Plutarch's Practical Ethics


Book Description

A study of Plutarch's practical ethics, a group of texts within his Moralia designed to help powerful Greeks and Romans manage their ambitions and society's expectations successfully. Lieve Van Hoof depicts philosophy under the Roman Empire as a kind of symbolic capital engendering power and prestige for author and reader alike.




Virtues for the People


Book Description

This collection of essays addresses Plutarch's writings on practical ethics from different perspectives, including regarding their overall structure, content, purpose, and underlying philosophical and social presuppositions.




Animals, Rights and Reason in Plutarch and Modern Ethics


Book Description

This groundbreaking volume explores Plutarch's unique survival in the argument that animals are rational and sentient, and that we, as humans, must take notice of their interests. Exploring Plutarch's three animal-related treatises, as well as passages from his ethical treatises, Stephen Newmyer examines arguments that, strikingly, foreshadow those found in the works of such prominent animal rights philosophers as Peter Singer and Tom Regan. Unique in viewing Plutarch’s opinions not only in the context of ancient philosophical and ethical through, but also in its place in the history of animal rights speculation, Animals Rights and Reasons points out how remarkably Plutarch differs from such anti-animal thinkers as the Stoics. Classicists, philosophers, animal-welfare students and interested readers will all find this book an invaluable and informative addition to their reading.




The Oxford Handbook of the Second Sophistic


Book Description

The study of the Second Sophistic is a relative newcomer to the Anglophone field of classics, and much of what characterizes it temporally and culturally remains a matter of legitimate contestation. This Handbook offers a diversity of scholarly voices that attempt to define the state of this developing field. Included are chapters that offer practical guidance on the wide range of valuable textual materials that survive, many of which are useful or even core to inquiries of particularly current interest (e.g., gender studies, cultural history of the body, sociology of literary culture, history of education and intellectualism, history of religion, political theory, history of medicine, cultural linguistics, intersection of the classical traditions and early Christianity).




Medicine and Practical Ethics in Galen


Book Description

Galen was notable in the ancient world for his creative intermingling of medicine and practical ethics. This book is the first authoritative analysis of Galen's psychological and ethical works alongside a large number of his technical tracts, both medical and philosophical, and offers a robust framework through which we can comprehend his role as a practical ethicist - an aspect of his intellectual profile that has been little understood until now. Sophia Xenophontos explores a wide range of literature on moralia in the Roman imperial period, as well as topics including the pathology of emotions, the social role of medicine, and character formation and social ethics, to show the sophisticated and complex ways in which moral themes and controversies from antiquity were adapted and reinvigorated by Galen. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.




Plutarch's Practical Ethics


Book Description

The Second Sophistic (c.AD 60-250) was a time of intense competition for honour and status. Like today, this often caused mental as well as physical stress for the elite of the Roman Empire. This book, which transcends the boundaries between literature, social history, and philosophy, studies Plutarch's practical ethics, a group of twenty-odd texts within the Moralia designed to help powerful Greeks and Romans manage their ambitions and society's expectations successfully. Lieve Van Hoof combines a systematic analysis of the general principles underlying Plutarch's practical ethics, including the author's target readership, therapeutical practices, and self-presentation, with five innovative case studies. A picture emerges of philosophy under the Roman Empire not as a set of abstract, theoretical doctrines, but as a kind of symbolic capital engendering power and prestige for author and reader alike.




Plutarch’s Science of Natural Problems


Book Description

The role of natural science in the Roman Imperial Era In his Quaestiones naturales, Plutarch unmistakably demonstrates a huge interest in the world of natural phenomena. The work of this famous intellectual and philosopher from Chaeronea consists of forty-one natural problems that address a wide variety of questions, sometimes rather peculiar ones, pertaining to ancient Greek physics, including problems related to the fields of zoology, botany, meteorology and their respective subdisciplines. By providing a thorough study of and commentary on this generally neglected text, written by one of the most influential and prolific writers from Antiquity, this book contributes to our better understanding of Plutarch’s natural scientific programme and the condition and role of ancient natural science in the Roman Imperial Era in general.




A Companion to Plutarch


Book Description

A Companion to Plutarch offers a broad survey of the famous historian and biographer; a coherent, comprehensive, and elegant presentation of Plutarch’s thought and influence Constitutes the first survey of its kind, a unified and accessible guide that offers a comprehensive discussion of all major aspects of Plutarch’s oeuvre Provides essential background information on Plutarch’s world, including his own circle of influential friends (Greek and Roman), his travels, his political activity, and his relations with Trajan and other emperors Offers contextualizing background, the literary and cultural details that shed light on some of the fundamental aspects of Plutarch’s thought Surveys the ideologically crucial reception of the Greek Classical Period in Plutarch’s writings Follows the currents of recent serious scholarship, discussing perennial interests, and delving into topics and works not formerly given serious attention




Essays


Book Description

Selections from one of the greatest essayists of the Graeco-Roman world Plutarch used an encyclopedic knowledge of the Roman Empire to produce a compelling and individual voice. In this superb selection from his writings, he offers personal insights into moral subjects that include the virtue of listening, the danger of flattery and the avoidance of anger, alongside more speculative essays on themes as diverse as God's slowness to punish man, the use of reason by supposedly "irrational" animals and the death of his own daughter. Brilliantly informed, these essays offer a treasure-trove of ancient wisdom, myth and philosophy, and a powerful insight into a deeply intelligent man. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.




Ethical Education in Plutarch


Book Description

In addition to being the author of the Parallel Lives of noble Greeks and Romans, Plutarch of Chaeronea (AD c.46-c.120) is widely known for his rich ethical theory, which has ensured him a reputation as one of the most profound moralists in antiquity and beyond. Previous studies have considered Plutarch's moralism in the light of specific works or group of works, so that an exploration of his overall concept of ethical education remains a desideratum. Bringing together a wide range of texts from both the Parallel Lives and the Moralia, this study puts the moralising agents that Plutarch considers important for ethical development at the heart of its interpretation. These agents operate in different educational settings, and perform distinct moralising roles, dictated by the special features of the type of moral education they are expected to enact. Ethical education in Plutarch becomes a distinctive manifestation of paideia vis-à-vis the intellectual trends of the Imperial period, especially in contexts of cultural identity and power. By reappraising Plutarch's ethical authority and the significance of his didactic spirit, this book will appeal not only to scholars and students of Plutarch, but to anyone interested in the history of moral education and the development of Greek ethics.