This doctoral thesis explores a subject falling in the interface between ancient Greek philosophy and literature. Specifically, I am concerned with common ground between the New Comedy of Menander and aspects of Aristotle’s philosophy. The thesis does not argue that the resemblance identified between the two writers shows the direct influence of Aristotle on Menander but rather thay they share a common thought-world. The thesis is structured around a series of parallel readings of Menander and Aristotle; key relevant texts are Menander’s "Epitrepontes", "Samia", "Aspis", "Perikeiromene" and "Dyscolos" and Aristotle’s "Posterior Analytics", "Nicomachean and Eudemian Ethics", "De Anima" and "Poetics". My claim is that Menander’s construction of characters and plots and Aristotle’s philosophical analyses express analogous approaches on the subject of the relationship between knowledge and ethics. Central for my argument is the consideration that in Aristotle’s writings on ethics, logic, and psychology, we can identify a specific set of ideas about the interconnection between knowledge-formation and character or emotion, which shows, for instance, how ethical failings typically depend on a combination of cognitive mistakes and emotional lapses. A few years later than the composition of Aristotle’s school-texts, Menander’s comedies, as expressed in the extant texts, present to a wider audience a type of drama which, as I argue, reflects an analogously complex and sophisticated understanding of the interplay between cognitive or rational understanding and character or emotion. More broadly, Aristotle and Menander offer analogous views of the way that perceptions and emotional responses to situations are linked with the presence or absence of ethical and cognitive understanding, or the state of ethical character-development in any given person. Thus, I suggest, the interpersonal crises and the progress towards recognition of the identity of the crucial figures in Menandrian comedies embody a pattern of thinking about perception, knowledge and the role of emotion that shows substantial linkage with Aristotle’s thinking on comparable topics.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Epicureanism, one of several major Hellenistic philosophical schools, complemented its materialist, non-teleological ontology with a set of spiritual exercises (askesis) intended to prepare its disciples to live a happy life within a clearly defmed moral context. The emblem of Epicurean ethics was the tetrapharmakos, or fourfold remedy, consisting in the dictum: Nothing to fear in god; Nothing to feel in death; Good is easy to attain; Evil is easy to endure. A question that arises concerns how the tetrapharmakos, in conjunction with the wide variety of spiritual exercises which flowed from it, was capable of offering to Epicurean disciples consolatio in the face of life's uncertainties and guiding them to the supreme pleasure of the gods, tranquillity (ataraxia), which, together with absence of bodily pain (aponia), brings to man the flourishing life (eudaimonia). Yet, afortiori, how is it possible, in the absence of belief in divine providence, to retain a sense of equanimity throughout a finite life in an often harsh world? How can one avoid capitulating to despair and anxiety? Such questions are relevant to the ancient Epicureans, and are central to this thesis. Epicurean materialism is presupposed throughout the thesis, and the arguments and exercises which emerged from the Epicurean materialist ontology are examined critically in order to assess the coherence and effectiveness of the Epicurean mode of living. An examination of the role of Epicurean spiritual exercises is therefore undertaken, in order to reveal the Epicureans' relationship with the natural and social worlds, as well as with each other and with the gods, and thus to explain how these exercises were capable of providing consolation, and further, to consider whether such exercises, in some form or other, are still able to do soin the twenty-fust century. The ancient conception of philosophy as a way of life is discussed fully, most particularly the specific nature of Epicurean philosophy in this respect. The four strands or remedies of the tetrapharmakos are then examined, in order, at length. The nature of Epicurean gods and their relation to man are given detailed consideration, as are the arguments and exercises used by Epicureans to dispel fear of the gods. A similar treatment is accorded the Epicurean view of death as a natural dissolution of man qua material being, and to the arguments and exercises aimed at overcoming fear of death, the second of the two great causes of human anxiety. Epicurean hedonism, within which pleasure assumes the role of man's goal,· or telos, is examined thoroughly, as are major issues of contention -- in particular, the Epicurean bifurcation of the telos into katastematie pleasure and kinetic pleasure, and the relation between these two kinds of pleasure. A concluding chapter summarises the fmdings of the thesis and suggests the relevance of Epicureanism and its associated spiritual exercises for citizens of the twenty-fust century. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Epikurisme, een van verskeie belangrike Hellenistiese filosofiese skole, het sy materialistiese, nie-teologiese ontologie aangevul deur 'n versameling geestelike oefeninge (askesis) wat ten doel gehad het om dissipels voor te berei om 'n gelukkige lewe binne 'n duidelik gedefinieerde morele konteks te lei. Die embleem van die Epikuriese etiek was die tetrafarmakos , of viervoudige geneesmiddel, wat bestaan het uit die dictum: Om niks te vrees oor god nie; Om niks te voel oor die dood nie; Die goeie is maklik om te verkry; Die kwaad is maklik om te verduur. Die vraag ontstaan hoe die tetrafarmakos, tesame met die wye verskeidenheid geestelike oefeninge wat daaruit voortspruit, in staat was om aan die Epikuriese dissipels consolatio ten aanskoue van die onsekerhede van die lewe te bied en om hulle tot die hoogste genot van die gode, gemoedsrus (ataraxia), te voer, wat, gepaardgaande met die afwesigheid van fisiese pyn (aponia), die mens by 'n gelukkige lewe (eudaimonia) uitbring. Hoe is dit egter 'n fortiori moontlik om in die afwesigheid van 'n geloof in 'n goddelike voorsienigheid 'n gevoel van gelykmatigheid reg deur 'n eindige lewe in 'n dikwels harde wêreld te behou? Die Epikuriese materialisme word deurlopend in die tesis voorveronderstel, en die argumente en oefeninge wat uit die Epikuriese materialistiese ontologie na vore kom, word krities ondersoek ten einde die samehang en doeltreffendheid van die Epikuriese leefwyse te evalueer. Die rol van die Epikuriese geestelike oefeninge word dus ondersoek om die Epikureërs se verhouding met die natuurlike en die sosiale wêreld, sowel as met mekaar en met die gode, na vore te bring, om sodoende te verduidelik hoe hierdie oefeninge in staat was om vertroosting te bied, en om voorts te kyk of sulke oefeninge in die een of ander formaat nog steeds in staat is om dit in die een-en-twintigste eeu te doen. Die antieke siening van die filosofie as 'n leefwyse word ten volle bespreek, veral die eie-aard van die Epikuriese filosofie in hierdie opsig. Die vier aspekte of geneesmiddels van die tetrafarmakos word agtereenvolgens uitvoerig bespreek. Die aard van die Epikuriese gode en hulle verhouding tot die mens word in besonderhede ondersoek, asook die argumente en oefeninge wat die Epikureërs gebruik het om vrees vir die gode die nek in te slaan. Die Epikuriese siening van die dood as 'n natuurlike ontbinding van die mens qua materiële wese word op soortgelyke wyse behandel, soos ook die argumente en oefeninge wat daarop gerig is om die vrees vir die dood, die tweede van die twee groot oorsake van die mens se angs, te oorkom. Epirurese hedonisme, waarin genot die mens se lewensdoel of telos word, word grondig ondersoek, sowel as belangrike verskilpunte - in besonder die Epikuriese tweedeling van die telos in katastematiese en kinetiese genot, en die verband tussen hierdie twee vorme van genot. Die slothoofstuk vat die bevindinge van die tesis saam en suggereer dat die Epikurisme en die geestelike oefeninge wat daarmee gepaard gaan, nog steeds relevant is vir mense van die een-en-twintigste eeu.

[pt] Esta dissertação explora alguns aspectos da homoiosis theoi, o ideal de assimilação a deus defendido por Platão em vários dos seus diálogos, em especial no Teeteto e no Timeu. No Teeteto, Sócrates afirma: Daqui nasce para nós o dever de procurar fugir o quanto antes daqui para o alto. Ora, fugir dessa maneira é tornar-se o mais possível semelhante a Deus; e tal semelhança consiste em ficar alguém justo e santo com sabedoria. A assimilação a deus é então claramente apresentada como uma rota de fuga, mas também como um guia para a transformação moral. Ambos os aspectos são considerados no presente trabalho, que articula a noção da homoiosis theoi com a narrativa evolucionária associada ao mito da criação do Timeu. Segundo a nossa leitura, o retorno das almas justas às suas estrelas nativas, com cuja possibilidade o Timeu nos acena, poderia identificar-se à homoiosis theoi, configurando uma das transições admissíveis do processo evolucionário descrito no diálogo. A assimilação de cada alma individual a deus, equiparando-se à sua ascensão para a contemplação do Bem, estaria associada ao imperativo do seu retorno para a educação moral da sociedade. Em se provando bem-sucedido, este esforço educativo conduziria à consumação coletiva da homoiosis theoi: a elevação de toda a humanidade à comunhão com as estrelas. Assim incorporada a um plano de fundo evolucionário, a noção platônica da assimilação a deus mostra-se significativamente consistente com especulações contemporâneas sobre o papel e o destino cósmicos da humanidade, em particular com o chamado princípio antrópico final. Abre-se também a possibilidade de uma comparação com sistemas de perfectibilidade humana fundados sobre a teoria da evolução darwiniana. / [en] This dissertation explores some aspects of homoiosis theoi, the ideal of assimilation to god propounded by Plato in several of his dialogues, particularly in the Theaetetus and in the Timaeus. In the Theaetetus, Socrates states: That is why a man should make all haste to escape from earth to heaven; and escape means becoming as like God as possible; and a man becomes like God when he becomes just and pious with understanding. The assimilation to god is thus clearly presented as an escape route, but also as a guide for moral transformation. Both aspects are considered in our work, which articulates the idea of homoiosis theoi with the evolutionary account associated with the creation myth of Timaeus. Our reading suggests that the return of the just souls to their native stars, whose possibility is affirmed by the Timaeus, could be identified as homoiosis theoi, thus constituting one of the admissible transitions in the evolutionary process described in the dialogue. The assimilation of each individual soul to god, being equivalent to its ascension for contemplating the Good, would be associated to the imperative of its descent for the moral education of society. Proving itself successful, such educational effort would lead to a collective fulfillment of homoiosis theoi: the elevation of all humankind to a communion with the stars. Thus incorporated into an evolutionary backdrop, the platonic assimilation to god proves significantly consistent with modern speculations about humankind’s cosmic role and destiny, especially with the so-called final anthropic principle. The possibility also presents itself of a comparison with human perfectibility systems based on Darwin’s evolutionary theory.

A partir do referencial paradigmático e exemplar da figura e disciplina (eu zen) de Sócrates na obra de Xenofonte, desenvolvem-se a análise, a reflexão sobre o princípio reintegrador perante a inexorabilidade, o desconhecimento e a incerteza do real, com vistas à reconciliação proporcional, ao desenvolvimento satisfatório da integridade razoável, para que o homem possa adquirir não somente a compreensão filosófica, mas também condições de resistência, de flexibilidade estratégica - enfim, a capacidade suficiente de transformação e relacionamento com os problemas fundamentais da existência. / From the paradigmatic reference and example of socratic discipline (eu zen) in the Xenophons works, the reflections about the re-integrating principle facing the inexhaustible, uncertain and unknown reality can be developed, searching the proportional reconciliation, the satisfactory and reasonable integrity for the human being to acquire not only the philosophical understanding, but also the conditions of resistence, of strategic flexibility the sufficient capacity to deal with and transform the fundamental problems of existence.

As a practical moralist and political theorist concerned with reforming a factious and religious public, Hume recommends a particular outlook that is fit for civilized society. In this dissertation, I present Hume as a contributor to the post-scholastic contest of philosophical systems, as an innovative thinker who revised the modern Epicurean outlook of Hobbes and Mandeville and challenged both the austere Christian Stoicism of Francis Hutcheson and the Platonic rationalism of Samuel Clarke. I argue that the political mentality that Hume presented as suitable for sustaining the prevailing social order constitutes one more step in the development of the modern Epicurean mentality. This mentality, moreover, is not strictly political, but incorporates metaphysical, epistemological, and moral judgments that, in light of the contest of systems, are rightly regarded as a restatement of modern Epicurean positions. Hume, in accord with the principles of the new political science, sought to protect the gains of civilization from the vestiges of barbarism, which, for Hume, were manifested in the superstitious tribalism of religionists and political partisans. Hume replaces Christian, Whig, and Tory myths—i.e. grand narratives situating human beings as moral and political subjects—with the Epicurean myth of the progress of human society. The end of political society, from this perspective, is neither piety nor moral improvement, but prosperity, ease, and comfort, which, together, serve as the measure of progress and the reason for popular consent to the exercise of public political authority. This mentality, I argue, sheds light on the normative dimensions of Hume’s liberal political science.

The dissertation treats Plato’s early philosophy which, unfortunately, till now didn’t receive due attention in Lithuanian scholarship. From the nineteenth century a belief dominates among scholars that so-called “theory of ideas” is a foundation of Platonic philosophy and that ethical, epistemological and ontological issues are considered on the basis of this “theory”; although the latter was explicitly formulated only in the dialogues of the middle period, scholars believe that even doctrines which took shape in the “Socratic” dialogues presupposes the assertion of the existence of “pure forms”. In the dissertation this stereotype is discarded and, following Vlastos’ ideas, an alternative perspective of the interpretation of dialogues is proposed. In this case, the originality of Platonic philosophy is related with a specific methodic of the philosophical investigation, not with certain general “idealistic system”. First of all, we focus on the method of elenchus which Vlastos describes as a device (constantly used by Socrates, the main character of the dialogues) to refute interlocutor’s primary thesis, demonstrating its inconsistency with his other beliefs. However, from the point of view of logic, this method isn’t unproblematic: according to Vlastos, elenchus does not confine strictly to the refutation and can provide positive results, but it is evident that the value of its results depends on the veracity of its premises (because elenchus is deductive reasoning)... [to full text] / Disertacijoje nagrinėjama ankstyvoji Platono filosofija, kuriai lietuviškoje mokslinėje literatūroje iki šiol, deja, nebuvo skiriamas deramas dėmesys. Nuo pat devynioliktojo šimtmečio dominuoja nuomonė, jog platoniškosios filosofijos pagrindas yra vadinamoji „idėjų teorija“, kuria remiantis sprendžiamos etinės, epistemologinės bei ontologinės problemos; nors pati ši „teorija“ susiformuoja tik viduriniojo laikotarpio dialoguose, yra manoma, jog jau „sokratiniame“ laikotarpyje išsikristalizuojančios etinės doktrinos suponuoja „grynųjų pavidalų“ egzistavimo teigimą. Disertacijoje šis stereotipas yra atmetamas ir, vadovaujantis Gregory Vlastoso idėjomis, pasiūloma alternatyvi dialogų interpretavimo perspektyva. Šiuo atveju platoniškosios filosofijos originalumas siejamas ne su tam tikra bendra „idealistine sistema“, bet būtent su specifine filosofinio tyrimo metodika. Pirmiausiai dėmesys sutelkiamas ties elenktikos metodu, kurį Vlastosas apibūdina kaip Sokrato (pagrindinio dialogų veikėjo) dažnai naudojamą priemonę nuneigti pašnekovo pradinę tezę, įrodant jos nesuderinamumą su kitomis pašnekovo išsakytomis nuomonėmis. Visgi logikos požiūriu elenktikos metodas nėra neproblemiškas: anot Vlastoso, elenktika neapsiriboja vien tik nuneigimu ir gali teikti pozityvių rezultatų, tačiau akivaizdu, kad jos kaip deduktyvaus metodo rezultatų vertė priklauso nuo prielaidų teisingumo, o Sokratas nenurodo aiškaus jų pasirinkimo kriterijaus. Tad nenuostabu, kad kai kuriais atvejais elenktika... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Disertacijoje nagrinėjama ankstyvoji Platono filosofija, kuriai lietuviškoje mokslinėje literatūroje iki šiol, deja, nebuvo skiriamas deramas dėmesys. Nuo pat devynioliktojo šimtmečio dominuoja nuomonė, jog platoniškosios filosofijos pagrindas yra vadinamoji „idėjų teorija“, kuria remiantis sprendžiamos etinės, epistemologinės bei ontologinės problemos; nors pati ši „teorija“ susiformuoja tik viduriniojo laikotarpio dialoguose, yra manoma, jog jau „sokratiniame“ laikotarpyje išsikristalizuojančios etinės doktrinos suponuoja „grynųjų pavidalų“ egzistavimo teigimą. Disertacijoje šis stereotipas yra atmetamas ir, vadovaujantis Gregory Vlastoso idėjomis, pasiūloma alternatyvi dialogų interpretavimo perspektyva. Šiuo atveju platoniškosios filosofijos originalumas siejamas ne su tam tikra bendra „idealistine sistema“, bet būtent su specifine filosofinio tyrimo metodika. Pirmiausiai dėmesys sutelkiamas ties elenktikos metodu, kurį Vlastosas apibūdina kaip Sokrato (pagrindinio dialogų veikėjo) dažnai naudojamą priemonę nuneigti pašnekovo pradinę tezę, įrodant jos nesuderinamumą su kitomis pašnekovo išsakytomis nuomonėmis. Visgi logikos požiūriu elenktikos metodas nėra neproblemiškas: anot Vlastoso, elenktika neapsiriboja vien tik nuneigimu ir gali teikti pozityvių rezultatų, tačiau akivaizdu, kad jos kaip deduktyvaus metodo rezultatų vertė priklauso nuo prielaidų teisingumo, o Sokratas nenurodo aiškaus jų pasirinkimo kriterijaus. Tad nenuostabu, kad kai kuriais atvejais elenktika... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The dissertation treats Plato’s early philosophy which, unfortunately, till now didn’t receive due attention in Lithuanian scholarship. From the nineteenth century a belief dominates among scholars that so-called “theory of ideas” is a foundation of Platonic philosophy and that ethical, epistemological and ontological issues are considered on the basis of this “theory”; although the latter was explicitly formulated only in the dialogues of the middle period, scholars believe that even doctrines which took shape in the “Socratic” dialogues presupposes the assertion of the existence of “pure forms”. In the dissertation this stereotype is discarded and, following Gregory Vlastos’ ideas, an alternative perspective of the interpretation of dialogues is proposed. In this case, the originality of Platonic philosophy is related with a specific methodic of the philosophical investigation, not with certain general “idealistic system”. First of all, we focus on the method of elenchus which Vlastos describes as a device (constantly used by Socrates, the main character of the dialogues) to refute interlocutor’s primary thesis, demonstrating its inconsistency with his other beliefs. However, from the point of view of logic, this method isn’t unproblematic: according to Vlastos, elenchus does not confine strictly to the refutation and can provide positive results, but it is evident that the value of its results depends on the veracity of its premises (because elenchus is deductive... [to full text]

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America. / Vita. "Select bibliography": p. [v]-vii.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Baylor University, 2008. / Bibliographic references (p. 157-158)

Teilw. zugl.: Berlin, Humboldt-Universiẗat, Magisterarb., 2004.