ANCIENT WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
TEST III; Review
Material to be covered:
EpicurusHow science is connected with ethics (understood as the pursuit of
pleasure).
What is the soul composed of? How does its composition entail, for
Epicurus, that we should not worry about death?
Discuss the moral theory of Epicurus (p. 475, III):
Principle Doctrines (beginning on p. 478) XVII, XXXII, XXXIII, and
XXXVI: write a paragraph which clarifies Epicurus’s theory of justice.
Lucretiusp. 484: What view of Epicurus does Lucretius echo?
How does the last paragraph of 491 contradict the statement that the soul
enjoys life after death?
Zeno of Citium (selections from Diogenes Laertius)-
[499, paragraph 1] and class discussion: What is, if anything, the difference
between “living in accordance with universal nature + living in accordance with the
nature of man” and merely “living in accordance with universal nature”?
[453-455 and class notes]: What was Hellenistic life like that it could be the
fertile ground for Stoicism and Epicureanism?
Cleanthes-
On the second day of class, we identified the “problem of polytheism”, which
is that if there are many gods, how do we know which one to listen to?... We
saw this problem addressed in Plato’s Euthyphro as well. For the Greek
mind, which was beginning to attribute order to the world, this potential
disorder of divine disagreement was unacceptable. So, Zeus becomes King of
the Gods.
Now the question: How does the Hellenistic Cleanthes refer to the solution of
the “problem of polytheism” and connect the solution to his Stoicism?
EpictetusWhat was Epictetus’s occupation?
Summarize his philosophy and use 511 #3, 515 #26, and 516 #29 in your
summary.
Compare Epictetus p. 517 # 31 to Cleanthes pp. 507-508.
Marcus AureliusWhat was Marcus Aurelius’s occupation?
What does Aurelius’ p. 529 #35 “All is ephemeral, the one remembering and
the one remembered” mean?
How could p. 530 #49 be used to justify “putting away” a killer who, sadly,
was abused as a child?
Additional Questions.
1.
How did Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, Roman slave and emperor
respectively, draw upon the philosophy of Zeno of Citium? Putting these
Stoics together, we get a relatively cohesive picture of 1) control over life’s
happenings, 2) human happiness, 3) harmony with the universe, and 4)
death. Choose at least three of these and summarize the Stoic views on
them, noting who articulates each view.
2.
The Presentations:
Choose three presentations other than your own and answer these questions:
1) What was the author’s thesis?
2) How did he or she defend it?
3) What concerns were raised regarding the argument?
4) What is your position on the matter?