Gerasim holds Ivan’s feet. Gerasim is Ivan’s servant who is essentially the opposite of Ivan. He is spiritual, his existence is joyful, he interacts with people in an authentic and reflective way, and he cares greatly about the well-being of others.

Everyone tells Ivan that he is only sick, but not dying. They refuse to confront the fact that his death is inevitable.

He tries to tell his wife, “forgive me,” but instead says, “forego."

What is ataraxia?

Which school of thought does it come from?

What are indifferents?

Which school of thought does it come from?

According to Stoics, indifferents are things that are outside the application of moral law.

Preferred Indifferents: Health and Wealth.

Unpreferred Indifferents: Poverty and Illness.

Discipline of Desire - a truly virtuous person only desires goodness, virtue and actions motivated by virtue

Discipline of Action - our actions should be motivated by virtue

Discipline of Assent - evaluate a situation before reacting to it

theoretical = physics, ethics, logic

practical = desire, action, assent

Pleasure, or removal of pain, is the primary instinct. Pleasures of the mind are greater than physical pleasures. Therefore, with whom a person eats is of greater importance than what is eaten.

Natural and necessary (friends, freedom, thought, food, shelter, clothes)

Natural and unnecessary (grand house, private baths, banquets, servants, fish, meat)

Neither natural nor necessary (fame, power)

Epictetus

Seneca

Epicurus

Lucretius

1) corrupting the youth

2) not believing in God

A life without investigation is not worth living.

you must reflect on your experiences and grow from them

One is wise if one does not claim to know what one does not know

consciousness of ignorance = wisdom

Guardians/Rulers - Reason

Warriors - Spiritedness/Honor

Tradespeople - Desirous

Thrasymarchus

Polemarchus

Adelmantus

Cephalus

Glaucon

Polemarchus -> good to friends, harm to enemies

Cephalus -> to give back what's owed

Thrasymarchus -> advantage of the stronger/rulers

justice is all three elements (wisdom, courage, moderation) performing the proper function

wisdom - self-control

courage - obedience to own reasoning/wisdom

moderation - better ruling worse/harmony

Meletus (poet)

Anytus (politician)

Lycon (orator)

1) you can see it but not look directly at it

2) it allows you to see other things

From highest to lowest:

Philosophical knowledge

Mathematical knowledge

Beliefs about physical things

Opinions

Rational - reasonable, acquire by teaching, humans

Both - responsive to reason, acquire by habit, animal-like

non-rational - unresponsive, plant-like

Plato’s Theory of Forms suggests that there is a single Form of Good and that all good things are good in the same way. This theory seems flawed when we consider the diversity of things we call “good” and the diversity of ways in which we consider goodness. Even if there were a single unifying Form of Good, our interest is in the practical question of how to be good, so we should concern ourselves not with this abstract concept but with the practical ends we can actually pursue in everyday life.

What is the function of the human being?

(according to Aristotle)

Virtue of thought arises mostly from teaching... virtue of character results from _____.

(Aristotle)

Is virtue a feeling, capacity or state?

*Why not the others?

virtues are not feelings:

we are not praised for feelings (as we are for virtues)

we feel things without deciding to (virtues involve decision)

we're passive in respect to feelings (active i.r.t. virtues)

virtues are not capacities:

we are born with capacities (virtue we must acquire

VIRTUE IS A STATE

Virtue is a state that decides, consisting in a mean relative to us, which is defined by reference to reason. It is a mean between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency

.

COWARDICE-----BRAVERY-----RECKLESSNESS

STINGINESS-----GENEROSITY-----WASTEFULNESS

What are the three types of friendship?

(Aristotle)

What are the three components of a virtuous action?

(Aristotle)

(a) they are done knowingly

(b) they are chosen for their own sakes

(c) they are chosen according to a stable disposition (not at a whim, or in any way that the acting person might easily change his choice about)

What is surprising about Book X?

(Aristotle)

ritual propriety

doing what virtuous people do, as a virtuous person

the way

not just a path you follow, but enrich it and give to your successors

authoritative conduct

relationships between two people

Father to Son - There should be kindness in the father, and filial piety in the son.
Elder Brother to Younger Brother - There should be gentility (politeness) in the elder brother, and humility in the younger.
Husband to Wife - The husband should be benevolent, and the wife should listen.
Elder to Junior - There should be consideration among the elders and deference among the juniors.
Ruler to Subject - There should be benevolence among the rulers and loyalty among the subjects.

constitutive (the kind of person you are - your inclinations, capacities and temperament)

circumstance (the kind of problems and situations one faces)

cause&effect (luck in how one is determined by antecedent circumstances)

results (luck in the way one's actions and projects turn out)

Put the following in chronological order:

Rousseau, Aurelius, Confucius, Montaigne, Aristotle

CONFUCIUS

ARISTOTLE

AURELIUS

MONTAIGNE

ROUSSEAU

nasty

brutish

short

solitary

poor

no, "nothing can be unjust"

"where there is no common power, there is no law: where no law, no justice."

"[justice/injustice] are qualities that relate to men in society, not in solitude"

"For everything that is

There is a reason why

It should be as it is

Rather than otherwise."

"I ought never to act except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim should become a universal law."

only perform actions that if everyone did them it would cause a greater good

shifts center from outside things to our own mind

the only things we can have knowledge of are what we can see the world through