Ancient Philosophy Commons^™

‘If Apprehending Occurs, It Is Not The View’: Sakya Thinkers On The Madhyamaka View Of Freedom From Proliferations, Yaroslav Komarovski

Department of Classics and Religious Studies: Faculty Publications

This paper addresses several key elements of Sakya thinkers’ approach to Madhyamaka, with the primary focus on their understanding of ultimate reality described as ‘freedom from proliferations’ (spros bral). It first provides a short summary of the general Sakya approach, then addresses works of several early Sakya masters, and finally explores writings of Gowo Rapjampa Sönam Senggé (go bo rab ’byams pa bsod nams seng ge, 1429-1489)— Gorampa (go rams pa) for short—whose position is accepted as representative of the mainstream within the Sakya tradition. Sakya thought in general, and its approach to Madhyamaka in particular, is based largely on …

From The Three Natures To The Two Natures: On A Fluid Approach To The Two Versions Of Other-Emptiness From 15th Century Tibet, Yaroslav Komarovski

Department of Classics and Religious Studies: Faculty Publications

In recent years there has been a surge of scholarly interest in diverse systems of Buddhist thought and practice that Tibetan thinkers characterize as “other-emptiness” (gzhan stong), contrasting them with systems of “self-emptiness” (rang stong). While the theories of such exponents of other emptiness as Dölpopa Sherap Gyeltsen (dol po pa shes rab rgyal mtshan, 1292–1361)1 are relatively well known, those of other Tibetan thinkers are only beginning to receive scholarly attention. This paper addresses one such lesser-known other-emptiness theory that was developed by the seminal Tibetan thinker Serdok Penchen Shakya Chokden (gser …

Emerson On Plato: Literary Philosophy, Dialectic, And The Temporality Of Thought, Jesse I. Bailey

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

For Emerson, Plato is the quintessential philosopher. I will argue that, to the extent that Emerson wanted his essays to have philosophical depth, he considered his work to be an extension of the work found in Plato’s dialogues.

Sagp Newsletter 2015/16.1 East Scs, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Atalanta: The Exception To Social Normality Presented In The Ancient World, Sean C. Brink

University Honors Program

No abstract provided.

Sagp Ssips 2015 Program, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Sagp Ssips Abstracts 2015, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Art Of The Stage Machinist: A Dramatic Reconstruction Of Aeschylus’ Linear Tragedy, Prometheus Bound, Alexander J. Spindler

Honors Bachelor of Arts

Tragedy purposefully engages an audience and does not merely entertain. Its six inherent components include: character, diction, thought, spectacle and song. Aristotle’s position is that the text in and of itself should be strong, complete and able to stand on its own. According to Aristotle, the inferior additions of stagecraft and spectacle do not greatly add to the dramatic potential already evident in the poetry.

A fully-realized, Attic, tragic production will provide valuable insight into the intricacies of stagecraft and spectacle. This insight allows readers to appreciate the meticulous details of constructing a piece of performance art that doesn’t deal …

Blueprint For Legal Practice: Establishing Cicero’S Ideal Style, Henry L. Farrington

Honors Bachelor of Arts

Marcus Tullius Cicero represents the greatest historical expression of the ideal, best orator and lawyer. Cicero is praised for his success in the Roman trial court and skills of legal practice in that arena. Due to the disparity between the Roman world and modern America in the late-20^th/21^st century and the lack of a comprehensive guideline, American lawyers do not directly emulate the style of Cicero, with the goal of achieving the status of the ideal lawyer. Nevertheless, Cicero has a certain, specific style of legal practice which can be applied to the modern American trial court …

Aristotle & Locke: Ancients And Moderns On Economic Theory & The Best Regime, Andrew John Del Bene

Honors Bachelor of Arts

In this paper, I will attempt to weigh the benefits and failings of the ancient and modern political-economic systems, as described in their philosophical forms, in order to determine which can better provide for the goods of humanity. This project sets out to demonstrate that the πόλις designed by Aristotle in the Politics can better provide for both the material and nonmaterial goods of a political agglomeration than the one designed by John Locke in the Second Treatise of Civil Government. These goods consist of two things: the authenticity of human existence, providing for the non-material goods of individuals and …

Sagp Newsletter 2014/15.3 Pacific, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Sagp Newsletter 2014/15.2 Central, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Beauty Speaking: Beauty And Language In Plotinus And Augustine Of Hippo, Anthony J. Thomas Iv

Theses and Dissertations--Modern and Classical Languages, Literature and Cultures

Much has been said about the influence of Plotinus, the Platonist philosopher, on the ideas of Augustine of Hippo, the Western Church Father whose writings had the largest impact on Western Europe in the Middle Ages. This thesis considers both writers’ ideas concerning matter, evil, and language. It then considers the way in which these writers’ ideas influenced their style of writing in the Enneads and the Confessions. Plotinus’ more straightforward negative attitude towards the material word and its relationship to the One ultimately makes his writing more academic and less emotionally powerful. Augustine’s more complicated understanding of the …

The Life Aquatic: Liquid Poetics And The Discourse Of Friendship In The Faerie Queene, Steven Swarbrick

Publications and Research

From Michel de Montainge’s essay “Of Friendship” to Jacques Derrida’s rearticulation of the former in The Politics of Friendship, scholars both early modern and modern have sought ways to address the fluid co-mixture of bodies from which the discourse of friendship can and does emerge. More recently still, new materialist thinkers of ontology have begun to shift our attention to the ways both human and nonhuman bodies inter-animate in the making of political, interpersonal, and artistic life worlds. Together with these investigations, I argue that an aquacentric account of relation is necessary to think the subject of friendship …

Sagp Newsletter 2014/15.1 East Scs, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Sagp Ssips 2014 Program, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Sagp Newsletter 2013/14.3 Pacific, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Twice-Made Men: The Journey To The Afterlife And Back, John M. Farkas

Honors Bachelor of Arts

This paper will provide a comprehensive account of the afterlife in modern literature and then a more in-depth analysis of how the near-death experience transforms those who have them in modern accounts. For my modern sources I will be examining Todd Burpo’s non-fiction New York Times Best Seller Heaven is for Real, Dr. Eben Alexander’s non-fiction New York Times Best Seller Proof of Heaven and the BBC’s documentary entitled “The Day I Died,” produced by Kate Broome. I will give the same comprehensive examination of the Underworld in classical literature and then continue to give a deeper analysis of …

Sagp Newsletter 2013/14.2 Central, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Know Yourself And You Will Be Known: The Gospel Of Thomas And Middle Platonism, Seth A. Clark

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus and is primarily composed of rhetorical statements that were used to preserve the teachings of itinerant Greek philosophers. These collections were used to persuade individuals to join the philosophical schools represented, much like the early followers of the Jesus movement would use his teachings to convince others to join them as well. However, the theological background for the text is still debated because it contains esoteric and enigmatic references not fully understood by most scholars. This work argues that the theological and philosophical background for the Gospel …