Drafts by Nate Saint Ours
The Stoic's were aware of the problem of reconciling a deterministic view of the universe with a ... more The Stoic's were aware of the problem of reconciling a deterministic view of the universe with a preservation of the responsibility and freedom of an individual's will. Stoic philosophy does not adopt a traditional conception of libertarian freedom, where individuals can act freely with respect to multiple different actions in the world1. Instead, the individual is fated to act in a specific way, but is free to assent, or not assent, to the validity of impressions which are presented to the mind2. The Stoic doctrine of determinism states that the universe as a whole is God, and that the will of God determines the entirety of this universe. Reconciling the doctrine of a determined universe with the idea of free assent is imperative to the Stoic philosophy, but brings about significant problems. In this paper, I examine the concept of assent in Stoic philosophy. Assent is intended to help the Stoic reconcile determinism with individual freedom and responsibility. Specifically, I aim to critique Chrysippus' distinction between principal and auxiliary causes, and its implications on the relationship between the individual and God. I conclude that Chrysippus' notion of assent as an auxiliary cause does not avoid the problem of reconciling determinism and individual responsibility. Furthermore, the conception of the individual as free places the individual's volition outside of the will of God. Any attempt to reserve a space for individual freedom from fate, as is the case with the freedom to assent or dissent to given presentations, comes at the cost of the Stoic claim that the universe as a whole is 1 Also known as the principle of alternate possibilities, or PAP for short (O'Keefe, 11). 2 Different Stoics differ on the degree of freedom attributed to the mind. Chrysippus did not think the mind was as free to alter its own beliefs and desires as did the earlier Stoics. Instead, he aimed to reconcile the concepts of assent and causation with the deterministic nature of the world, including the mind (Hellenistic Philosophy, II-90.39).
In the Protagoras, Socrates responds to Protagoras' claim that he teaches young men the art of ci... more In the Protagoras, Socrates responds to Protagoras' claim that he teaches young men the art of citizenship by saying the following; "The truth is, Protagoras, I have never thought that this could be taught…" (319b). In this paper I examine what each thinker has in mind regarding the nature of virtue and its attainability. I
In Plato's Republic, Socrates attempts to give an account of justice in the soul by examining an ... more In Plato's Republic, Socrates attempts to give an account of justice in the soul by examining an ideal city. His reasoning is that if we can find justice in a city, which is large and easy to explore, we will be able to apply the same formula to find justice in the soul (368d-369a). I find this analogy problematic. I am willing to grant that the soul is composed of parts, each having a particular purpose. However,
Conference Presentations by Nate Saint Ours
The Plastic Life of Dialectical Ideals in Modernity Freud, in his book Civilization and its Disco... more The Plastic Life of Dialectical Ideals in Modernity Freud, in his book Civilization and its Discontents, established a psychological system that claimed that the basic libidinous forces of humans are necessarily repressed by civilization. This served as his historical account of humanity's movement from the pleasure principle of existence to the reality principle. Herbert Marcuse, in his book Eros and Civilization, aims to critique Freud by exposing his presuppositions regarding the above-mentioned progression. Freud, in alignment with a large portion of Western philosophy, and specifically Hegel, examines society under a historical bias that sees the culmination of the reality principle as one towards an end of history. The development of the spirit in Hegel is, in a sense, applied to the progress of the collective spirit of society in Freud, and as a result Freud cannot imagine a society that is capable of not adhering to this historical path towards domination of nature, both internal and external, and of the underlying ideal of utopia associated with this striving. Marcuse sees Nietzsche as the best critic of the historical philosophies of Hegel and Freud, for it is only in Nietzsche where the idealism that fuels the constant dialectical struggle for actualization is questioned. Marcuse, with the help of Nietzsche, aims to critique the presuppositions of a philosophical and social idealism that rationalizes a dominating, death-driven Eros for the sake of reveling the inherently self-serving and at the same time self-defeating method of dialectical progression. The transition from the pleasure principle to the reality principle can never attain the ends it aims for, and as such simply presupposes itself and perpetuates a perverted approach to meaning-creation in life. Instead of dominating or controlling nature, the healthy Erotic relationship is one of creating alongside nature, in affirmation of it.
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Drafts by Nate Saint Ours
Conference Presentations by Nate Saint Ours