The Greek Philosophers, Vol. 2 (of 2) — Themes and Context

ontemporary thought, 1—Fate of the schools which they founded, 2—Revival of earlier philosophies and especially of naturalism, 3—Antisthenes and the Cynics, 4—Restoration of naturalism to its former dignity, 6.

II. Zeno and Crates, 7—Establishment of the Stoic school, 8—Cleanthes and Chrysippus, 9—Encyclopaedic character of the Stoic teaching, 9—The great place which it gave to physical science, 10—Heracleitean reaction against the dualism of Aristotle, 11—Determinism and materialism of the Stoics, 12—Their concessions to the popular religion, 14.

III. The Stoic theory of cognition purely empirical, 15—Development of formal logic, 16—New importance attributed to judgment as distinguished from conception, 16—The idea of law, 17—Consistency as the principle of the Stoic ethics, 18—Meaning of the precept, Follow Nature, 19—Distinction between pleasure and self-interest as moral standards, 20—Absolute sufficiency of virtue for happiness, 21—The Stoics wrong from an individual, right from a social point of view, 22—Theory of the passions, 23—Necessity of volition and freedom of judgment, 24—Difficulties involved in an appeal to purpose in creation, 24.

IV. The Stoic paradoxes follow logically from the absolute distinction between right and wrong, 25—Attempt at a compromise with the ordinary morality by the doctrines (i.) of preference and objection, 26—(ii.) of permissible feeling, 27—(iii.) of progress from folly to wisdom, 27—and (iv.) of imperfect duties, 27—Cicero’s _De Officiis_, 28—Examples of Stoic casuistry, 29—Justification of suicide, 30.

V. Three great contributions made by the Stoics to ethical speculation, (i.) The inwardness of virtue, including the notion of conscience, 31—Prevalent misconception with regard to the Erinyes, 32—(ii.) The individualisation of duty, 33—Process by which this idea was evolved, 35—Its influence on the Romans of the empire, 36—(iii.) The idea of humanity, 36—Its connexion with the idea of Nature, 37—Utilitarianism of the Stoics, 38.

VI. The philanthropic tendencies of Stoicism partly neutralised by its extreme individualism, 40—Conservatism of Marcus Aurelius, 41—The Stoics at once unpitying and forgiving, 42—Humility produced by their doctrine of universal depravity, 42—It is not in the power of others to injure us, 43—The Stoic satirists and Roman society, 44.

VII. The idea of Nature and the unity of mankind, 44—The dynamism of Heracleitus dissociated from the teleology of Socrates, 46—Standpoint of Marcus Aurelius, 46—Tendency to extricate morality from its external support, 47—Modern attacks on Nature, 48—Evolution as an ethical sanction, 49—The vicious circle of evolutionist ethics, 50—The idea of humanity created and maintained by the idea of a cosmos, 51—The prayer of Cleanthes, 52.

EPICURUS AND LUCRETIUS pages 53-119

I. Stationary character of Epicureanism, 53—Prevalent tendency to exaggerate its scientific value, 55—Opposition or indifference of Epicurus to the science of his time, 57.

II. Life of Epicurus, 58—His philosophy essentially practical, 59—The relation of pleasure to virtue: Aristippus, 60—Pessimism of Hêgêsias, 61—Hedonism of Plato’s _Protagoras_, 61—The Epicurean definition of pleasure, 62—Reaction of Plato’s idealism on Epicurus, 63—He accepts the negative definition of pleasure, 64—Inconsistency involved in his admissions, 65.

III. Deduction of the particular virtues: Temperance, 66—Points of contact with Cynicism, 66—Evils bred by excessive frugality, 67—Sexual passion discouraged by Epicureanism, 67—Comparative indulgence shown to pity and grief, 68—Fortitude inculcated by minimising the evils of pain, 69—Justice as a regard for the general interest, 70—The motives for abstaining from aggression purely selfish, 70—Indifference of the Epicureans to political duties, 73—Success of Epicureanism in promoting disinterested friendship, 74.

IV. Motives which led Epicurus to include physics in his teaching, 75—His attacks on supernaturalism directed less against the old Polytheism than against the religious movement whence Catholicism sprang, 76—Justification of the tone taken by Lucretius, 78—Plato and Hildebrand, 78—Concessions made by Epicurus to the religious reaction, 80—His criticism of the Stoic theology, 81.

V. Why Epicurus adopted the atomic theory, 82—Doctrine of infinite combinations, 83—Limited number of chances required by the modern theory of evolution, 84—Objections to which Democritus had laid himself open, 85—They are not satisfactorily met by Epicurus, 85—One naturalistic theory as good as another, 87—except the conclusions of astronomy, which are false, 87.

VI. Materialism and the denial of a future life, 88—Epicurus tries to argue away the dread of death, 89—His enterprise inconsistent with human nature, 90—The belief in future torments is the dread of death under another form, 92—How the prospect of death adds to our enjoyment of life, 93—Its stimulating effect on the energies, 94—The love of life gives meaning and merit to courage, 95.

VII. The Epicurean theory of sensation and cognition, 95—Negative character of the whole system, 98—Theory of human history: the doctrine of progressive civilisation much older than Epicurus, 98—Opposition between humanism and naturalism on this point, 99—Passage from a drama of Euphorion, 99.