PSYC 408 The Hellenistic Era PDF

From the Onset to the Hellenistic Era to the End of the Classical World 334 BCE To 500 CE  Alexander the Great (356 to 323 BCE) R-Detail of the Alexander Mosaic in Pompeii, Italy, 1st Century BCE Alexander the Great brought the Greek regions, Egypt, Persia, a...

From the Onset to the Hellenistic Era to the End of the Classical World 334 BCE To 500 CE  Alexander the Great (356 to 323 BCE) R-Detail of the Alexander Mosaic in Pompeii, Italy, 1st Century BCE Alexander the Great brought the Greek regions, Egypt, Persia, and portions of India under his authority. Although his reign was short and on his death his empire divided, he opened a cultural exchange between Europe and Asia. This exchange would have implications for ideas of the mind and religion.  The Hellenistic Era, 323 to 30 BCE L-Statue of the Buddha in Hellenistic Dress, Gandhara, India, 1 st to 2nd Century CE R-Gold Dinar of Kanishka I Emperor of Kushan, c.127/8 to 152 CE  L-Philosophical Schools of Ancient Athens R-Depiction of the Library at Alexandria  Skepticism R- Classical Bust of Pyrrho of Elais The opening of intellectual and economic commerce between Europe and Asia led philosophers to question the nature of truth. What Plato and Aristotle taught were retained in the classical schools, but their students were from the elite. The stress and uncertainty of the era led to interest in ataraxia, a freedom from worrying and suffering. The various schools disagreed as to how to attain it. In certain respects, these schools considered ‘what is the ideal life?’ The uncertainty encouraged Skepticism, an approach tied with the Academy. Skepticism held it was important to avoid certainty and to suspend judgment. The Skeptics taught that one must avoid dogma, an undisputable truth. Those given to dogma were stressed in pursuit of something that they could not know. Rather one should be aware that there are many claims to truth. Ideally, one should suspend judgment and respond, ‘This is how things appear to me.’ Little is known of Pyrrho of Elias (c.360-270 BCE), the founder of the school of Skepticism as his writings have not survived intact.  Epicurus of Samos (c.341 to 270 BCE) R-Classical Bust of Epicurus Epicurus of Samos (ca. 341-270 BCE) spent most of his life in Athens. According to legend he took up philosophy at the age of 14. His mother was a healer who read out spells; nothing is known of his father. He liked a good time, he liked flattery. Epicurus ate simply, relying on bread and watered wine. A follower related that Epicurus vomited twice daily – perhaps he had digestive issues. Yet he is associated with fine dining. The reason is his famous saying, ‘The beginning and root of all good is the pleasure of the belly.’ He believed one should avoid pain by watching pleasure. Intense pleasure could later bring intense pain – aim for moderation (good food = indigestion). He also believed that pain was the result of unfulfilled desire. One should desire what can be fulfilled. Epicurus was influenced by the materialistic views of Democritus. He saw it as his mission to dispel superstition. In the mind of Epicurus, the cosmos and everything in it is made of atoms. Atoms are capable of change and when they change, the world changes with them. According to Epicurus, clouds are made of strings of atoms that can turn to ice. Thunder is the sound of the breaking of the ice. Epicurus denied teleology – there is no purpose to the universe – it exists by accident. Nor is there purpose in human affairs. People live, people die. Life has no meaning beyond that. There is no afterlife in which the virtuous are rewarded and the sinful are punished. He did not believe in a soul – atoms are what give people life. Epicurus said of death, it ‘is nothing to us, for matter dissolved lacks sensation, and what lacks sensation is nothing to us.’  Epicurus and the Feast R-Mosaic of a Roman Feast (note the floor), c.5th Century CE The Garden: Epicurus founded a meeting place for his followers in Athens. It was known as ‘the Garden.’ The idea was of a refuge from the outside. He founded what some have called a quasi-religion. It was dogmatic and debate was not encouraged. Those joining the ‘communities’ were required to take an oath of loyalty to Epicurus. Among his followers he was known as the Hegemon, or leader. Those in the community warned others, ‘Behave as if Epicurus is watching.’ His group admitted both women and slaves as all were considered equal. Sex was discouraged but not forbidden. Epicurus wrote that sex ‘never profited a man, and he whom it never hurt is lucky.’ However, if someone was adamant, Epicurus would tell them that ‘you may indulge ‘your urge, so long as you break no law, offend against no well-established custom, annoy none of your neighbors, cause yourself no bodily harm, and spend nothing earmarked for necessities.’ Epicurus also said one should only engage in sexual relations if they are certain they will not vomit afterward. Epicurus believed that intelligent people should not marry nor raise children. As he saw it, the intent of life should be friendship rather than sex. In fact, Epicureans held friendship to be the highest form of social pleasure.  The Legacy of Epicurus of Samos R-Antal Strohmayer, The Philosopher’s Garden, 1834 Epicurus believed one should withdraw from public life. Politics was for the base, and this offended his sensitivities. He offered little hope – no moral order, no public life, no immortality. The commune became all, and there is some evidence he ‘franchised’ other communities that paid him fees. After his death, ‘the garden’ became a gathering spot for Epicureans. They partied under his portrait and referred to him as ‘savior’ as he was held to have rescued humanity from superstition. Followers were known to wear cameo rings with at bust of Epicurus. Epicurean philosophy did not survive the onslaught of Stoicism and Christianity in the Roman era. The idea of no purpose in life and the eschewal of public service did not appeal to ethos of an empire. Still the focus on the ‘here and now’ would resonate in Western thought.  Cynicism R- Roman Era Copy of a Greek Statue of an Unknown Cynic Philosopher Cynicism (‘dog-like’) – This was a way of life rather than a school of philosophy. It challenged a staid world overly conservative in appearance. If asked, the cynic would decry polite conversation, superstition, property and capital, the fixed class system, and most intellectual pursuits (music, geometry, and astronomy were derided as ‘useless and unnecessary’). The cynic would then tell you to reject religion, manners, housing, food, and fashion. If you asked the cynic what should be the goal of life, the likely answer would be ‘true happiness.’ To pursue this, the cynic would tell you that whatever is natural cannot be unnatural or dishonest; therefore, it can and should be done in public. The cynic believed that the act of rejecting public values and conventional morality had its own reward and provided a natural form of living. Ultimately, the way of the cynic required that you aim for self-sufficiency and independence by satisfying your needs in the easiest and least costly way. If you think otherwise, you are imposing social conventions on others. What needs to be kept in mind is that the cynic was dependent on an establishment to provide sustenance. There was little evidence of self-sufficiency in the cynic. The first cynic was Antisthenes (c. 445-365 BCE) who was a well- to-do companion of Socrates. He later renounced philosophy (‘A horse I can see, but horsehood I cannot see’) and believed society with its material comforts was a distortion of nature and should be avoided. He preached a ‘back to nature’ philosophy that involved a life free of passions, wants, and social convention. He also advocated self-sufficiency as the ideal.  Diogenes of Sinope c.400 to 325 BCE R-Jean-Léon Gérôme, Diogenes Sitting in his Tub, 1860 Diogenes of Sinope (c.400-325 BCE) was the most famous advocate for cynicism. He lived in both Athens and Corinth, purportedly in a tub in the agora. He was a pan-handler and offered only diatribai, or ‘moral discourses,’ for his daily bread. He preached for a community of ‘wives and children,’ the ‘legitimacy of incest’ (because animals do it), cannibalism (because animals do it), and the robbing of temples (because all property should be held in common). He offered criticisms of society – he disliked dream interpreters and astronomers but liked doctors and ships’ helmsmen. He called for the defacement of money (a dangerous challenge to the authority of the ruler).  Diogenes (continued) R-J.H.W. Tischbein, Diogenes Searching for an Honest Man, c.1780 In violation of social custom, Diogenes ate in the agora. There is a story that once he went about in the daylight with a lit lamp saying he was looking for an honest man. Plato, a contemporary, is held to have described Diogenes as ‘Socrates gone mad.’ There is a story that Plato once said Socrates had described men as ‘featherless bipeds.’ Purportedly, Diogenes took a chicken, plucked it, brought it to the Academy, and said to Plato, ‘Behold, I have brought you a man!’ In another story, Alexander the Great once approached Diogenes and asked if there was any favor he could offer the cynic. Diogenes replied, ‘Only to stand out of my light.’ Purportedly, Alexander was more impressed than offended. Diogenes did eventually die, and you can take your pick as to the cause – holding his breath, eating raw octopus, or suffering an infected dog bite. As mentioned, the ‘philosophy’ of cynicism was little more than a reaction to a staid society. Self-sufficiency for the cynics was not realistic given their lifestyle- they need a sophisticated culture to provide their sustenance, despite their protestations of avoidance. Cynicism faded after 200 BCE. The reasons were many – the hypocritical nature of the devotees and the occupation of Greece by Rome have been implicated. As a movement, it survived into the latter first century CE among some elite youth in Rome as a sort of classical hippie movement. This is not to say that the cynics had no influence. The idea of ‘back to nature’ and the notion of society as artificial will run as a thread in Western thought. In some aspects Modern Depiction in Corinth, Greece of Diogenes Meeting with Alexander the Great.  Stoicism R-Classical Bust of Zeon of Citium (c.335 to c.263 BCE) Stoicism as a philosophy responded to the desires of the era. It promised a pseudoscientific religious universalism, offered a wider allegiance than the former narrow polis (city state), and encouraged engagement in public life. Zeno of Citium (c.335-.263 BCE) from Cyprus was the main philosopher. He may have been of Phoenician heritage but was Greek in attitude. His acquisition of wealth through prudent investment allowed him the time to study philosophy. Zeno arrived in Athens, checked out the academy, and hung out for a while with the Cynics, but found all deficient. Eventually he developed his own school. As he taught at the Stoa Poikile [painted colonnade], this structure gave the name to his school of philosophy - stoicism. Associates said that Zeno preferred the company of the few to the many and was known for practicing what he preached. On his death the philosopher was honored with a bronze statue and fancy tomb in Athens, a rare honor for a non-citizen. Stoics put much on mental discipline and the use of reason. Virtue can only exist within the dominion of reason; vice can only exist with the rejection of reason. All human actions are either good or bad, since impulses and desires rest upon free consent. Hence even passive mental states or emotions that are not guided by reason are immoral and produce immoral actions. Reason-based choices are made by the person’s soul (pneuma), a physical substance. The pneuma and the body interact, yet this is not mind-body dualism – rather it is body-body dualism. In keeping with the stoic view of the universe as one seamless unity, Individual souls are part of a universal soul. As mentioned above, Stoics believed the universe was one seamless unity. Zeno’s view was pantheistic as he held that God and the universe were one and the same. God was in everything and the world was ruled according to a divine plan. The ‘good life’ meant accepting one’s fate with indifference (be stoic!). Do not value material possessions as they can be taken away. Accept your station in life and be happy! Know that you are part of plan, can do nothing about it, and go about your life. The stoics were weak on determinism. They did believe that every event had a cause, but some held to ‘soft determinism’ – the idea that humans have the agency to defy the plan (sin). Ideally, humans should act in accordance with it (virtue). Yet there was another conundrum, if there is a benevolent force running the universe, how does one account for evil? Stoics held that a divine artisan-fire was the dominant element in the universe. Substance from the fire passed through the air and became water, and if heavier, earth. Lighter portions would float up and become air or return to being fire.  Stoicism in the Roman Empire R-Roman Era Bust of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius The emperor Marcus Aurelius (121 to 180) was a stoic philosopher who wrote the classic Meditations. Trained in stoic philosophy, Marcus Aurelius stopped almost every night to practice a series of spiritual exercises—reminders designed to make him humble, patient, empathetic, generous, and strong in the face of life’s challenges. Three of his observations are timeless. 1) ‘If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.’ 2) ‘We all love ourselves more than other people but care more about their opinion than our own.’ 3) ‘You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.’ Stoicism was popular in the Roman Empire where it appealed to ideas of order and civic engagement. It pushed out Epicureanism but was in turn disallowed in the late empire as troubles mounted. People prefer more the thought of a divine plan when things are going well.  Neoplatonism R-Roman Era Relief of Plotinus (c.204 to 270) and His Disciples Neoplatonism was a revival of Plato’s philosophy in the Roman Empire. In fidelity to Plato, Neoplatonism prized reason and showed little interest in observation. Its focus was on the overall order of the universe and held to the assumptions that it could only be understood through reason. It also regarded matter as possessing no real properties outside of its existence. It placed a new emphasis on the mystical and downgraded the material. Its origins are with Plotinus (c.204-270) who was trained in Alexandria but taught in Rome. Neoplatonism taught the following: 1) There is a commitment to a first principle from which everything is derived. This principle is referred to as the ‘one.’ From this follows a careful analysis of the hierarchies which can be determined through reason. 2) There is a proliferation of metaphysical layers and entities. The cosmos exists not through creation, but through hierarchy. 3) The metaphysical prior (closer to the ideal) is superior to the metaphysical lower (closer to the material). For the Neoplatonist, the ‘one’ is supreme. It cannot be transcended; it cannot be divided. Thought is not part of the ‘one.’ Thought implies the existence of dyads, a human imposition. If there is a ‘thought,’ then there must be the ‘thinker.’ For the Neoplatonist, human happiness is independent of the physical world. Happiness comes through the application of reason. Adherents of Neoplatonism did not share Plato’s dislike of the physical. They were willing to enjoy art, music, and the pleasures of the world.  Galen. 129 to c.200 R-Robert Thom, Galen, undated Galen was from the city of Pergamon in Anatolia. His father was a wealthy architect who purportedly had a dream sent from Asclepius telling him to train his son as a physician. When Galen was 19 years old his father died, and the newly wealthy young man traveled throughout the eastern Mediterranean where he learned medicine. It is likely that he received a portion of his education in Alexandria, Egypt. In 157 Galen returned to Pergamon and served as physician to gladiators. He claimed to have lost only five in the four years he served, an unusually good record. For Galen, wounds were ‘windows into the body’ and he took advantage of the injuries to study anatomy. However, due to the difficulty of obtaining cadavers, Galen learned most of his anatomy from dissecting animals (especially primates) and reasoning relationships with human anatomy. Galen’s works on anatomy remained standard texts until the Renaissance. His reputation as a ‘go-to’ source in medicine did not fade until the nineteenth century. Galen travelled to Rome in 162 and serve as physician to the city’s elite. There his techniques engendered jealousy from other physicians. He practiced venesection and gave prognoses, both of which got him in trouble. Venesection was considered dangerous as it exposed the pneuma and was potentially dangerous. Galen downplayed the threat by performing public venesections. The prognoses were more troublesome as in giving them, Galen eschewed divination and assumed powers considered the realm of the gods. Friends in high places kept him from being persecuted for sacrilege. Galen dealt with the Antonine plague (possibly Measles) which devastated the Roman Empire in his time. Galen viewed himself as both a physician and philosopher and claimed that a good physician needed to be both.  Bleeding (Venesection) A Treatment Recommended by Galen  Galen & the Four Temperaments L-The Four Temperaments of Galen as depicted c.1470s. Clockwise from upper left: Phlegmatic, Sanguine, Melancholic, and Choleric  The Eastern Mystery Cults R-Roman Copy of Relief of a Maenad, a Devotee of Dionysius The Eastern Mystery Cults manifested changes in Roman views of spirituality. The cults had some features in common. 1) Belief in a mystery or rite. The rite is only to be known by members. 2) Belief in a rite through which salvation is obtained. 3) A theme of spiritual rebirth. 4) Eastern Mystery Cults tended to be gender-specific. 5) The cults were focused on life in the present - there will little interest in an afterlife.  Jesus of Nazareth (c.4 BC to AD 30) R- Jean-Léon Gérôme, Entry of Christ in Jerusalem, 1897 Jesus of Nazareth is an enigmatic man. All we know of him is through the writings of his disciples as related in the New Testament. Jesus taught that knowledge of good and evil is revealed by God and that this knowledge once revealed should guide human conduct. Jesus also taught the importance of what is in the heart rather than rituals. This was a radical view as many religions in the Roman Empire at this time put the greater faith in the rituals. Jesus likely was a member of the Jewish priesthood but associated with all regardless of social status. Given the rapid growth of Christianity, some scholars believe that Jesus was head of a movement which grew into the church and may have had as many as 50,000 followers. Early on Christian communities could be found throughout the eastern Mediterranean, especially in the cities.  Paul of Tarsus (c.10 to 64 CE) R-Rembrandt van Rijn, Apostle Paul, 1633 Paul of Tarsus (modern Adana) was an enigmatic man. Paul (born Saul) was a member of the Jewish priesthood. He was well-educated and knew Greek, the language of commerce and learning in the eastern Mediterranean. According to the Bible, Paul was assigned to persecute Christians, but while on the road to Damascus he had a vision of Jesus. The vision profoundly changed him. He became known as ‘Paul’ and as an evangelist. Paul would take the teachings of Jesus and place them on a firm philosophical foundation. Paul was educated in Greek philosophy and especially influenced by Plato. He accepted that knowledge could come by reining in the body and not trusting the senses, but he took it a step further. In the battle between the soul (which contains the spirit of God) and the body (which contains the desires of the flesh) one is going to win out. He took the radical view that faith must support or (if need be) supersede reason, for only in faith can one find personal salvation. Paul struggled with sexuality. He glorified celibacy and only sanctioned sexual relations within marriage. While he accepted the common Roman view of the intellectual and social inferiority of women, he believed both genders shared a spiritual equivalence. This alone was a radical view. The Spread of Christianity in the Roman World The Roman Emperor Constantine, r.306 to 337 CE L-Head of Constantine from 4th Century R-Chi Rho Symbol on Roman Era Sarcophagus  The Roman Emperor Theodosius (r.379 to 395) R- Gold Solidus Depicting Theodosius I Christianity openly flourished under Roman rule in the time of Emperor Constantine, a convert to the faith. Although Constantine endorsed the religion and upheld church doctrine, Roman culture and institutions resisted the change in his lifetime. Christianity became the official religion of Rome during the reign of Emperor Theodosius I (r.379 to 395). L- Mosaic Portrait of Ambrose of Milan, c.379 CE R- Caravaggio, Saint Jerome Writing, 1605 Basil of Caesarea, c.330 to 379 CE R-Icon of St Basil Caesarea from St Sophia Cathedral, Kiev, Ukraine, 11th Century The roots of the hospital go back to such institutions as the Ascelpieion. The declaration of Christianity as an accepted religion in the Roman Empire drove an expansion of the provision of care. Christian ideals of agape (unconditional love) and fellowship encouraged the construction of hospitals. Following First Church Council of Nicaea in 325, construction of a hospital in every bishopric was begun. Among the earliest were those built by Basil of Caesarea in Anatolia towards the end of the 4th century. Basil was known for his interest in the ill, poor, and homeless. By the beginning of the 5th century, the hospital had already become ubiquitous throughout the Christian east in the Byzantine world. Called the ‘Basilias,’ it resembled a city and included housing for doctors and nurses and separate buildings for various classes of patients. Some hospitals held libraries and training programs, and doctors compiled manuscripts of their medical and pharmacological studies.  The Establishment of the Hospital R-Ruin of Roman Era Military Hospital in Novae, Bulgaria  Augustine of Hippo, R-Sandro Botticelli, Saint Augustine in His Study, 1494 Augustine of Hippo was one of the fathers of the classical church. He would combine Stoicism, Neo-Platonism, and Judaism into a powerful world view that would endure until the late middle ages. Augustine was born in North Africa in what is now Algeria. His mother, Monica, was Christian, while his father, Patricius, was not. He received a traditional classical education and both parents had high hopes for his success. In his work Confessions(397), intended for ascetic Catholics, Augustine detailed his struggles with the body and religion. In his youth he was melancholy, and he proved easy prey for those promising a quick fix. Augustine took a concubine (common for young men in his social class) when he was 18 years old by whom he had a son. He lived with her for 13 years and on his account was faithful. Eventually, Monica felt it was time for her son to marry and forced Augustine to give up the mistress and progeny. As the bride picked by his mother was too young to marry, Augustine took another mistress. He was a self- described wretched young man.’ He prayed to God, ‘Give me chastity and continency, only not yet.’ He wished to have his lust satisfied, not extinguished. Augustine left North Africa when he landed a position as a teacher of rhetoric in Milan. One day on his way to an event at the imperial court, he passed a beggar and thought that the indigent had a more carefree life than he did. Augustine also heard a sermon by Ambrose of Milan. The sermon moved Augustine and after a long hesitation he accepted Christianity and was baptized by Ambrose in 387. He decided to devote himself full-time to religion, celibacy and the priesthood. On his return to North Africa, he discovered that his mother, concubine, and son had died, thereby leaving him alone. He settled in Hippo Regius (modern Annaba) where he established a monastery (to atone for the death of his son) and was elevated to bishop in 395. Some 350 sermons of his exist. Augustine had to deal with issues of doctrinal purity. He would  Augustine of Hippo (continued) R-Detail of Sandro Botticelli, Saint Augustine in His Study, 1480 Augustine placed the locus of control on the individual. He believed in free will. One can err in thought or deed, but by confessing the sin, one can return to spiritual purity. Augustine portrayed his own journey as a spiritual war against the appetites of the body, and he recognized that it was easy to fall short: the world and its transitory pleasures are strong. Augustine believed that it was possible to rein-in the appetites of the body and embrace God as he had done. In the embrace, Augustine had recognized the importance of his position in the universe. It was with God, the source of all things. Augustine wanted certainty. Here he turned to Plato. The material world of the present overwhelms the person. Only a small portion of existence is experienced through the senses. Many people focus on the transitory and experience anxiety and fall to evil. Augustine believed true knowledge required the transcendence of sense perception to an internal knowledge of the forms (universal ideas), and ultimately to knowledge of God, the creator of the forms. Faith and reason would facilitate this. Augustine further wanted certainty that God existed. He knew that he himself existed because he could not doubt that he doubted. In other words, his thoughts allowed him to believe in the existence of his person. Augustine took this a step further: he knew God existed because for something to exist, something must be causing the thought. If God did not exist, then the mind would not hold the existence of God. The inner sense (as it came from God) could be trusted. Therefore, the inner experience could allow the elevation of feelings over reason. It was the way the person could experience the sensation of divine love. Augustine wished to situate the locus of control to internal issues. He believed that God placed with the human knowledge of good and evil. Deviation produces feelings of guilt. This view accorded with Platonic notions of innate knowledge.  Augustine and the City of God R-North African Mosaic of Vandal Warrior, late 5th to early 6th century When Alaric the Visigoth king sacked Rome in 410, the pagan world was aghast and blamed Christianity. Augustine countered with the City of God (410), a tome which noted that war and destruction had antedated Christianity. Augustine wrote that there were two invisible communities: the City of God and the City of the World. Each has its origin, destiny and character. The City of God aimed for holiness and salvation, while the City of the World aimed at mundane achievement, power and wealth. The City of God was inhabited by those predestined for salvation, while the City of the World was inhabited by those predestined for damnation. Augustine’s view reflected the influence of Stoicism. As Augustine lay dying, the western Roman Empire was in the process of unraveling. The Vandals, a Germanic tribe, besieged Hippo Regius. When they captured the city, they spared Augustine’s church and library from destruction.  The Roman Empire Faded in the West R-John William Waterhouse, The Favorites of the Emperor Honorius, 1883 A host of social and economic events caused the Roman Empire in the West to fade and give way to Germanic kingdoms. Portions of classical philosophy will be lost and only gradually and imperfectly recovered. In Western Europe, the church will become the center of intellectual activity. The result will be an emphasis on the relationship between humanity and God. End of the Lecture