An interesting potential paradox in Stoicism that I found it Martha Nussbaum's "The Therapy of Desire" P.359. It goes like this: The only thing that can make...
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Timothy Anstiss
Anstiss.Shl@...
Jun 6, 2000 4:54 am
Martha Nussbaum writes "But virtue is not acquired gradually, only a sage has it" Thomas asks "Does someone see a solution to this puzzling paradox?" I say...
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Alexandre Vallet
avallet@...
Jun 6, 2000 9:20 am
... I'm afraid that it is not so easy, because the Stoics seem to agree about the fact that there is no gradation in Virtue. Either a person is virtuous and is...
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Jan E Garrett
JANGARRETT@...
Jun 6, 2000 2:17 pm
... A passage relevant to this topic is Cicero On Goals (De finibus) 3.20ff, which is reprinted in Inwood and Gerson, eds., Hellenistic Philosophy (second...
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Thomas
trs236@...
Jun 6, 2000 3:58 pm
Perhaps the solution is in saying that a person can be a sage ... Bonjour Alexandre, Yes, the Stoics thought that, once acquired, virtue could not be lost. But...
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Steve Marquis
smarquis@...
Jun 6, 2000 8:33 pm
Thomas wrote: _______________ Yes, the Stoics thought that, once acquired, virtue could not be lost. But the paradox, if I restate it, remains: you should not...
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Timothy Anstiss
Anstiss.Shl@...
Jun 7, 2000 5:06 am
The sage must be somehow made of different matter from the rest of us. Presumably, his of her brain cannot be injured in a road traffic accident, is immune to...
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Thomas
trs236@...
Jun 7, 2000 5:07 am
... It's in Diogenes Laertius (quoted in Long & Sedley p380): "Chrysippus holds that virtue can be lost, on account of intoxication and depression, but...
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Steve Marquis
smarquis@...
Jun 7, 2000 5:04 pm
Tim wrote: _____________ Virtue is related to thinking, thinking is a brain function, the brain can degenerate and malfunction. _____________ A person who has...
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Steve Marquis
smarquis@...
Jun 7, 2000 6:34 pm
Tim wrote: _____________ . . . do they believe in some spooky stuff, some kind of soul, capable of being developed and moving the body regardless of the ...
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bertr@...
Jun 7, 2000 8:00 pm
... From: Timothy Anstiss <Anstiss.Shl@...> To: <stoics@egroups.com> Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 8:12 AM Subject: Re: [stoics] Re: a Stoic...
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f.trenchard@...
Jun 8, 2000 10:05 am
I think in images which makes me a poor Stoic. The Stoic always seems to major in concepts. It will help me to work out what this spooky/not-spooky thing is...
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Thomas
trs236@...
Jun 8, 2000 3:45 pm
A Stoic quote from Seneca (from De Ira/On Anger), simply for its generous and dark beauty: "Soon we shall breathe our last. Meanwhile, while we endure, while...
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Thomas
trs236@...
Jun 9, 2000 6:13 pm
I've just finished Marthe Nussbaum's "The Therapy of Desire." Definitely one of the best books I've read. She has a lot of sympathy for Stoicism, specially for...
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Steve Marquis
smarquis@...
Jun 9, 2000 7:53 pm
Thomas wrote quoting Nussbaum: ______________ Because of their goal to eliminate passions, the Stoics disapproved of *misericordia* (compassion) . . . ...
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Keith Seddon
K.H.S@...
Jun 9, 2000 7:54 pm
... I will need to revisit Nussbaum to find out what constitutues the weakness. There are two key features to the Stoic 'rejection' of compassion. ONE. When...
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Thomas
trs236@...
Jun 10, 2000 7:10 am
... even ... Yes, Keith, this is indeed the Stoic attitude of eliminating passions. I was struck by these lines of criticism of such an attitude by Martha...
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Thomas
trs236@...
Jun 11, 2000 6:36 am
In "A New Stoicism," Larry Becker's position allows for a certain reliance on externals (although less than Aristotle p. 128), so he can include compassion in...
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Perikles Solon
periklessolon@...
Jun 11, 2000 1:46 pm
There is here a systematic error. What you are all translating at 'compassion' [misericordia] should be translated as 'pity'. The sapiens will not feel pity. ...
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Perikles Solon
periklessolon@...
Jun 11, 2000 1:57 pm
I meant to say that the reasion that [misericordia] should be translated as 'pity' is that this is clearly what Seneca means... when you read De Clem. Basore,...
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Thomas
trs236@...
Jun 11, 2000 3:38 pm
"Perikles Solon" wrote: There is here a systematic error. What you are all translating at 'compassion' [misericordia] should be translated as 'pity'. The...
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Perikles Solon
periklessolon@...
Jun 11, 2000 10:19 pm
And if one translates 'misericordia' as pity, then the problems disappear. What concept Seneca means in any one point in his work depends upon the context. We...
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Thomas
trs236@...
Jun 12, 2000 6:20 am
From Seneca's De Clementia: "I am aware that among the ill-informed the Stoic school is unpopular on the ground that it is excessively harsh and not at all...
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Perikles Solon
periklessolon@...
Jun 12, 2000 8:29 am
I do not think that Seneca would think that compassion is a strong feeling, in the sense in which you are using that term. It is a natural response that a well...
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Thomas
trs236@...
Jun 12, 2000 10:02 am
"Perikles Solon" wrote I do not think that Seneca would think that compassion is a strong feeling, in the sense in which you are using that term. It is a...
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Perikles Solon
periklessolon@...
Jun 12, 2000 10:16 am
This is where my schoolboy French ends and my ignorance is well in train. I think the translation of 'misericorida' that we make will depend upon the context....
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Keith Seddon
K.H.S@...
Jun 12, 2000 7:03 pm
... I couldn't agree more. What we can unemotively call 'academic writing' in philosophy has been the bane of my career as a student of philosophy, and later...
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Steve Marquis
smarquis@...
Jun 13, 2000 1:39 am
Keith wrote responding to Perikles: _______________ ... I couldn't agree more. What we can unemotively call 'academic writing' in philosophy has been the bane...
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Timothy Anstiss
Anstiss.Shl@...
Jun 13, 2000 5:35 am
not only has philosophy lost its way, it will have difficulty playing catch-up. The development of the field of "neuro-philosophy" is a start, as is various ...
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Perikles Solon
periklessolon@...
Jun 13, 2000 9:31 am
The responses to my comment about Seneca, ordinary language philosphy, and his place in philosophical thought and practice are heartening. I was for a decade ...
