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Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, Volume XXII (2006), 2007
Unlike Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Plato's Republic does not make a fuss about the nature of ... more Unlike Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Plato's Republic does not make a fuss about the nature of success (eudaimonia). 1 But the work turns on it. Glaucon and Adeimantus challenge Socrates to show that acting justly always makes one more successful (eudaimōn) than acting unjustly (361c8-d3), 2 and Socrates answers by trying to show that the just are always more successful than the unjust (545a2-b2, 580b1-c5).
“When Socrates was asked to which [country] he belonged, he would say,'To the world,'for he thoug... more “When Socrates was asked to which [country] he belonged, he would say,'To the world,'for he thought that he was an inhabitant and citizen of the whole world.” 1 So we are told by those philosophers in later antiquity who liked to see themselves as the heirs of Socrates and as cosmopolitans. 2 The story is probably not the literal truth. It looks rather like a simple projection onto Socrates of what was said about the man Plato allegedly called “Socrates gone mad.” 3 But like any good myth, this story has some truth in it.
In Nicomachean Ethics I 5, Aristotle discusses four sorts of lives, giving preferred attention to... more In Nicomachean Ethics I 5, Aristotle discusses four sorts of lives, giving preferred attention to the lives devoted to gratification, politics, and philosophical contemplation, and dismissing the one devoted to making money. On his account, those who live these different sorts of lives pursue manifestly different goals, and their different goals shape different evaluations of all of their actions, reactions, relations, and possessions.
In The Roman Stoics, Gretchen Reydams-Schils draws broadly from Cicero, Seneca, Musonius Rufus, E... more In The Roman Stoics, Gretchen Reydams-Schils draws broadly from Cicero, Seneca, Musonius Rufus, Epictetus, Hierocles, Marcus Aurelius, and a couple of others, but her purpose is neither comprehensive nor introductory. Rather, she focuses on issues in their work that are less prominent in what survives from earlier Greek Stoics.
As the title suggests, A New Stoicism is not primarily a work in the history of philosophy but an... more As the title suggests, A New Stoicism is not primarily a work in the history of philosophy but an appropriation for current purposes. Becket boldly identifies himself as a stoic (sic) and seeks to" outline a contemporary version of stoic ethics"(6). While disdaining much of the ancients' provocative rhetoric, Becker defends some of the most controversial Stoic positions, including apatheia and what he calls" the Axiom of Futility." Indeed, he apostasizes significantly only by surrendering teleology.
NOTES: This article discusses cosmopolitanism, a prominent topic within global justice, in contem... more NOTES: This article discusses cosmopolitanism, a prominent topic within global justice, in contemporary political philosophy. The introduction to the article is especially accessible, and teachers might present this to students. The article as a whole is rather complex. Teachers might use it for its ideas, to generate their own course materials. The section entitled 'Taxonomy of Contemporary Cosmopolitanisms' would likely prove especially useful for this purpose.
According to Diogenes Laertius' Lives of Eminent Philosophers, an unbroken chain of teachers and ... more According to Diogenes Laertius' Lives of Eminent Philosophers, an unbroken chain of teachers and pupils links Socrates to the earliest Stoics (1.15). The founder of Stoicism, Zeno of Citium, is said to have studied with Crates (6.105 and 7.2), who is supposed to have absorbed Cynicism from Diogenes of Sinope (6.85 and 87), and Diogenes, in turn, reportedly earned the label “Cynic” under the influence of Antisthenes (6.21), who is called a follower of Socrates (6.2).
In Thucydides' History, Pericles gives the funeral oration for the first of the Athenian war dead... more In Thucydides' History, Pericles gives the funeral oration for the first of the Athenian war dead, and he calls the living to arms by praising their way of life. In Athens, he says,''In the same men there is concern both for their own affairs and at the same time for those of their fellow citizens, and those who are busy with their work know enough about public affairs, for we alone think that the man who takes no part in public affairs is not unbusied [apragmon] but useless [achreios]''(Thuc. 2.40. 2).
Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, Volume XXII (2006), 2007
Unlike Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Plato's Republic does not make a fuss about the nature of ... more Unlike Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Plato's Republic does not make a fuss about the nature of success (eudaimonia). 1 But the work turns on it. Glaucon and Adeimantus challenge Socrates to show that acting justly always makes one more successful (eudaimōn) than acting unjustly (361c8-d3), 2 and Socrates answers by trying to show that the just are always more successful than the unjust (545a2-b2, 580b1-c5).
“When Socrates was asked to which [country] he belonged, he would say,'To the world,'for he thoug... more “When Socrates was asked to which [country] he belonged, he would say,'To the world,'for he thought that he was an inhabitant and citizen of the whole world.” 1 So we are told by those philosophers in later antiquity who liked to see themselves as the heirs of Socrates and as cosmopolitans. 2 The story is probably not the literal truth. It looks rather like a simple projection onto Socrates of what was said about the man Plato allegedly called “Socrates gone mad.” 3 But like any good myth, this story has some truth in it.
In Nicomachean Ethics I 5, Aristotle discusses four sorts of lives, giving preferred attention to... more In Nicomachean Ethics I 5, Aristotle discusses four sorts of lives, giving preferred attention to the lives devoted to gratification, politics, and philosophical contemplation, and dismissing the one devoted to making money. On his account, those who live these different sorts of lives pursue manifestly different goals, and their different goals shape different evaluations of all of their actions, reactions, relations, and possessions.
In The Roman Stoics, Gretchen Reydams-Schils draws broadly from Cicero, Seneca, Musonius Rufus, E... more In The Roman Stoics, Gretchen Reydams-Schils draws broadly from Cicero, Seneca, Musonius Rufus, Epictetus, Hierocles, Marcus Aurelius, and a couple of others, but her purpose is neither comprehensive nor introductory. Rather, she focuses on issues in their work that are less prominent in what survives from earlier Greek Stoics.
As the title suggests, A New Stoicism is not primarily a work in the history of philosophy but an... more As the title suggests, A New Stoicism is not primarily a work in the history of philosophy but an appropriation for current purposes. Becket boldly identifies himself as a stoic (sic) and seeks to" outline a contemporary version of stoic ethics"(6). While disdaining much of the ancients' provocative rhetoric, Becker defends some of the most controversial Stoic positions, including apatheia and what he calls" the Axiom of Futility." Indeed, he apostasizes significantly only by surrendering teleology.
NOTES: This article discusses cosmopolitanism, a prominent topic within global justice, in contem... more NOTES: This article discusses cosmopolitanism, a prominent topic within global justice, in contemporary political philosophy. The introduction to the article is especially accessible, and teachers might present this to students. The article as a whole is rather complex. Teachers might use it for its ideas, to generate their own course materials. The section entitled 'Taxonomy of Contemporary Cosmopolitanisms' would likely prove especially useful for this purpose.
According to Diogenes Laertius' Lives of Eminent Philosophers, an unbroken chain of teachers and ... more According to Diogenes Laertius' Lives of Eminent Philosophers, an unbroken chain of teachers and pupils links Socrates to the earliest Stoics (1.15). The founder of Stoicism, Zeno of Citium, is said to have studied with Crates (6.105 and 7.2), who is supposed to have absorbed Cynicism from Diogenes of Sinope (6.85 and 87), and Diogenes, in turn, reportedly earned the label “Cynic” under the influence of Antisthenes (6.21), who is called a follower of Socrates (6.2).
In Thucydides' History, Pericles gives the funeral oration for the first of the Athenian war dead... more In Thucydides' History, Pericles gives the funeral oration for the first of the Athenian war dead, and he calls the living to arms by praising their way of life. In Athens, he says,''In the same men there is concern both for their own affairs and at the same time for those of their fellow citizens, and those who are busy with their work know enough about public affairs, for we alone think that the man who takes no part in public affairs is not unbusied [apragmon] but useless [achreios]''(Thuc. 2.40. 2).
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