Virtues for the People

by Roskam, Geert; Van Der Stockt, Luc

• ISBN13: 9789058678584
• ISBN10: 905867858X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-08-01
• Publisher: Leuven Univ Pr

Summary

Plutarch of Chaeronea, Platonist, polymath, and prolific writer, was by no means an armchair philosopher. He believed in the necessity for a philosopher to affect the lives of his fellow citizens. That urge inspired many of his writings to meet what he considered people's true needs. Although these writings on practical ethics illustrate in various ways Plutarch's authorial talents and raise many challenging questions (regarding their overall structure, content, purpose, and underlying philosophical and social presuppositions), they have attracted only limited scholarly attention. Virtues for the People contains a collection of essays that deal with these questions from different perspectives and illuminate Plutarch's thinking and writing. Special points of interest are the concept of "popular philosophy" itself and its implications, its dependence on a more theoretical philosophical background, and the importance of moral progress, the therapy of wickedness, and the common experiences of everyday life.

Author Biography

Geert Roskam is Professor of Greek language and literature at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Luc Van der Stockt is Professor of Greek language and literature at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and Honorary President of the International Plutarch Society.

Table of Contents

Efficiency and Effectiveness of Plutarch's Broadcasting Ethics	p. 7
Virtues for the people
Semper duo, numquam tres? Plutarch's Popularphilosophie on Friendship and Virtue in On having many friends	p. 19
What is Popular about Plutarch's 'Popular Philosophy'?	p. 41
Plutarch's Lives and the Critical Reader	p. 59
Greek Poleis and the Roman Empire: Nature and Features of Political Virtues in an Autocratic System	p. 83
Del Satiro che voleva baciare il fuoco (o Come trarre vantaggio dai nemici)	p. 99
Plutarch's 'Diet-Ethics'. Precepts of Healthcare Between Diet and Ethics	p. 109
Some theoretical questions on ethical praxis
Plutarchan Morality: Arete, Tyche, and Non-Consequentialism	p. 133
Virtue, Fortune, and Happiness in Theory and Practice	p. 151
Plutarch Against Epicurus on Affection for Offspring. A Reading of De amore prolis	p. 175
Virtues and vices
Plutarch's 'Minor' Ethics: Some Remarks on De garrulitate, De curiositate, and De vitioso pudore	p. 205
Plutarchs Schrift gegen das Borgen ($): Adressaten, Lehrziele und Genos	p. 223
Competition and its Costs: $ in Plutarch's Society and Heroes	p. 237
'Popular philosophy' in context
Astrometeorología y creencias sobre los astros en Plutarco	p. 259
Bitch is Not a Four-Letter Word. Animal Reason and Human Passion in Plutarch	p. 273
Autour du miroir. Les miroitements d'une image dans l'æuvre de Plutarque	p. 297
Bibliography	p. 327
Index Locorum	p. 351
Abstracts	p. 377
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