgénero particular de la biografía filosófica. Para ello, tomaremos como caso de estudio la Vida de Aristipo de Cirene, fundamentalmente en las Vidas y doctrinas de los filósofos ilustres de Diógenes Laercio (II 65-85): una buena parte de los apartados de su biografía responde a diversos títulos del catálogo de sus obras, precisamente aquellos de cuyo contenido poco o nada conocemos. Si añadimos a este estado de cosas que Aristipo es un personaje estereotipado de la Comedia Media, creemos que resulta posible establecer con claridad los mecanismos de ficcionalizazión literaria que operan en la narración de esta peculiar biografía.
In his letters to Lucius Papirius Paetus from 46 bc Cicero provides striking reports on his thoughts and activities as he seeks to accommodate himself to the new political realities following Caesar's decisive victory over the republican forces in Africa. In these letters Cicero also engages in a kind of performative role-playing: he casts himself variously as a teacher of oratory to two of Caesar's close associates (Hirtius and Dolabella), as a bon vivant immersed in the Caesarian social scene, and as a man of moral principle who measures himself against the model of the wise man. Philosophical jokes, allusions, and arguments all figure prominently: Cicero is evidently drawing on a rich range of philosophical material to frame his actions and how he should be judged. This paper brings out the full significance of these underlying philosophical frameworks and makes clear the ways in which Cicero exploits the resources of the Greek philosophical tradition in his self-fashioning in the letters to Paetus.
Carpe diem – 'eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die!' – is a prominent motif throughout ancient literature and beyond. This is the first book-length examination of its significance and demonstrates that close analysis can make a key contribution to a question that is central to literary studies in and beyond Classics: how can poetry give us the almost magical impression that something is happening here and now? In attempting an answer, Robert Rohland gives equal attention to Greek and Latin texts, as he offers new interpretations of well-known poems from Horace and tackles understudied epigrams. Pairing close readings of ancient texts along with interpretations of other forms of cultural production such as gems, cups, calendars, monuments, and Roman wine labels, this interdisciplinary study transforms our understanding of the motif of carpe diem.
Antik Yunan felsefesinde “nasıl yaşamalıyız?” sorusuna farklı okullar tarafından verilmiş farklı cevaplar, büyük ölçüde “mutluluk ahlakı” (eudaimonism) ile ilişkilendirilir. Buna göre, insan yaşamının nihai ereği, merkezinde erdemin yer aldığı mutluluktur. Sokratesçi küçük okullar arasında yer alan ve kendine özgü bir hazcı ahlak anlayışı benimseyen Kirene Okulu ise, haklarındaki sınırlı antik kaynaklardan edindiğimiz tanıklıklar ışığında, bu genel çerçevenin dışında duruyor gözükür. Bu yazı, Okulun ahlak kuramının geleneksel Yunan mutluluk ahlakı ile uyuşmama iddiasını, Okulun benimsediği şüpheci bilgi kuramı ile gerekçelendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bunun için, Okulun, bilgi kuramlarına dayanan üç temel fikir kabul ettiği öne sürülmüş ve bu fikirler doğrultusunda mutluluk ahlakı altında yer alan varsayımları reddettiği gösterilmeye çalışılmıştır.
Existe una variación conceptual entre figuras de la escuela de Cirene y la epicureista citadas, variación en torno al término del placer y principios del mismo que se intentan esclarecer en la presente investigación a través de contrastación teórica. Por tratarse, entonces, de un estudio hermenéutico se estima el análisis de algunas fuentes doxográficas que atienden ampliamente a las mociones éticas del cirenaico Arístipo y del samio Epicuro, pero es de precisar el limitado acervo de textos que compilan cotejos sobre el placer entre escuelas hedonistas, o estudios comparativos que reúnan discusiones entre el fundador de la escuela cirenaica y el de la escuela del κῆπος (el Jardín), pese a que existen textos que aluden a sus
filosofías por separado.
The twenty-first century is teeming with larger-than-life threats to our larger-than-life existence, such as famine, war, natural disasters and climate change, viruses, incurable disease, etc. At stake is the future of the human species as a whole. But it is not just external threats that herald the prospective end of humanity. We also face the general exhaustion of many of our earlier and more comfortable modes of philosophy. This is arguably a much graver threat. It is this gloomy atmosphere that the philosophy of antinatalism taps into. Antinatalism is the philosophical view according to which human reproduction should be brought to a halt for any of a variety of reasons. It will be argued here, however, that we can only come to the antinatalist conclusion when we affirm that humankind (somehow) represents a very persistent anomaly in the universe at large. Otherwise, we could simply resort to (much) less radical steps than the ones advocated by antinatalism. Based on this, an important distinction will be made between reactionary (or activist) antinatalism and its more philosophical, so-called originary, counterpart. Ultimately, against recent attempts that push for a moderate embrace of antinatalism, the present work makes a strong case for it. It is argued that this is warranted by the very writings most usually associated with this radical philosophical position.
Este estudio pretende analizar la cuestión del conocimiento como el punto de partida del desarrollo filosófico cirenaico y no como un medio empleado para justificar el hedonismo de la escuela, separándolo de aproximaciones tradicionales a dicha problemática. Los filósofos cirenaicos asumen la percepción como la fuente del conocimiento humano, particularmente en lo que respecta a la afección (páthos). Conciben el páthos dentro de unos parámetros fisicalistas que vienen marcados por el movimiento (kinēsis) que recae sobre el cuerpo-carne (sarkòs) del sujeto perceptor. Estas afecciones son lo único que, según los cirenaicos, se muestra con evidencia (energeia) al sujeto humano. Las características que estos pensadores adscriben a la noción de páthos les obligan como sujetos de acción y posible conocimiento a prestar, prácticamente, exclusiva atención al presentismo de la percepción (aisthēsis), adquiriendo, así, la afección cierta categoría de criterio.
EN: The study is an introduction to a relatively complicated reconstruction of a place of Socrates in the history of ancient philosophy. The starting point of the study is the “Socratic problem”. The aim of the study is not resolving the problem, but rather a thorough problematization of it. SK: Učebnica je uvedením do pomerne komplikovanej rekonštrukcie miesta Sókrata v dejinách antickej filosofie. Východiskom skúmania je tzv. „sókratovský problém“. Zámerom učebnice nie je jeho vyriešenie, ale skôr dôsledná problematizácia. 1. kapitola problematizuje miesto Sókrata v kontexte dejín západnej filosofie. Ďalšie kapitoly sa zaoberajú rôznymi aspektmi sókratovského problému, pričom ho dávajú do súvislostí so sókratovským myslením – s otázkou jeho dejinného postavenia a s možnosťami súčasného premýšľania o zmysle filosofie, ktorá sa často označuje za dedičku „sókratovského obratu“.
It is established that Theodore’s anti-religious views were closely connected with his moral and ethical teaching. It is shown that all known ancient atheists, except Theodore, were inconsistent in their criticism of religious views. It is established that Theodore’s views on the gods and religion were formed in the conditions of the deepening crisis of the Greek polis and the formation of Hellenistic monarchies. It is concluded that Theodore was the most consistent and radical ancient atheist.
On estime souvent que les Grecs avaient des phénomènes économiques une approche triviale et non scientifique. Ce point de vue est en partie motivé par ce que l’économiste et historien de la pensée économique J.A. Schumpeter et l’historien de la Grèce antique M.I. Finley considèrent être l’excessive préoccupation des penseurs grecs pour les « vaines » considérations domestiques de nature matérielle, au détriment de l’analyse scientifique des phénomènes économiques. Contre une telle interprétation, l’hypothèse présentée ici est que cette préoccupation répond au souci de la conservation des biens qui, avec leur acquisition et leur bon usage, est l’une des trois activités principales de l’art économique ou oikonomique. L’examen détaillé des deux opérations de conservation que sont le rangement et la gestion, en lien avec les divers aspects du Bien économique qui leur sont associés, permet de le montrer.
This article discusses the socio-historical conditions of the formation of criticism of religious representations in Greek philosophy in the period of early Hellenism. It is established that the formation of this criticism according to Epicurus, Theodorus, Bion and Euhemerus was influenced by the following factors. First, it is the rapid development of the cult of Hellenistic kings. Secondly, it is the emergence of new influential gods, the growing popularity of the Eastern gods in Greece, and religious syncretism. Thirdly, it is a gradual weakening of the traditional cult of the Olympian gods. Fourthly, it is the crisis of the polis, which contributed to the growth of individualism, weakening of religious and moral norms.
The focus of this paper is the analysis of the epistemological and practical role played by pathe /affections in Epicurus’ philosophy. Epicurus firstly considered the affections not as emotional/passional conditions, but as firm criteria of truth and more specifically as the third criterion of the canonic (i.e. the epistemological part of his philosophical system). In this article the critical reactions (in particular by the Peripatetic side: Aristocles of Messene) against the Epicurean position about the function of the affections will be investigated too. Finally, two parts of this paper are devoted to the Cyrenaic tripartition of pathe (in all likelihood, a subject criticized by Epicurus) and to the probable doctrinal relationship between Epicurus’ pathe and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Book 2.
This chapter aims to address the need for a deeper understanding of the issues and challenges facing fashion retailers in our current digital climate. This will be explored through the lens of the happiness construct, as we examine fashion consumption and the role of experiential and atmospheric techniques in facilitating happy fashion retail consumer experiences. This chapter takes a conceptual, exploratory approach by interrogating literature on the happiness construct; experiential retail, atmospherics and flagships in the pursuit of understanding how these concepts enhance happy shopping experiences in physical and virtual environments. It will identify the multi-sensory techniques that retailers are employing to enhance the user's experience and ultimately, their state of happiness. The adoption of a consumer psychological approach to explore the notion of happiness within fashion retail experiences is a first within the fashion and consumption domain. Examples are used throughout the chapter, as illustrations of innovative and novel retail approaches that exemplify the application of happy, immersive fashion strategies.
Pleasure is the goal of life for an Epicurean. But it is pleasure of a particular kind that represents this goal, namely lack of pain in body (aponia) and lack of distress in soul (ataraxia). It is clear that, for Epicurus, to be free from bodily pain and mental distress is, in and of itself, to be in a state of pleasure. He does not recognize a neutral state of neither pleasure nor pain; for a percipient subject, being without pain is already pleasant. Equally, however, Epicurus does not hold that the only pleasure to be had is freedom from pain. The pleasures of the profligate, which he tells us do not represent the Epicurean goal (Ep. Men. 131), certainly are pleasures as far as Epicurus is concerned, since he calls them that, though he adds that such pleasures do not generate a pleasant life-it is ‘sober reasoning’ that does so (Ep. Men. 132).
The opening crisis of the Iliad drives Achilles to send uncounted hosts of his own comrades to death, merely in order to prove what folly it was for Agamemnon to belittle him in the assembly of his peers (1.1-5, 240-4, 407-12). By any standards this is a bizarrely exaggerated response to an insult: But as the story develops the moral problem of Achilles' behaviour looms less large than its unsought consequences.
IntroductionIn “Idealism and Greek Philosophy,” Myles Burnyeat asks two questions:How didit come about that philosophy accepted the idea that truth can be obtained without going outside subjective experience?When and why did philosophers first lay claim to knowledge of their own subjective states?Burnyeat arguesthat “it is Descartes who holds the answers to [these two] questions.” The ancients, he alleges, do not view the subjective as a realm about which there are truths. Correspondingly, neither do they view it as arealm about which there is or might be knowledge; for knowledge (both in fact and according to the ancients) implies truth. Nor, Burnyeat argues, do the ancients view the subjective as a realm aboutwhich there are or could be beliefs. As he puts it in “Can the Skeptic Live His Skepticism?”:Belief is the accepting of something as true. There can be no question of belief about appearance, as opposed to real existence, if statements recording how things appear cannot be described as true or false, only statements making claims as to how they really are.In Meditation Two, by contrast, Descartes “discovers … the truth of statements describingthe subjective states involved in the process of doubt itself”; “[s]ubjective truth has arrived tostay, constituting one's own experience as an object for description like any other.”
This reader-friendly introduction to the ethical system of the Ancient Greek Stoics combines state-of-the art scholarship with lively and accessible prose. It builds on the renewed attention that the Hellenistic philosophers have enjoyed in the last few decades, incorporating the best results of recent critical debates while staking out new positions on a variety of topics. Starting from scrupulous attention to the evidence (references are provided to all of the standard collections of Stoic texts), it then provides translations of the original texts, with extensive annotations that will allow readers to pursue further reading. No knowledge of Greek is required. An introductory section provides context by introducing the reader to the most important figures in the Stoic school, the philosophical climate in which they worked, and a brief summary of the leading tenets of the Stoic system. The book is divided into three sections. The first section provides a thorough exploration of the Stoic school's theories of psychology, focusing on their analyses of fear, desire, and other emotions. The second section develops the more centrally ethical topics of value, obligation, and right action. The third section explores the Stoic school's views on fate, determinism, and moral responsibility.
This book presents a study of Pyrrho of Elis, who lived in the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BC and is the supposed originator of Greek scepticism. In the absence of surviving works by Pyrrho, scholars have tended to treat his thought as essentially the same as the long subsequent sceptical tradition which styled itself 'Pyrrhonism'. This book argues, on the contrary, that Pyrrho's philosophy was significantly different from this later tradition, and offers a detailed account of that philosophy in this light. It considers why Pyrrho was adopted as the figurehead for that tradition and suggests that we should distinguish two phases within Pyrrhonism, of which the initial phase is much closer to Pyrrho's own thought than is the better-known later phase. The book also investigates the origins and antecedents of Pyrrho's ideas; in particular, Plato is singled out as an important inspiration. The result is a comprehensive picture of this key figure in the development of philosophy. The new claims that are put forward have major implications for the history and interpretation of ancient Greek thought.
Drawing on modern sociological studies of conversion, this paper explores the role of pre-existing social networks and affective bonds in the process of philosophical recruitment and conversion as reflected in Diogenes Laertius' Lives of Eminent Philosophers.
The Socratic problem has quite a history, and is now perhaps only a part of history, since its desperately unsolvable nature does not seem to guarantee it much of a future. It would undoubtedly be presumptuous to claim that the Socratic problem is a closed issue simply because it is not amenable to a satisfactory solution, but it is certainly useful to identify the principal obstacles and pitfalls that render the discovery of a solution improbable, or even impossible. Socrates, as we know, wrote nothing. His life and ideas are known to us through direct accounts - writings either by contemporaries(Aristophanes) or disciples(Plato and Xenophon) - and through indirect accounts, the most important of which is the one written by Aristotle, who was born fifteen years after Socrates’ death(399). Because these accounts vary greatly from one another, the question arises as to whether it is possible to reconstruct the life and - more importantly - the ideas of the historical Socrates on the basis of one, several, or all of these accounts. The “Socratic problem” refers to the historical and methodological problem that historians confront when they attempt to reconstruct0020the philosophical doctrines of the historical Socrates. Any future stance on the Socratic problem, if it is to be an informed and well-grounded one, presupposes a full understanding of the origins and consequences of the proposed solutions of the last two centuries.
CClement of Alexandria (150SH215) lived and taught in the most vibrant intellectual centre of his day. This book offers a comprehensive account of how he joined the ideas of the New Testament to those of the classical world, as represented by Plato. Clement taught that God was active from the beginning to the end of human history and that a Christian life should move on from simple faith to knowledge and love. Clement perceived a sequence of relationships flowing from the transcendent deity: first, God and his word, the Son, secondly, God and the world, and finally, human beings and their neighbors.
Critics have often described Marius' intellectual path towards Christianity in Walter Pater's 1885 novel Marius the Epicurean as a Hegelian progression, in which Stoicism and Epicureanism operate as thesis and antithesis, and Christianity is the synthesis. While this basic model is correct, the readings have tended to underestimate the significance of Marcus Aurelius' Stoicism as both the vehicle for the advancement towards Christianity and as the object of critique. Pater implicitly critiques such admirers of Marcus Aurelius as Matthew Arnold and J.S. Mill, and the broad phenomenon of Victorian Stoicism, by showing the emperor to be both ineffectual, and to a surprising degree, politically compromised. The second half of this essay discusses how the novel's critique of both Stoicism and Epicureanism and its progress toward early Christianity occur through a set of death, dying, and mourning scenes. Pater dramatizes in these scenes how both Stoics and Epicureans insufficiently conceptualize death and improperly treat dead bodies by burning them after death; his version of second-century Christianity promises the resurrection of the dead, and so requires burial of dead bodies. Burial itself is a gesture of hope in the novel, and the ritual that precedes it is a means for Marius himself to join (if incompletely) a Christian community at the end.
The task of the early Christian apologists was fundamentally one of constructing, maintaining, and manipulating the identities of Christianity and its rivals - Greeks, Jews, Romans, and others. Eusebius of Caesarea's Praeparatio Evangelica, written in the early part of the 4th century, is the most comprehensive and sustained attempt in early apologetic literature to represent Christian, Greek, and Jewish ethnic identity as the basis for its defence of Christianity. This book traces the manipulations of ethnicity in Eusebius' Praeparatio and highlights the implications of such ethnic argumentation for the understanding of Christian-Jewish and Christian-Greek relations, as well as the limits of modern notions of 'religion' to early Christian identity. Christianity is seen as a new nation (ethnos) - and at the same time a restoration of the oldest nation, that of the Hebrews - and is distinguished from the other nations of the Greeks, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Jews, and Romans who are all shown to possess inferior ethnic identities. Eusebius' apologetic argument rests not on a defence of Christian doctrine or belief, but upon a vision of the ancient ethnic landscape, which manipulates national histories and boundaries so as to elevate Christians (as Hebrews) to a level of superiority in their national character and antiquity.
A comprehensive study and articulation of the interlocking Epicurean arguments against the fear of death found not only in the writings of Epicurus himself but also in Lucretius' poem De Rerum Natura and in Philodemus' work De Morte. These arguments are central to the Epicurean project of providing ataraxia (tranquillity, freedom from anxiety) and therefore central to an understanding of Epicureanism as a whole. They also offer significant resources for modern discussions of the value of, and possible harm of, death. A number of modern philosophers' criticisms or defences of the Epicureans' views are examined and evaluated in the light of a detailed study of the precise form and intention of the Epicureans' original arguments. The Epicureans were interested in showing also that mortality is not to be regretted and that premature death is not to be feared. Their arguments for these conclusions are to be found in their positive conception of the nature of a good and complete life, which divorce the completeness of a life as far as possible from considerations of its duration. Later chapters investigate the nature of a life lived without the fear of death and pose serious problems for the Epicureans being able to allow any concern for the post mortem future and being able to offer a positive reason for prolonging a life which is already complete in their terms.
The book is a comprehensive study of early Stoic political philosophy. It considers the conceptions of the cosmic city and the common law as central to the Stoics' theory, and discusses how these conceptions are integral to Stoic thought on reason, wisdom, and life in agreement with nature. Accordingly, the book devotes detailed attention to central areas of Stoic philosophy, such as the theory of affiliation (oikeisis), appropriate and perfect action, epistemology, and theology. The book discusses competing interpretations of Stoic cosmopolitanism, arguing that the ideal city of the early Stoics is the cosmos and thus is already in existence. All human beings live in the cosmic city, but only the wise and the gods are its citizens. The book devotes equal attention to the interpretation of the Stoics' conception of law. To live by the law, it is argued, is to live by nature, in a way which relies on understanding what is of value to human beings, rather than on following a set of rules. Against the view that early Stoic thought about these issues is best described as exploring an ideal for individual agents, the book argues that the Stoics are offering a theory which, while deeply connected with the core concerns of Stoic ethics, can be considered a genuine contribution to political philosophy.
This book is a philosophical study of the nature and value of happiness. Part I is devoted to critical discussion of the most important theories about the nature of happiness, understood as some sort of psychological state. Views discussed include sensory hedonism, local preferentism, Kahneman's theory, and Whole Life Satisfactionism. Part II of the book contains the exposition and defense of a novel theory about the nature and value of happiness. It is a form of attitudinal hedonism. The idea that a person's welfare, or well-being, depends essentially on happiness is explained and (with reservations) defended, provided that happiness is understood according to the theory presented here. Part III of the book extends the discussion into some areas that bear on interactions between empirical research concerning happiness and philosophical inquiry into the same phenomenon. Current methods of measuring happiness are criticized and a new method is proposed. Philosophical implications of empirical research concerning happiness are evaluated.
While few soldiers may have read the works of Epictetus or Marcus Aurelius, it is undoubtedly true that the ancient philosophy known as Stoicism guides the actions of many in the military. Soldiers and seamen learn early in their training "to suck it up," to endure, to put aside their feelings and to get on with the mission. This book explores what the Stoic philosophy actually is, the role it plays in the character of the military (both ancient and modern), and its powerful value as a philosophy of life. Marshalling anecdotes from military history-ranging from ancient Greek wars to World War II, Vietnam, and Iraq-the book illuminates the military mind and uses it as a window on the virtues of the Stoic philosophy, which are far richer and more interesting than our popularized notions. The book explores the deep, lasting value that Stoicism can yield, in issues of military leadership and character; in the Stoic conception of anger and its control (does a warrior need anger to go to battle?); and in Stoic thinking about fear and resilience, grief and mourning, and the value of camaraderie and brotherhood. The book concludes by recommending a moderate Stoicism, where the task for the individual, both civilian and military, youth and adult, is to temper control with forgiveness, and warrior drive and achievement with humility and humor.
This book presents a study of the ethics of the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus, who taught Virgil, influenced Horace, and was praised by Cicero. His works have only recently become available to modern readers, through the decipherment of a papyrus carbonized by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. The book examines Philodemus' theoretical principles in ethics, his contributions to moral psychology, his method, his conception of therapy, and his therapeutic techniques. Part I begins with an outline of the fundamental principles of Philodemus' ethics in connection with the canonical views of the Epicurean school, and highlights his own original contributions. In addition to examining central features of Philodemus' hedonism, the book analyses central concepts in his moral psychology, notably: his conception of vices, which it compares with that of the virtues; his account of harmful or unacceptable emotions or passions; and his theory of corresponding acceptable emotions or 'bites'. The book then turns to an investigation of Philodemus' conception of philosophy as medicine and of the philosopher as a kind of doctor for the soul. By surveying his methods of treatment, the book determines the place that they occupy in the therapeutics of the Hellenistic era. Part II uses the theoretical framework provided in Part I to analyse Philodemus' main ethical writings. The works considered focus on certain vices and harmful emotions, including flattery, arrogance, greed, anger, and fear of death, as well as traits related to the administration of property and wealth.
In this book, John Dillon investigates the development of the Academy in the 70 years after Plato's death in 347 b.c. He discusses the careers of the Academy's chief figures, in particular, Speusippus, Xenocrates, and Polemo, the three successive heads in the period generally known as 'The Old Academy'. Dillon's main thesis is that these philosophers set the agenda for the major intellectual traditions that were to follow: Speusippus stimulated developments in what became known as 'Neopythagoreanism', which itself was to prove fruitful for 'Neoplatonism'; Xenocrates initiated much of what we call 'Middle Platonism'; while Polemo anticipated the chief ethical doctrines of the Stoics. Dillon proposes to argue that the basis of all later Platonism, and to some extent Stoicism as well, is laid down during the period in question by a series of innovations in, and consolidations of, Plato's teachings; furthermore, Dillon considers how, and how much, of the philosophy of Aristotle was absorbed into Platonism. Ch. 1 discusses the physical and organizational structure of the Academy under Plato, focussing on problems to do with the actual location of the Academy and on the methods, goals, and themes of its research. Special attention is paid to the relationship between Plato's written and unwritten doctrines. Ch. 2, 3, and 4 are devoted to individual studies of lives and doctrines of the three heads of the Academy after Plato: Speusippus, Xenocrates, and Polemo respectively. Ch. 5 discusses the contributions of four minor figures connected with the Academy: Philippus of Opus, Hermodorus of Syracuse, Heraclides of Pontus, and Crantor of Soli. In the Epilogue, Dillon discusses the relations of the Academy with both Peripatos and the Stoa.
During the last four decades historians of ancient logic have become increasingly aware of the importance of Diodorus Cronus and his pupil Philo as pioneers of the propositional logic which came to flourish in the Stoa. Their direct influence has so far been recognised in two main areas of Hellenistic controversy – the validity-criteria for conditional propositions, and the definition of the modal terms ‘possible’ and ‘necessary’. But some broader questions have not been satisfactorily answered. What were Diodorus' own philosophical allegiances and antecedents? What is his place in the history of Greek philosophy? How far-reaching was his influence on the post-Aristotelian philosophers?
There was little chance of tackling these questions confidently until 1972, when Klaus Döring published for the first time the collected fragments of Diodorus, in his important volume Die Megariker . Meagre though they are, these fragments confirm my suspicion that Diodorus' philosophical background has not been fully explored, and also that his influence on the three emerging Hellenistic schools – the Stoics, Epicureans, and Sceptics – was far wider than has hitherto been recognised. There has been much discussion as to which earlier philosophers played the most decisive part in shaping Hellenistic philosophy, and the respective claims of the Platonists and of Aristotle have never lacked expert advocacy. In all this, the claims of so obscure a figure as Diodorus have been underrated.
This dissertation analyses the philosophical content of Walter Pater's The Renaissance. Since the book's publication in 1873 there has been a marked distinction between critics who have interpreted it as a work of serious philosophic import and those who have valued it more as a literary achievement. However, whilst many critics have attempted to decipher Pater's philosophical vision, few have subjected the text to a sufficiently searching and evaluative reading. This dissertation offers such a reading. Scrutinising the controversial 'Preface' and 'Conclusion', this study discovers beneath a veneer of philosophical profundity, a shy desire to evade philosophical analysis. The dissertation then progresses to examine the correlation between Pater's general statements of belief and the more particular intellectual content of his writing. Lastly, this study analyses the minutiae of Pater's writing style, arguing that his desire to avoid philosophy is written into the smallest details of The Renaissance.
Etude des problemes historiographiques et philosophiques que souleve le Livre II de Diogene Laerce consacre a la «Vie d'Aristippe». Il s'agit de definir le scepticisme d'Aristippe a la lumiere des relations qu'il a entretenues avec les autres penseurs cyrenaiques
A discussion of the arguments against the existence of time based upon its tripartition into past, present, and future found in SE M 10.197-202. It uncovers Sextus' major premises and assumptions for these arguments and, in particular, criticises his argument that the past and future do not exist because the former is no longer and the latter is not yet. It also places these arguments within the larger structure of Sextus' arguments on time in SE M 10 and considers these arguments as an example of his general strategy for producing ataraxia by assembling opposing sets of argument on a given question.
When we imagine the world of the Julio-Claudian Emperors and their Flavian and Antonine successors, it is difficult to avoid thinking of suicide as the characteristic Roman way of death. That is because of the numerous acts of suicide which are celebrated by the greatest writers of the period, Seneca, Lucan, Tacitus, and Pliny, and which even invade the pages of a minor author such as Martial. There is no reason to think in terms of an epidemic, as Y. Grisé justly remarks in her recent book on Roman suicide. But we do seem to be dealing with a fashion, one curious enough to merit investigation.
Although the witticisms of courtesans recorded by Athenaeus in Book 13 of the Deipnosophistae (577d-85f) comprise an important source, if not of the actual words of hetaeras, at least of the genres and verbal conventions identified with them, they have received scant attention from classical scholars. The content and context of these remarks reveal a complex verbal dynamic in which obscene punning challenges normative class and gender categories and represents the hetaera as in discursive control. By ventriloquizing these witticisms, Athenaeus' interlocutors appropriate yet another aspect of Athenian literary heritage to articulate their own self-presentation as they vie for discursive status. ALTHOUGH THE NUMEROUS WITTICISMS of courtesans recorded by Athenaeus in Book 13 of the Deipnosophistae (577d-85f) comprise an important source, if not of the actual words of hetaeras, at least of the genres and verbal conventions identified with them, they have received scant attention from classical scholars. Previous assessments have em- phasized the role played by these witticisms in the hetaera's subordina- tion and objectification, but they have failed to account for their discur- sive function within the context of Athenaeus. This essay will argue that the content and context of these remarks reveal a complex verbal dy- namic in which obscene punning challenges normative class and gender categories and actually depicts the hetaera in discursive control. 1 Whether in the symposium and its public correlative, the comic theater, or in
This paper questions whether the relationship between Socrates and his young followers could ever have been treated by Plato in the same fashion as it is treated in the Platonic Theages, where the terminology of synousia is repeatedly applied to it. It argues that in minimizing the part played by knowledge, and in maximizing the role of the divine and of erōs, the work creates a 'Socrates' who conforms to the educational ideology of the Academy of Polemo in the period 314-270 B.C. I indicate how this may assist our understanding of Arcesilaus' Socraticism, and suggest ways in which the work may have found its present place in the corpus.
The Cyrenaics assert that (1) particular pleasure is the highest good, and happiness is valued not for its own sake, but only for the sake of the particular pleasures that compose it; (2) we should not forego present pleasures for the sake of obtaining greater pleasure in the future. Their anti-eudaimonism and lack of future-concern do not follow from their hedonism. So why do they assert (1) and (2)? After reviewing and criticizing the proposals put forward by Annas, Irwin and Tsouna, I offer two possible reconstructions. In the first reconstruction, I explain claim (1) as follows: happiness has no value above and beyond the value of the particular pleasures that compose it. Also, there is no "structure" to happiness. The Cyrenaics are targeting the thesis that happiness involves having the activities of one's life forming an organized whole, the value of which cannot be reduced to the value of the experiences within that life. I explain claim (2) as follows: a maximally pleasant life is valuable, but the best way to achieve it is to concentrate heedlessly on the present. In the second reconstruction, the good is radically relativized to one's present preferences. The Cyrenaics assert that we desire some particular pleasure, e.g., the pleasure that results from having this drink now. Thus, our telos - which is based upon our desires - is this particular pleasure, not (generic) 'pleasure' or the maximization of pleasure over our lifetime. As our desires change, so does our telos. I conclude that the scanty texts we have do not allow us to decide conclusively between these reconstructions, but I give some reasons to support the second over the first.
Whatever it is, bad weather or good, the loss of a friend, sickness, slander, the failure of some letter to arrive, the spraining of an ankle, a glance into a shop, a counter-argument, the opening of a book, a dream, a fraud—either immediately or very soon after it proves to be something that “must not be missing”; it has a profound significance and use precisely for us. Is there any more dangerous seduction that might tempt one to renounce one's faith in the gods of Epicurus who have no care and are unknown, and to believe instead in some petty deity who is full of care and personally knows every little hair on our head and finds nothing nauseous in the most miserable small service? Nietzsche The Gay Science § 277 1 1 For Nietzsche, I have made use of the following editions: Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits, trans. R.J. Hollingdale (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1986); Daybreak: Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality, trans. R.J. Hollingdale (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1982); Beyond Good and Evil, trans. R.J. Hollingdale (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973); The Gay Science, trans. Walter Kaufmann (New York: Vintage, 1974); The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann and R.J. Hollingdale (New York: Vintage, 1968); Twilight of the Idols and The Anti-Christ, trans. R. J. Hollingdale (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1968). View all notes
Hegesias (3d c.BC), as hedonist, held that the sage will kill himself. For: One should pursue pleasure and avoid pain. But life is virtually certain to contain more pain than pleasure. Therefore death, which is neither pleasurable nor painful, is better than life.
The flaw in the argument lies in the underlying game-theoretical model of life as a game in which play and payoff are distinct. Hegesias's conclusion, that life is not ‘worth living,’ is inescapable by any philosophy so based, including John Rawls's. Why shouldn't his rational persons behind the veil of ignorance opt for prenatal suicide?
I am grateful to many people for comments that have helped me revise the article, among them: Mary Becker, Joshua Cohen, Richard Craswell, David Estlund, Robert Goodin, John Hodges, Robert Kaster, William Landes, Lawrence Lessig, Charles Nussbaum, Rachel Nussbaum, Richard Posner, Roger Scruton, Cass Sunstein, Candace Vogler. Above all, I am grateful to the students in my Feminist Philosophy class at Brown University, who discussed the article with relentless critical scrutiny, and especially to: Kristi Abrams, Lara Bovilsky, Hayley Finn, Sarah Hirshman, James Maisels, Gabriel Roth, Danya Ruttenberg, Sarah Ruhl, and Dov Weinstein.
The Servant of ApolloThe DaimonionOther Varieties of Religious Experience