Ward's Notes: A note on Roderick and his political outbursts. Some of you may find these funny, on point, and essentially correct. Others of you may not. Whether or not you are sympathetic to his opinions, I hope that you will look past his politics and focus on the point he is trying to make about the philosophy and the historical context. Remember that Roderick's politics are informed by his reading of the philosophy and the world as he sees it. His outbursts should be seen as nothing more than his imperfect attempts at humor, relevance, and illustration. It would be a disservice to the subject matter to assume an agenda where one does not exist.AUDIO MP3 (Right click to download.)
• Roderick will tell us much later in the series that philosophy should provide us with
a "theory of the now". That is, it is best, most active when applied to our everyday
lives and what is going on in the world today. In that spirit, which of the Roman
philosophies discussed in this lecture is best suited for our current condition
?Lecture Two: Epicureans, Stoics, Skeptics
I. Conflicting ideals of excellence in Roman Society.
A. Hedonism is doing what makes you happy.
1. Epicureans pursued higher pleasures in moderation.
2. It is associated with a rising empire and its values.
B. Stoicism involved fortitude and cultivating apathy to difficulties of life.
1. Happiness was the best thing, but was unattainable.
2. It is associated with a falling empire and its values.
C. Christianity is a slow ascension, based on Stoic thought.
1. It is spread through the spoken word and fire of the sword.
2. There is a hierarchical society arranged with differential relations to God.
3. It offers solace to the inevitability of human suffering in a way that the Stoics did not.
II. A brief note on modern criticism of democracy:
A. Max Weber said quantitative relations are more important than qualitative where rules and procedures are followed.
B. Franz Kafka was also a critic of democracy.
III. Anselm’s argument for the existence of God:
A. This is an argument between only two interlocutors. If you are neither the fool who has said there is no God, or the believer, this argument has no bearing on you.
B. God is defined as a being, greater than which cannot be conceived.
1. It is greater to exist in the mind and reality than in the mind alone. Therefore, God must exist in reality because if he did not, we could conceive something greater.
2. This is perhaps one of the most eloquent arguments in philosophy.
