Unit 18: Philosophical Systems
Contents and layout ©1999 Joseph J. Hughes, Ph.D.
Revised 09 November 2000
pax deorum Lucretius
Cicero Seneca
Epicureanism voluptas
Stoicism virtus
I. The Roman state religion (review)
A. forms of the ancient religion
1. primitive animism
a. numina
b. lares
1). household gods
2). Rome had its own
2. syncretism: merging of traditions
a. "Olympian" gods (anthropomorphic)
b. Etruscan influence
c. some minor divinities retained
B. importance of the Roman state religion
1. concerned with maintaining pax deorum
a. maintenance of a quid pro quo with gods
b. little sincere religious faith
c. did not provide emotional satisfaction
2. organized by and for the government
a. built popular unity
b. created popular diversions
c. sometimes cynically motivated
3. important component of -mos- -maiorum-
a. common people tended to believe in the gods
1). Olympian pantheon still popular
2). astrology becomes more and more popular
b. some of the more learned scoffed
C. shortcomings of the Roman state religion
1. too cold and emotionless for many
a. contract relationship not very fulfilling
b. no evidence of personal relationship
c. no evidence of a happy afterlife
2. not intellectually satisfying to the educated
a. anthropomorphic gods did not cut it
1). more worthy of ridicule than honor
2). not really possible physically
b. knowledge of physical universe expanding rapidly
1). impracticable to speak of gods at work
2). man's mastery of nature increases
c. influence of Greek philosophy at Rome
1). late in arriving at Rome (2nd c. BC)
2). not welcomed with open arms
3). finally assimilated at turn of millenium
II. The Philosophical Systems at Rome
A. Greek antecedents of philosophy
1. philosophy "love of learning" in the abstract
a. includes metaphysical canoodlings
b. also included everything else
c. nothing was safe from philosophy
2. Greeks' favored branches
a. mathematics
b. ethics
c. metaphysics
d. physics
B. Roman attitude toward philosophy
1. rejected at first
a. Greek philosophers expelled in 161 BC
b. held up to ridicule
2. never widely welcomed
a. over the heads of lower classes
b. only for the educated
3. Romans did not make a major contribution
a. Cicero passed on Greek learning in Latin
b. Seneca helped make Stoicism a pop religion
1). short on emotion
2). long on ethics
C. preferred two major philosophical systems
1. Epicureans (late Republic and afterward)
2. Stoics (late Republic and afterward)
3. Neoplatonics (middle Empire and afterward)
D. other less popular flavors of philosopher
1. Academics
a. derived directly from Plato but NOT Aristotle
b. fixated on Skeptical philosophy
c. later becomes fixture of Neoplatonism
2. Peripatetics
a. derived from Aristotle and pupil Theophrastus
b. relied mainly on Aristotle's exoteric works
c. not that different from Academics and Stoics
d. focused on logic and philosophy of nature
3. Cynics
a. know only that they know nothing
b. Diogenes loox for an honest man
c. died in 3d cent BC, revived in 1st cent AD
d. tended to be beggar philosophers, esp. in second incarnation
III. The Epicureans
A. original tenets of Epicurus (b. Samos 341 BC, d. Athens 270 BC)
1. lead a happy life, free from disturbance
a. lead a simple life
b. luxury is actually bad
c. pleasure is the end of human pursuits
1). some pleasures are good
2). some are bad or indifferent
d. pain results from unsatisfied desires
1). not the process of satisfying desires
2). rather, the process of having desires in a satisfied state
2. the universe is made up of atoms (Democritus)
a. it was created and will end
b. it will come together in a new aggregation
3. the gods exist, but do not care about humans
a. humans die, body and soul
b. there is no point whatsoever in religion
B. always suffered from bad press
1. "pleasure" seemed to be too narrow a goal
a. misinterpreted from the start
b. still misinterpreted today
2. not particularly suited to mos maiorum
a. did not allow for pax deorum
b. not conducive to self-sacrifice
c. often associated with wantonness
C. Roman Epicureanism
1. leading practitioner: Lucretius
a. poem "On the Nature of Things"
b. explains everything in six books
2. commonly ridiculed by Romans
IV. The Stoics
A. original tenets under the Greeks
1. virtue is based on knowledge
2. the philosopher must live in harmony with nature
a. matter: the building blocks of nature
1). associated with the rocks and trees
2). human body is also made of matter
b. reason: the guiding principle of nature
1). associated with God, Fate, or Nature
2). the human soul shares in this reason
3. the philosopher must be virtuous
a. virtue is the only good
b. lack of virtue the only evil
4. ideal person: the Stoic "sage"
B. modified somewhat to match Roman tastes
1. not restricted to philosophers any more
a. it was good just to "make progress"
b. better suited to Roman life of action
2. increased the attention paid to ethical questions
a. Romans were not a contemplative people
b. Romans were fixated on morality
c. dovetailed nicely with mos maiorum
3. ideal, in this form, for the Romans
C. Roman Stoicism
1. practitioners
a. Cato
b. Cicero
c. Seneca the younger
d. Marcus Aurelius
2. tie-ins with mos maiorum
a. control over the emotions
b. perseverance
c. respect authority (that of Nature)
3. goals for everyday life
a. avoid anxiety
b. bear up under stress
1). serves as a test
2). builds character
c. entertain no fear of death
1). not an evil
2). not an injury
3). don't be afraid to pull the plug
d. live simply
V. The Neoplatonists
A. origins of Neoplatonism
1. ostensibly a "revived Platonism"
2. actually a hodgepodge of Platonic, Pythag, Aristotelian, Stoic ideas
3. came to be leading philosophy of Roman world after Crisis of 3d Cent
4. famous practitioners
a. Apuleius
b. Julian the Apostate
B. periods of Neoplatonism
1. early synthesis of philosophical concepts (100 BC-AD 250)
a. build on Plato's teachings
b. mix in lots of other weird stuff ala Apuleius
2. Period of Plotinus and Porphyry
a. Plotinus died ca. AD 270
b. Enneads published ca. AD 300
3. 4th cent AD (300s onward)
a. fashionable creed of pagan reaction against Christianity
b. influence on some Christian thinkers
1). Gregory of Nyssa
2). St. Augustine
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