Reading
Questions
M 4 Oct
Epictetus, The Handbook;
Selections from Epicurus
1) General
Try to identify and distinguish Epicurean and Stoic positions (if
they exit!) on the following topics:
- Physics/Nature of the Universe
- Ethics
- Theory of Knowledge/Perception
- God/Fate/Free Will
2) Random Questions
- How good is Hellenistic science (in our terms)? What is the pointof
Hellenistic
science?
- What is the nature of language?
- Why might an Epicurean be accused of hedonism? What would his or
her response be?
- What is Epicurean justice? What is the Epicurean just man? How
does this correspond to the conceptions of Plato and Aristotle?
- For the Epicurean/Stoic, what is the proper relationship
between individual and individual? Between individual and society? Is
"society" and Epicurean unit of analysis?
- What would Plato and Aristotle have had to say about this?
- Which of these theories is the most attractive to you.