Chapter 3: Rome and the Middle Ages Flashcards
Pyrrho of Elis (360-270 BC)
usually considered the founder of the school of skepticism
skepticism
their main target was the attack of dogmatism - they saw dogmatism as a form of disease that needed to be cured
for skeptics, dogmatists were anyone claiming to have arrived at an indisputable truth. they believed that the arguments for and against many philosophical positions were equally compelling
because all claims of truth appeared equivocal, the skeptics advocated for a suspension of judgement
were skeptics dogmatic in their belief on suspension of judgement?
No
Antishtenes (445-365 BC)
founder of cynicism. studied with the sophist Gorgias and later become a companion of Socrates. He was present at Socrates’ death. He completely lost faith in philosophy and renounced his comfortable upper-class life
he pushed a back-to-nature philosophy that involved a life free from wants, passions, and the many conventions of society
he thought true happiness depended on self-sufficiency
cynicism
the belief that the best life is one lived close to nature and away from the rules and regulations of society
Diogenes (412-323 BC)
the son of a disreputable moneychanger who had been sent to prison for defacing money
in his personal life, Diogenes rejected conventional religion, manners, housing, food, and fashion. he lived by begging and proclaimed his brother hood with not only all humans but also animals
he lived an extremely primitive life. he engaged in outrageous behavior like farting loudly in public places, urinating, masturbating, or defacating insight of all
Epicurus of Samos (341-270 BC)
founder of epicureanism - according to Epicurus, the atoms making up humans never lose their ability to move free; hence, he postulated free will
epicureans were materialists, believing that “the universe is eminently physical, and that includes the soul of man”
didn’t believe in an afterlife, but did believe in the Olympian gods. he preferred naturalistic explanations supernatural ones, and they strongly protested against magic, astrology, and divination
how did epicureans live?
simple lives drinking water and eating bread. they avoided extremes because venturing to either side was usually accompanied by pain - they also didn’t believe in intercourse sexually because it “almost always caused bad and rarely caused pure good”
hedonism
the belief that the good life consists of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain
how did the greeks and the romans differ philosophically?
the greeks valued philosophy and science for its own sake - the romans were fiercely pragmatic. where the greeks championed debate and event the chaos of democracy, the romans sought law and order
stoicism
Zeno of Citium (335-263) - founder of stoicism. believed that the world was ruled by a dividing plan and that everything in nature, including humans, was there for a reason
what did the stoics believe?
living in accordance with nature was the ultimate virtue - the most important part of believing in the divine plan was that idea that whatever happens, happens for a reason. there are no accidents, and everything must simply be accepted as part of the plan
the good life involved accepting one’s fate with indifference, even if suffering was involved
epicureanism
the belief that he best life is one of long-term pleasure resulting from moderation
neoplatonism
philosophy that emphasized the most mystical aspects of plato’s philosophy. transcendental experiences were considered the most significant type of human experience
Philo (25 BC - 50 AD)
a neoplatonist who combined jewish theology with plato’s philosophy. philosophy differentiated between the lower self (the body) and a spiritual self, which is made in god’s image. the body is the source of all evil; therefore, for the spiritual self to develop fully, one should avoid or minimize sensory experience
what was new about Philo’s theory?
he presented a new view of knowledge, one that would have been foreign to the greeks. rather than knowledge being sought rationally, it was revealed by god but only to souls that were prepared to receive it - that is, to souls that had purged themselves of all influences of the flesh
plotinus (205-270)
neoplatonist who emphasizes the importance of embracing the soul through introspection. these subjective experiences were more important and informative than physical experiences
believed that the physical world was an inferior copy of the divine realm - the body is the prison of the soul, which is part of God
what happened to Rome 410?
it was sacked by the Visigoths, and shortly thereafter almost all oft he empire was under Germanic control
it had been in serious decline for many years prior to its downfall, and yet of course in some sense it endures even today
vedantism
indian religion that emphasized the importance of semi ecstatic trances
jesus (6 BC - 30 AD)
a simple, sensitive man who St. Paul and others claimed was the Messiah. those who believe Jesus to be the son of God are called christians
alas, none who formalized Jesus’ teachings ever met him, so little of Jesus’s original intent survived the the various attempts to formalize his ideas
St Paul (10-64)
founded the christian church by claiming that Jesus was the son of god. paul placed the soul or spirit in the highest position among the human faculties, the body in the lowest, and the mind in a position somewhere in between
aligned with Plato in his thinking that true knowledge can be attained only by escaping from the influence of sensory information and transformed it into battle between the soul, which contains the spark of God
What major questions did St. Paul leave behind for future theologians?
Paul’s efforts left major questions for future theologians to answer. Given the fact that God is all knowing and all powerful, is there room for human free will? And given the importance of faith for salvation, what is the function or value of human reason? There was also a third question: Given the fact that God is perfect and loving, what accounts for the evil in the world?
what was Paul’s attitude toward women?
he was a gross mysogynist for the most part, but made some progressive comments
constantine (272-337)
Roman Emperor whose Edict of Milan in 313 made Christianity a tolerated religion within the Roman Empire. Under Constantine’s leadership, widely diverse Christian writings and beliefs were formalized, thus facilitating the widespread acceptance of Christianity
evidence was provided that Constantine actually had no vision but invented it to inspire his troops
What did Constantine charge the bishops of the time to do?
with the task of arriving at a single set of documents to be used by al Christian communities. this created the constantine bible, which, unfortunately, is lost to history, so its exact contents are unknown
Where did Constantine’s sympathy towards Christianity come from
in spite of his deep involvement with the Christian church, Constantine continued to embrace a number of pagan beliefs, and it has often been argued that his sympathy toward Christianity was more matter of political expediency than religious conviction
St. Augustine (354-430)
After having demonstrated the validity of inner, subjective experience, said that one can know God through introspection as sell as through the revealed truth of the scripture. Augustine also wrote extensively on human free will
What were augustines confessions?
he was instrumental in shifting the locus of control of human behavior from the outside (the city of man) to the inside (the city of god). for him, the acceptance of free will made personal responsibility meaningful. because individuals are personally responsible for their actions, it is possible to praise or blame them, and people can feel good or bad about themselves depending on what choices they make
did the Christian appeal have wide range?
yes. to people suffering from hunger, plague, and war, a religion that focused on a more perfect, nonphysical world was comforting. to slaves and others with low status, a feeling of justice came from knowing that all humans were created in God’s image.
predestination
the belief that god has preordained, even before birth, which people will be granted salvation (the elect) and which are condemned to eternal damnation
the middle ages
the sack of rome by the visigoths marks the beginning of the middle ages, which saw very little, if any, progress made in science, philosophy, and literature
mattes began to improve around 782, when the palatine school was organized.
when did the church wield the most power?
during the middle ages. the question of what was true had already been answered, and there was no need to look elsewhere. people were either believers or heretics, and heretics were often dealt with harshly. The church owned tons of property, and the priest controlled the behavior, feelings, and thoughts of the citizens
islamic and jewish influences
the dark ages are, of course, dark only with reference to the Western world, and during this same time, Islam became more powerful. Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570, and in middle age, believers say he received a revelation from God instructing him to preach
within 100 years after the prophet’s death, Islam extended over an area larger than that of the Roman Empire at its peak
avicenna (980-1037)
a child prodigy and muslim physician and philosopher whose translations of, and commentaries on, the works of Aristotle strongly influenced subsequent Western philosophers
he thought there were 7 internal senses, whereas Aristotle thought there were 5
averroes (1126-1198)
muslim physician from Cordova, Spain who, among other things, wrote commentaries on Aristotle’s work on the senses, memory, sleep and waking, and dreams
maimonides (1135-1204)
Jewish physician and philosopher who attempted to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy and Judaism
St. Anslem (1003-1109)
argued that sense perception and rational powers should be supplements of faith
scholasticism
the synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy with Christian teachings
peter Abelard (1079-1142)
one of the first western philosopher-theologians to emphasize the works of aristotle
realism
the belief that abstract universals (essences) exist and that empirical events are only manifestations of those universals
nominalism
the belief that so-called universals are nothing more than verbal labels or mental habits that are used to denote classes of experiences
conceptualism
abelard’s proposed solution to the realism-nominalism debate. abelard argued that concepts do nat have independent existence (realism), but that, being abstractions, they are more than mere names (nominalism).
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
epitomized scholasticism. he sought to Christianize the works of aristotle and to show that both faith and reason lead to the truth of god’s existence
St. Albert Magnus (1200-1280)
made a comprehensive review of aristotle’s work. following aristotle’s suggestion, he also made careful, direct observations of nature
William Occam (1285-1349)
denied the connection of the realists that what we experience are bit manifestations of abstract principles. instead, he sided with the nominalists who said that so-called abstract priceless, or universals, were nothing more than verbal labels that we use to describe classes of experiences. for occam, reality is what we experience directly; there is no need to assume a “higher” reality beyond our senses
