Ancient Philosophy of the SelfPauliina Remes, Juha Sihvola Pauliina Remes and Juha Sihvola In the course of history, philosophers have given an impressive variety of answers to the question, “What is self?” Some of them have even argued that there is no such thing at all. This volume explores the various ways in which selfhood was approached and conceptualised in antiquity. How did the ancients understand what it is that I am, fundamentally, as an acting and affected subject, interpreting the world around me, being distinct from others like and unlike me? The authors hi- light the attempts in ancient philosophical sources to grasp the evasive character of the specifically human presence in the world. They also describe how the ancient philosophers understood human agents as capable of causing changes and being affected in and by the world. Attention will be paid to the various ways in which the ancients conceived of human beings as subjects of reasoning and action, as well as responsible individuals in the moral sphere and in their relations to other people. The themes of persistence, identity, self-examination and self-improvement recur in many of these essays. The articles of the collection combine systematic and historical approaches to ancient sources that range from Socrates to Plotinus and Augustine. |
Contents
GraecoRoman Varieties of Self | 13 |
Issues and Approaches | 35 |
Two Ancient | 57 |
Socratic Authority 77 | 76 |
Mythical Figures in the Euthydemus | 109 |
Aristotle on the Individuality of Self 125 | 124 |
What Kind of Self Can a Greek Sceptic Have? | 139 |
Philosophy of the Self in the Apostle Paul 179 | 178 |
Two Kinds of Subjectivity in Augustines | 195 |
A Crossroads | 205 |
Locating the Self Within the Soul | 225 |
Bibliography | 243 |
255 | |
263 | |
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action agent Ancient Philosophy Apology Aquinas argues argument Aristotelian Aristotle Aristotle’s aspect Augustine Augustine's authority belief body Cambridge University Press Cartesian Cato character Charmides Christopher Gill Cicero claim Cleinias conception Conf context contrast Ctesippus dialogue discussion Diss distinction divine elenchus Epictetus ethical Euthydemus examination example first-person Ghaza Gill Greek Hellenistic Hippias Major human idea ideal identity individual inner intellect interlocutor interpretation kind knowledge lī’s memory metaphysical mind modern moral Myles Burnyeat nature Neoplatonism normative notion objective objective-participant Olivi one’s oneself Oxford University Press Panaetius particular passage Paul persistence person Plato Plotinus pneuma Polus prohairesis Proteus psychology Pyrrho question rational reason Remes Richard Sorabji role Roman sceptic seems self-awareness self-knowledge selfhood sense Sextus Sihvola Socratic self-examination someone sophists soul Springer Science+Business Media Stoic subjective-individualist suggest Theaetetus things thought true truth understanding unique virtue Webster-self wisdom wise