Friends,
I hope you’ve enjoyed our time together this week—I know I have. While I love analyzing current events and big problems with philosophy, I also deeply enjoy returning to the basics and reminding myself where the big ideas come from.
It was really interesting to witness the development of various, separate ideas with Plato that would crescendo into a new, global theology with Augustine. One of my favorite philosophical authors, Norman Melchert, calls philosophy “The Great Conversation”—I don’t think there is a better way to describe it!
Check out our roundup below, and let me know if you have questions, what you liked/disliked, and if there is anyone you want to make sure we cover next week in our Ex-European journey.
Monday
χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά
Nothing beautiful without struggle.
—The Republic of Plato
Tuesday
At the heart of Stoic epistemology was a notion that a world of ideas (not unlike Plato’s world of forms) was impressing itself upon us. We have the capacity, according to ancient Stoic thought, to decide which impressions we accepted and which we rejected—ie which judgements we considered worthy of our attention and which we ignored.
Wednesday
Collectively we see Christian knowledge acquired not through reflection or thinking as in other philosophies, but on spiritual meditation, prayer, and communion with a spiritual force (often called the Holy Spirit).
Thursday
Augustine would have been motivated to simplify the ideas in the name of widespread adoption. His largest impulse, it would seem, was to unify his hero Plato with the last 300 years of Christian cults (the world of forms and the realms of heaven were a natural fit).
Until next week friends,
Have a restful weekend!
Matt