... .................................... Bonhoffer discusses this at some length in his book The Ethics of the Stoic Epictetus, which has been translated by...
Hi Jan, ... But couldn't faith be, as a virtue, one of the good things that Epictetus says in Handbook 2 are properly desirable for the person making progress?...
On Mon, Jun 30, 2008 at 4:13 PM, Malcolm Schosha ... My "then," there, is more rhetorical than logical. It takes more than one assent to form a character. Dave...
... ...................... That is pretty obvious; and not, in any case, what I was asking. Rather, the thought occurred to me that assents to correct...
Maybe not Stoic, but this description of an Aztec philosopher by an early Spanish Franciscan during Mexico's colonial period is quite fascinating.-- especially...
Malcolm, Not all assents to correct judgments are virtues because, most firstly, only the sage is virtuous, and non-sages are capable of assenting to correct...
Dave wrote: Not all assents to correct judgments are virtues because, most firstly, only the sage is virtuous, and non-sages are capable of assenting to...
Gich wrote: Now this ‘reasoning faculty, as it ought to be’ is the reasoning faculty of the sage, it’s not something any of us ordinary mortals will ever...
Malcolm, I've seen piety listed as a canonical Stoic virtue, and Epictetus probably thought that piety towards the gods was a virtue. And, yet, Handbook 31...
Dave, In my understanding, virtue would be nothing but a meaningless term outside the context of life. In other words, virtue has to play out as appropriate...
If all that is true, it would mean that no one could ever really reach perfection, that the best anyone could really do would be to continue to make progress...
Yes, if you assume that only the sage is capable of virtue. That is why I said that such a view of virtue is unhelpful. In any case the concept of "perfection"...
... Interesting item, but it still does not determine that there was no difference between the Aztec philosopher and the Aztec priest. As for the wikipedia...
... He was an astronomer. Of course not all philosophers are priests and not all priests philosophers. But there were individuals who functioned as both. A lot...
... Alas, that has not always been something I have found in my experience. Very often I have found academic philosophy really quite cold, at least removed...
... Well, yes. Perhaps I should have said 'this is what actual philosophers do'. Philosophy is about doing things. The academy is a den of pedants (the present...
I don't recall Epictetus saying that sages do not exist. I do recall him saying (somewhere in book 4) it is not practical to expect to become a sage. Â If you...
Kevin, My point in that message was that Epictetus supports the idea that non-sages can act virtuously, and I wrote: "Can you show me anything from Epictetus...
It seems that The book of Ecclesiastes is riddled with greek philosophy. The author refered to as the "Teacher" syas life is meaningless because you have your...
Malcolm writes: _______________ . . . my point remains that virtue is possible for non-sages. _______________ Malcolm, I believe there is a continuous a...
I could understand if you say this is compatible with Greek philosophy, but saying that it is "riddled with greek philosophy" seems to carry the implication...
Thanks for the link. It was almost not included in the Tanach due to a allegation of Epicureanism.As you know Hellenized Jews vs fundamentalist Jews happened...
Steve, It seems that there are two schools of thought concerning perfection and human nature. One school believes that there is an actual level at which...
Malcolm writes: _______________ In psychology, perfectionism is often regarded as a neurotic, or even pathological, . . . _______________ I don't dispute it....
ramstin wrote: It was almost not included in the Tanach due to a allegation of Epicureanism. I do not think that is generally accepted among Jews, but you can...
If I see a flock of black Crows, I may infer that all crows are black, but I can’t prove that there isn’t a pink one somewhere. This is a historical...
