The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Ethics Cambridge Companions to Philosophy 1st Edition by Christopher Bobonich 1108505813 9781108505819

I Origins

1 What Is Pre-Socratic Ethics?

1 Correspondence

Philolaus

Parmenides

Xenophanes

2 Separation

Democritus

3 Tension

Anaximander

Empedocles

Conclusion

Notes

2 The Historical Socrates

1 The Socratic Problem

2 Ethics and the Scope of Socrates’ Philosophy

3 Socrates’ Conception of His Philosophy

4 Eudaimonism

5 Psuchê, Excellence, and Wisdom

6 Wisdom, Skepticism, and Eudaimonia

7 Method

8 Speculative Conclusion

Notes

II Plato

3 Virtue and Happiness in Plato

1 Virtue and Happiness in the Socratic Dialogues

Socrates on the Virtues

Virtue and Happiness

2 The “Middle” Dialogues

The Phaedo

The Republic

3 The “Late” Dialogues

The Philebus

The Laws

Notes

4 Plato’s Ethical Psychology

1 Introduction

2 Implicit Psychology

3 Why No One Does Wrong or Bad Things Willingly

4 Soul-Division

5 Why Is There a Separate Spirited Part?

6 Immortality and the Afterlife

Notes

5 Plato on Love and Friendship

1 Eros, Beauty, and Philosophy

2 The Symposium: Eros, Eudaimonia, and the Divine

3 The Erotic Philosopher in the Republic

4 From Eros to Philia: The Phaedrus

5 Philia: Broader Scope and Political Benefits

Notes

III Aristotle

6 Aristotle on Virtue and Happiness

1 Introduction

2 A Popular View of the “Function Argument”: 1097b25–1098a18

3 Initial Problems with the Function Argument

4 A Further Problem: The Step from [C] to [D]

5 How Does Aristotle Attempt to Establish That Humans Have a function?

6 The Fineness of Virtuous Activity

7 Fineness and What Is Good for Humans to Do

8 Conclusions and Gaps

Notes

7 Aristotle’s Ethical Psychology

1 Parts of the Soul

2 The Passionate Part

3 The Deliberative Part

4 The Theoretical Rational Part

5 Conclusions

Notes

8 Aristotle on Love and Friendship

Notes

IV The Hellenistics and Beyond

9 Epicurus and the Epicureans on Ethics

10 The Stoics on Virtue and Happiness

1 The Unity of Virtue

2 Virtue in the Singular

3 Three Generic Virtues: Physics, Ethics, and Logic

4 Four Generic Virtues: Wisdom, Moderation, Justice, and Courage

5 The Possibility of Happiness

6 Happiness, the Good, and the End

Notes

11 The Stoics’ Ethical Psychology

1 The Rational Psyche

2 Action and the Objects of Common Pursuit

3 Emotional Response

4 Character and Character Development

Notes

12 Skeptical Ethics

1 The Skeptics’ Arguments in Ethics

Arcesilaus and Carneades

The Pyrrhonists

2 Is a Skeptical Life Possible?

Arcesilaus and Carneades: Eulogon and Pithanon

The Pyrrhonists: Following Phainomena

3 Skeptical Happiness?

Notes

13 Ethics in Plotinus and His Successors

1 Happiness

2 Virtue

3 Concern for Others

4 Knowledge and Action

5 A Portrait of the Sage

6 Signposts to the Field of Platonist Ethics after Plotinus

Notes

V Themes

14 Ancient Eudaimonism and Modern Morality

Ancient Eudaimonism

Modern Morality

Ancient Eudaimonism and Modern Morality

Notes

15 Partiality and Impartiality in Ancient Ethics

1 Who Should Survive? The Concept of Impartiality

2 Stoic Impartiality

3 Platonic Impartiality

4 Epicurean Partiality

5 Aristotelian Impartiality

Notes

16 Elitism in Plato and Aristotle

1 Introduction

2 Plato

The Middle Period

The Later Period

3 Aristotle

The Ethical Virtues

Practical Wisdom

Notes

17 Becoming Godlike

The physical background

God as Paradigm

Truth

Contemplation

Justice

Back to Immortality

Moral Godlikeness

The Life of a Philosopher

Notes

18 Horace and Practical Philosophy

Putting Philosophy into Practice

Horace’s Attitude to the Philosophical Schools

Uses for Moral Philosophy

Philosophy as Moral Criticism

Reasonable Vacillation?

An Epicurean Explanation: The Right Place for Stoicism

The Right Place for Cyrenaic Hedonism

The Coherence of Horace’s Position

Notes

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

Index

Other Volumes in The Series of Cambridge Companions