Philosophical Attitudes Towards Religious Beliefs Flashcards
1
Q
Life After Death: Traditional View
A
- Just as the Romans had adapted their native beliefs about religion from other cultures, particularly that of Greece, so their beliefs about the afterlife were very much influenced by those of the Greeks.
- This included the idea of an Underworld, a dark and gloomy place where all mortals, whether good or evil, go after death to lead a miserable existence.
- However, there is evidence of some native elements being retained.
- For example: the ghosts of the dead joined the masses, the Manes or Lemures, in the Underworld (inferi) but they could return to earth at certain times, such as at the festival of the Lemuria in May.
- Otherwise, by the time of the Republic, the Graeco-Roman world was almost the same in the development of religious and philosophic ideas concerning the afterlife.
1
Q
Why Philosophy?
A
ALTERNATIVE POINTS OF VIEW
- Many strands of Roman philosophy came from Greek philosophies.
- The two philosophies we are going to study in this course are Stoicism and Epicureanism.
- Both of these philosophies had different views on the world and offered alternative beliefs for those who were not fulfilled by the Roman state religion.
- One of the main differences between these two philosophies and the traditional religion was their beliefs in life after death.
2
Q
The Process of Dying
A
- Death is defined by the separation of the body from the soul.
- The body decomposes but the soul continues to exist.
- The soul is taken by Mercury, the messenger god, to the River Styx in the underworld.
- The soul uses coins either placed on the eyes or under the tongue or an ear-ring to pay passage across the River Styx on the boat of the ferryman Charon.
- The souls pass Cerberus, the three-headed dog which guards the entrance to the underworld allowing no living souls to enter and no dead souls to escape
- The souls meet the judges of the dead (Minos, Aeacus and Rhadymanthus) and are sent to their final destination.
- Asphodel fields for average souls, Elysium (paradise) for the very good and Tartarus, the land of punishment, for the souls of the wicked.
3
Q
Origins of Stoicism
A
- Stoicism originated in the Hellenistic period of Greek history.
- Its founder was Zeno, who taught in Athens until his death in 263 BC.
- He taught his students in a large stoa (colonnade) in Athens called the Stoa Poikile (Painted Colonnade), and this is where the name ‘Stoics’ comes from.
- The Stoic system was further developed by Chrysippus, and it is not always easy to tell which elements of Stoicism are his, and which are Zeno’s.
- Panaetius was the Stoic particularly associated with bringing Stoicism to Rome in the late second century BC.
4
Q
What was Roman stoicism about?
A
- Stoic philosophers found that their philosophy attracted members of the Roman aristocracy, mainly because Stoic ethics were very similar to Roman cultural values.
- The Stoics preached self-discipline, perseverance and steadfastness – qualities which had always typified the best Roman cultural values.
- The Romans were not much interested in the more speculative side of Stoic philosophy, and the Stoicism that developed in Rome had a strongly practical flavour, encouraging the personal qualities of duty and discipline.
- Two of the best-known Roman Stoics are Cato the Younger and Seneca. Seneca’s writings give us the most fully developed picture of Roman Stoicism.
5
Q
What was Roman stoicism about?
A
- According to Stoic physics, the universe was material, being made of a single substance which could vary in quality from coarse to refined.
- The most refined form of matter was described as fire, breath or embodied spirit. It was the creative force in the universe, acting on the coarser forms of matter.
- This creative spirit was therefore just as material as the body and permeated all things. It was rational, and could be identified with such concepts as Nature, God, Fate or Destiny. - The human body was a miniature version of the universe, and therefore also contained a portion of this creative spirit.
- Stoics believed that the universe was periodically destroyed by fire from which a new world arises.
- God was identified with eternal reason or the intelligent designing fire which controls and structures all matter according to its plan. In a way, all men are brothers because they are all ruled by the same natural laws and contain a spark of the divine fire.
Stoics believed that at death the soul, especially that of the wise man who had lived a virtuous life, survived for a while before being dissolved in the divine fire.
The Stoics believed that man could be truly happy only if he was free from anxiety.
Since Reason was the governing force of the universe, man could only be happy if he allowed his life to be governed by Reason, so that he lived in harmony with the universe (i.e. Nature).
6
Q
What was Roman stoicism about?
A
- A man who lived in harmony with Nature would freely choose to do what Fate had planned for him, and would therefore never suffer from anxiety or distress, never feel that he was the helpless plaything of Fortune.
- Because emotions often led to irrational behaviour, the Stoic avoided emotional responses to situations, and always tried to allow Reason to govern his actions.
- If circumstances made it impossible for a Stoic to live in harmony with Nature (or Reason), suicide was an acceptable solution.
- Death was a blessing, since it liberated the soul from the constraints of the body, and was therefore the ultimate freedom.
- Both Cato the Younger and Seneca chose suicide as a release from a life in which they felt they could no longer live in harmony with Nature.
- The Stoics believed that at death souls, especially those of the wise, survived for a period, but finally dissolved in the divine fire.
7
Q
STOICISM AND DEATH
A
- Universe periodically destroyed by fire and a new world arises
- God was identified with eternal reason or the intelligent designing fire which controls and structures all matter according to its plan.
- Stoics believed that at death the soul, especially that of the wise man who had lived a virtuous life, survived for a while
- After surviving for a while, the soul was dissolved in the divine fire
- If circumstances made it impossible for a Stoic to live in harmony with Nature (or Reason), suicide was an acceptable solution.
- Death was a blessing, since it liberated the soul from the constraints of the body, and was therefore the ultimate freedom.
- Both Cato the Younger and Seneca chose suicide as a release from a life in which they felt they could no longer live in harmony with Nature
8
Q
What was ancient Epicureanism about?
A
- The Epicureans were disciples of the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who taught in Athens until his death in 270 BC.
- Although, like Stoicism, Epicureanism had first reached Rome in the late second century BC, its teachings are best known to us from the work of Lucretius, a Roman who lived in the first century BC.
- It was less popular with the Roman aristocracy than Stoicism, but did acquire a limited following.
- Epicurus taught that the universe was material, and consisted of indestructible matter called atoms and void (empty space).
- All things in the universe, including the human body and soul, are composed of atoms and void.
- They come together through natural causes, and disperse in the same way, providing material for a new composition of new objects. (This applies to the entire universe as well as to individual objects.)
- Since the human soul is formed in the same way as the human body, the soul disperses at death in the same way as the body does.
- The gods exist, but they have no influence over the actions of humans; men may admire and respect them, but should not expect to win the favour of the gods through prayer, nor expect punishment from the gods for any wrong-doing.
9
Q
The Summum Bonum
A
- For the Epicureans, the summum bonum (the most desired state) of life was pleasure.
- However, this pleasure was not sensual pleasure, but freedom from anxiety, or peace of mind.
- Pain is caused by unsatisfied desire, so it is necessary to understand which desires are natural (such as hunger and thirst) and should therefore be satisfied, and which are unnatural (greed, fear, envy, etc.) and should therefore be discarded.
- The best way to ensure a life of pleasure was to live simply, the body in perfect harmony with the mind.
- In other words, the Epicurean summum bonum was the same as for the Stoics, but achieved in a different way.
- One result of the Epicurean desire for a life free from pain was that Epicureans took no part in political life, so that they were not in danger of suffering from jealousy or failure.
- This was probably why Epicureanism was less popular with upper-class Romans than Stoicism
10
Q
What was ancient Epicureanism about?
A
- Epicureanism can best be summed up in the words of Diogenes of Oenoanda: ‘Nothing to fear in God. Nothing to fear in Death. Good can be attained. Evil can be endured.’
- They claimed that the soul, like the body, was composed of atoms, which were dissolved at death; therefore, death was nothing.
11
Q
Attitudes to alternative philosophies
A
- It was the upper class more educated Romans who turned to philosophy. Epicureans believed that there was therefore no afterlife. This meant that men were freed from fear of death during their lifetime.
- Epicureans proposed that a fear of death and the traditional beliefs about an afterlife only served to make men’s lives Hell on earth.
- Stoicism also suggested that men who lived a virtuous life had nothing to fear from death. If men lived in harmony with nature, free from anxieties, they could happily accept death as a release from harmful emotions which drive reason from the soul, take control and make man a slave to his passions. Death was a blessing because it removed the constraints of life and liberated the soul.
- Philosophy might offer more “rational” solutions and both believed that they freed their followers from fear, but Stoicism and Epicureanism differed radically in their belief of the survival of the soul after death.
- Philosophy influenced a minority of the intellectual and literate elite, who left behind the bulk of literary evidence. As a result, we must be wary of judging these views as representative of the views of typical Romans.
- Archaeological evidence in the form of funeral inscriptions tends to suggest that traditional views remained widespread throughout our period.
- Furthermore, mystery religions and their teachings of the afterlife might have been more appealing to Romans than philosophy.
