Ancient Philosophy and the Contemporary World

Self-love and the Symposium

2010-03-30T06:20:00.000-07:00

One of the things we'll talk about in class today is how each of the first five speeches in the Symposium offer a view of love that is grounded in the point of view of the speaker. The various encomia to eros are actually praises of self-love.

Generally, Socrates' speech is regarded as a philosophical corrective to the first five, though on the issue of self-love, his presentation of Diotima's speech is not really all that different. He too defines love from his own perspective and wow, love looks a lot like a philosopher, (a sophist too).

I ran across the following quote by Ayn Rand this morning, "Love is an expression and assertion of self-esteem, a response to one's own values in the person of another."

Good quote about the present moment

2010-02-10T05:47:00.001-08:00

“Let any one try, I will not say to arrest, but to notice or attend to, the present moment of time. One of the most baffling experiences occurs. Where is it, this present? It has melted in our grasp, fled ere we could touch it, gone in the instant of becoming.”

William James
(1842 - 1910)
American psychologist, philosopher

BMR Classical Book Reviews

2010-01-29T06:58:00.000-08:00

There is a great website that has recent reviews of books in Classics. Here are the titles of some recently reviewed books that bear directly on issues that we discuss in class.

John R. Hale, Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy. New York: Viking, 2009. Pp. xxxiii, 395. ISBN 9780670020805. $29.95.

Basiles Kalphas (ed.), Aristoteles. Meta ta Physika. Biblio A'. Archaioi philosophoi. Athena: Ekdoseis Polis, 2009. Pp. 356. ISBN 9789604352272. (pb).

Elton T. E. Barker, Entering the Agon: Dissent and Authority in Homer, Historiography and Tragedy. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Pp. xiii, 433. ISBN 9780199542710. $140.00.

Bronwen L. Wickkiser, Asklepios, Medicine, and the Politics of Healing in Fifth-century Greece: Between Craft and Cult. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. Pp. xiii, 178. ISBN 9780801889783. $55.00.

The link to the BMR website of recent reviews is here.

The Shape of Ancient Thought

2010-01-28T20:14:00.003-08:00

Here's the Amazon link to the book I mentioned in class.

http://www.amazon.com/Shape-Ancient-Thought-Comparative-Philosophies/dp/1581152035

Greece in the News

2010-01-27T05:55:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my friend in Classics, John Thorburn for sending this along.

From the Kathimmerini: earlier this week.

‘Church is with us’ on citizenship, says LAOS
A bid to grant citizenship to thousands of second-generation
immigrants caused more intense debate over the weekend as the right-
wing nationalist Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) claimed it has the
Church of Greece’s support in opposing the draft law....

LAOS held a special congress on Saturday to discuss the proposals
drawn up by the government, under which children born in Greece to
immigrant parents would be able to apply for citizenship if their
father or mother has been living here legally for at least five years
and the child has completed at least three years of schooling in the
country.... LAOS is opposed to the bill... Leader Giorgos Karatzaferis
said:

“Greece is saying ‘no’ to this bill because it does not want Hellenism
to be diluted. Greece belongs to its history: We were building the
Parthenon when they were still living in trees.”

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100008_25/01/2010_114321

MLK on Socrates, Myth and Philosophy

2010-01-19T04:26:00.000-08:00

Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. I therefore concur with you in your call for negotiation. Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue."

From Letter from Birmingham Jail

Two Quotes about a Philosophical Attitude

2010-01-15T09:37:00.000-08:00

Here are two quotes that capture the interplay between inward reflection and outward attention and expression.

“To truly know the world, look deeply within your own being; to truly know yourself, take real interest in the world.” Rudolf Steiner (1861 - 1925)
Austrian philosopher, educator

I subscribe to a philosophy quote of the day from The School of Practical Philosophy. I read this quote on the first day of the semester. If you'd like to subscribe yourself, go to www.philosophyworks.org

The second quote is part of a long Mary Oliver poem, Sometimes. I read a poem every day as part of my daily meditation practice, "Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it."

Intriguing Book

2010-01-11T07:36:00.000-08:00

In preparation for class, I've been reading David Sedley's Creationism and Its Critics in Antiquity. He explores how various thinkers from the earliest pre-socratics through Galen viewed the issue of created order. The greek word, kosmeo, means both the world itself, ie kosmos, but also order. What I have found most striking about the reading thus far is that at no point is there a discussion of ex nihilo creation. Creation out of nothing made no conceptual sense to them. Stuff, matter, has to be there to be ordered/ structured. Another fascinating point he raises is that there was no doctrinal appeal to some document to support a view about the cosmos. No ancient equivalent of inerrancy.

Welcome to the Class Blogs for Ancient Philosophy

2009-12-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

Hello Blog World,

You will find the class blogs for my Ancient Philosophy class at Baylor University (Philosophy 3310) Spring Semester. Look for Great things to come.

Classes start January 12.