example Flashcards
Abraham
He is the Father of faith because of his trust in God
David
He was shepherd then a king. He was a sinner and a song writer
Moses/Law & Covenant
It is contained in Torah. It is instructions for ritual of worship. A moral: legal code. Moses- Is the law giver, not the law maker. He received the law from God and gave it to his people. The law of Moses if found in the Hewbrew scripture
Psalm 5
Written by David to repent of his sin and beg for God’s forgiveness. The Psalm 5 mentions that God wants sorrow for sin before he wants sacrifices.
Jewish Legacy
Law: Knowable morality and moral responsibility of individual
Covenant: Relational, obedience/love to person, not simply to abstract principles
Greek philosophy
“love of wisdom” and it originated in Greek city states. (6th century BC). Reasoned inquiry into the principles of natural world, divine beings, and human affairs.
Socrates, the questioner
Athens (capital of Greece), Born in 470 B.C., Socratic method, and executed for atheism and corrupting the young.
Plato, the abstract reasoner
Forms: Perfect originals in a spiritual realm, things of this world only imperfect copies
Seeking truth: Requires discipline of the body, requires mental leaps from unreliable experience of imperfect copies, and death can help
Plato, Phaedo
Reflections on advantages of dying
Aristotle, the great empiricist
Aristotle valued empirical (senses/ experience) research more as a means of discovering truth.
Nature of the soul: give life to the body, immortal, and pre-exist body
Plato’s Soul
Head: reason
Chest: spiritedness
Stomach: appetite
Legacy of Greek philosophy
Legacy of methods, existence of forms (realism vs nominalism), Nature of the body and soul
Greek polis
Enable the individual to be happy, highest form of association, value of participation
Plato’s Republic (justice, classes, analogy to the soul)
Described justice in a city as each person doing what he was supposed to do, diversity of occupations
Plato, Republic (pp. 14-16, on justice in the state and in the soul)
Guardians: leadership
Soldiers: defense/ enforcement
Workers: productive class (maker of things)
Greek happiness
Eudaimonia and our high attainable good to “live well”
Path of virtue
A habit of excellence in one area of action. There is intellectual virtues (intellect) and Moral virtues (character). It is important because it is the most stable element in happiness.
Elements of virtue
- Voluntary
- Deliberative
- Aspirational
- Habitual
- Moderate
Music and virtue (general view of Plato, Aristotle)
Music help shape virtue.
Plato and Aristotle both agree the Dorian should be taught
Plato: wants people to study music because it help people to be balance
Aristotle: the flute should not be part of music education because learning to play the flute requires too much skill, does not express moral character, and prevents one from singing.
Greek culture/Macedonians/Romans
Macedonians conquer greek and Roman conquer Macedonians. Greek culture was embraced by Roman and spread under Macedonians
Greek centric
Roman eccentric
Brague’s general idea
Greek culture
Early Rome (750-500 BC)
Founders- Romulus and Remus. Romulus was monarchy
Roman republic (government, conquests)
Assemblies is controlled by the wealthiest citizen and there are 2 consuls. The 2 consuls are elected by the assembly, one year term, and a military leader.
Seneca, Of Peace of Mind
We live because fortune will not be able to take so much from us. We can take the sting out of evil by knowing ahead of time that anything can happen to you.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
View death as something natural that allows for new things to come into being
how Rome became an empire
Win the civil war (31 B.C). Civil war was when the consuls become rival with the armies
republic and empire compared
Republic: Self governing citizens, military power for defense, rural focus, value simplicity, value liberty.
Empire: Subjects under rule, military power for conquest, urban focus, tends towards “luxury”, value power
Pax Romana, c. 30 BC – 180 A.D.
200 years of internal peace, population is 70 million, defense against invasion, suppression of revolt, stable currency, spread of roman law, widespread of citizenship, Marcos Aurelius is the last emperor of the Pax Romana and died in 180 A.D. Then war and decline
Stoicism
the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint. Greek origin (300 B.C), Roman adoption, Alternative to polytheism, most influential in Pax Romana
World-soul
It does not wish evil and guides events along predetermined course. origin and destiny of each human soul
Stoicisim and Christianity compared
Stoicism: reason value, impersonal god/fate, cardinal virtue, no grace, goal- happiness on earth
Christianity: Reason value, personal god/providence, Cardinal virtue+ theological virtue (faith, hope, love), grace, Goal- happiness in heaven
Augustine, Confessions
Augustine’s spiritual development and how he accepted Christianity. Augustine is quick to clarify that God did not make sin; sin is humanity’s responsibility.
Stoic way to happiness
- Accept fate
- Live according to reason
- Practice the virtue
- Control your emotions (4 cardinal virtue: Wisdom, justice, fortitudecourage, temperance)
Decline of the Roman Empire (where/when)
200-500 AD, western part of the roman empire
Causes of the decline of the Roman empire
Political instability, barbarians’ invasion, Declining population, manpower shortage, and heavy taxation
The Roman Empire and Christianity
Diocletian’s tetrarchy. 2 co-emperors (1 in the east and 1 in the west). 2 “Caesars” and one under each co-emperor. Better defense and to secure successor
Edict of Milan
Christianity would be tolerated along with other religions
Why did Christianity spread?
The theory of Rodney stark (slow and steady growth, 3% per decade, govt support), Witness of the Martyrs, and the Christian community (open to slaves and poor, aid in times of epidemic)
Byzantine Empire (main features, legacy)
Main features: Continues “roman” rule in the east, loses territory in the east to Muslims, capital (Constantinople), last till 1450, Greek language/ culture, eastern orthodoxy, Greek New Testament, Greek theology, and Pentarchy
Legacy: Preserved roman law, evangelized eastern Europe, preserved ancient Greek learning, slowed the advance of Islam
John of Damascus
That he worships the God who made matter, not matter itself
Muhammad’s World
The new faith, Allah, Salima (surrender, not sacrifice), restoration of faith of Abraham, Christians and jews
Islamic Empire
Conquests to 750 CE, Medina, Mecca, Arabian countryside
Muslim rule- Sharia law (supreme but not comprehensive), new faceless coins, paganism suppressed
Muslim culture/religion
Religion: Great Mosque, empire only 10% Muslim in 750 CE, Stark thesis for Islam
Culture: Translation/preservation of Greek learning, Byzantine-Muslim interaction, more culturally developed than early medieval
