Despite the lack of religion in ancient Rome, thoughtful and practical people looked to Roman philosophy for guidance. Instead of idolizing the gods, they celebrated moral exemplars in their own tradition. Despite this lack of faith, Romans were sentimental about their heritage and celebrated the achievements of their ancestors. Ultimately, the Romans considered the world a battleground for glory, and favored a class-divided society and fierce competition over the common good.
Stoicism
The concept of the right now is important to the Stoics. They believe that material possessions are transient and ephemeral, and that the right now is what matters. The Stoics emphasized this concept, calling them “patheiai”: unproductive, unhealthy, and excessive passions. Instead of pursuing these passions, Stoics aim to replace them with eupatheia, or happiness.
According to Stoicism, human beings’ emotions are the root cause of their problems and provide an explanation for them. They distinguish good and bad emotions and seek to cultivate positive and negative emotions. While unable to control their emotions, Stoics reframe negative events into opportunities to learn patience and creativity. The goal is not to detract from their tranquility, but to gain from them the benefits of character building. The Stoics also understand the value of positive emotions.
Assent and withholding are both aspects of the mind’s commanding faculty. Assent is taking what you hear as true, whereas withholding means suspending judgement. These two concepts are inseparable; the Stoics believe that they are parts of the same commanding faculty. While impulses are functions of the mind, assent is an affection. In mature rational animals, these two concepts are not mutually exclusive.
As the first Stoics, the idea of God, time, and space is material. These are in fact corporeal things. The Stoics also accept that time, space, and place are all subsistent. In addition to this, they deny that all existent things are merely corporeal. They even deny that the world contains voids or empty spaces. It is difficult to find universals without this concept.
Epictetus, another Stoic, was a slave. Though he was freed later in life, he still lived under the terms of slavery in Roman society. Unlike other philosophy, the Roman system of slavery was based on conquest, and slaves were acquired through buying and warfare. They were not people, so their rights were not protected. Epictetus, though, showed that Stoicism could be applied in such dehumanizing circumstances.
Epicureanism
One of the major schools of Roman philosophy, Epicureanism emphasized the neutrality of gods. According to Epicureanism, everything is composed of atoms, and gods possess souls that adhere to their bodies. Human souls, on the other hand, are held together by the forces that bind atoms together. Epicureans tended to be atomists and incorporated atomist theory into their own ideas of free will. Epicureans believed that all human thoughts are nothing more than random swerving of atoms.
In contrast to Aristotle, Epicureans believe that our mind must use reasoning to reach its goals. Hence, the importance of reason is highly valued in their philosophy. Epicureans also emphasize the importance of friendship and develop interpersonal relationships, which form the basis of their ethical doctrine. Although there is no evidence that these traits are present in Roman society, some scholars claim that Epicureanism reflects a fundamental feature of modern culture.
Epicureanism in the Roman world suffered a setback in the late fourth century when Julius Caesar was assassinated. In the early fifth century, Epicureanism was also threatened by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, which buried their Herculaneum villa and the library of their patron, the Neapolitan group. Despite this setback, Epicureanism continued to flourish throughout the Greek-speaking world, in France and Spain.
The first known Epicurean philosopher was T. Lucretius Carus, who died at the age of ten years before the emperor. Though he had an anti-establishment attitude, he was a passionate Epicurean who decried traditional mythology and morality. In On Nature of Things, T. Lucretius Carus described the dissipation of the mind and the eventual death as an act of surrender to nature.
Another important role for Epicurus in Roman philosophy is in the concept of atoms. According to this philosophy, matter has two main forms: motion and permanence. In a nutshell, atoms are the basic constituents of matter. This principle is referred to as atomism. It implies that every particle in the universe is an atom. Therefore, every ordinary object, including objects, is composed of many smaller particles.
Platonic models of political philosophy
Platonic political philosophy is closely connected to the problems of his time. Athens, for example, was devastated by the Peloponnesian War, and the Thirty Tyrants regime was also disastrous for the city. Forcing people to choose a new political regime is a sure way to disaster and chaos. Plato considered the problem of stasis. However, he changed his political ideas in later works such as the Laws.
In his Republic, Plato advocates the development of a utopian society based on the Platonic theory of forms. Everything in the world has an ideal form in the “realm of ideas.” The best sociopolitical model must therefore come from ideas. In Plato’s kallipolis, people lived in communities based on the essences of the human soul, and the city was ruled by Philosopher Kings.
In the Platonic model of politics, justice is the basic criterion for political action. Plato wants to eliminate conflicts in Athens and achieve justice. To achieve this, a political revolution needs to be based on the notion of justice as a normative principle. Justice is also defined clearly to prevent the emergence of arbitrary laws. If democracy fails to do so, society will face a moral crisis.
Aristotle’s conception of transcendence is more difficult to understand because the individual is free from all passions. The transcendent restrains lower appetites, while the human will remains rooted in the higher. Aristotle, by contrast, believes that political virtue is grounded in moral-intellectual discipline. However, he does not believe that moral norms are incompatible with actions in the here and now.
Despite the differences in these two models, Plato’s ideas on political life still hold today. The philosopher rulers, for example, express their longing for the divine and do not have any private property. These similarities suggest that Plato and Christian religion are a common understanding of human longing. Moreover, it also suggests that the best way to achieve this is to abolish private property and make society as a single entity.
Heraclitus
Heraclitus in Roman philosophy was a controversial figure. Many people found him to be a tyrant and a hypocrite, but there are a few facts that prove his true worth. First, he was anti-democratic. In fact, he refused to participate in politics and lived in the mountains. However, he did recognize the role of nomos, a civic law structure and moral customs that protect the demos.
Heraclitus lived in the sixth century BCE, in a city of Ionia, which was under the rule of the Persians during his lifetime. He also inherited the honorific title of ‘king’ of the Ionians, but he eventually resigned it and passed it down to his brother. Heraclitus was an advocate of aristocratic government and opposed democracy. His work is part of the Diels-Kranz collection of Presocratic writings.
In the Greek-Roman world, Heraclitus equated human character with luck. This is true for both good and bad things. In fact, Heraclitus’ message is so illuminating that it has helped countless people make better decisions. But we must remember that the power of wisdom comes from the ability to understand the world and its mysteries. In short, Heraclitus teaches us that wisdom lies in our ability to discern the world and to make our actions harmoniously with nature.
Heraclitus’s world view is also rooted in Christian beliefs. He equated life and death with ‘kosmos,’ which referred to the universal law. As such, Heraclitus believes that we should live in harmony with nature, allowing the world to flow without human interference. By doing so, we can avoid suffering, and we can enjoy the world. If we resist the natural flow of the world, we are denying the truth.
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus disagreed with previous thinkers on a number of points. He believed that everything was in flux, and this is necessary for order. The fact that everything was in flux also meant that it was governed by a natural law, the Logos. This law, he believed, governed human behavior. It was not a contradiction of opposites, but a natural law regulating the universe.