Ancient Philosophy Commons^™

Channeling Tradition And Self: An Examination Of The Allusivity And Originality Of Theognidean Verse, Paul Bisagni

Ephemeris

No abstract provided.

Phoebus, Dalton Tracey

Ephemeris

No abstract provided.

Civil Disobedience From A Biblical Perspective, Gabriel Reed

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

To say that civil disobedience is a complicated topic is to severely understate the topic. It is a subject matter that has derived many different and disparate opinions, points of view, and public policies. Specifically, within America today, we observe calls for civil disobedience from both sides of the political spectrum, over several divergent political ideals. These issues are, primarily, driven from both sides’ desire to provide protection and provision for the oppressed and those who cannot necessarily speak for themselves. The definition of who is necessarily oppressed and whom their oppressors are varies from person to person, regardless of …

Freely Bound - The Free Will Arguments Of Boethius And Martin Luther, Joshua Sullivan

Global Tides

The concept of free will has long puzzled philosophers and theologians alike. This notion exists on a spectrum. Proponents of an entirely free will occupy one end, asserting that man can make choices utterly independent of any external factors, while advocates of determinism reside on the other end, arguing choices are entirely dependent on biological, subconscious, or external metaphysical causes. This paper investigates the free will claims of two early Christian theologians, Boethius, a 6th-century Roman senator and philosopher, and Martin Luther, father of the protestant faith. By analyzing and contrasting these theologians’ rival claims, a deeper understanding of the …

Digital Occult Library, Alexis Brandkamp

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone project is a website, titled Digital Occult Library, hosted by the CUNY Commons and built with WordPress. The site address is:

digitaloccultlibrary.commons.gc.cuny.edu

It features (in this iteration) twenty-five unique pages with information on and discussion of occult and esoteric topics. It also hosts a forum that can be accessed and utilized by anyone, not just those registered on the Commons. The purpose of the site is to inform three types of interested parties on the highlighted topics: a general audience with no current knowledge of the occult, practitioners of esoteric traditions, and academics. Not only is the …

De Libero Conscientia: Martin Luther’S Rediscovery Of Liberty Of Conscience And Its Synthesis Of The Ancients And The Influence Of The Moderns, Bessie S. Blackburn

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

One fateful day on March 26, 1521, a lowly Augustinian monk was cited to appear before the Diet of Worms.[1] His habit trailed behind him as he braced for the questioning. He was firm, yet troubled. He boldly proclaimed: “If I am not convinced by proofs from Scripture, or clear theological reasons, I remain convinced by the passages which I have quoted from Scripture, and my conscience is held captive by the Word of God. I cannot and will not retract, for it is neither prudent nor right to go against one’s conscience. So help me God, …

Plutarch Reading Plato: Interpretation And Mythmaking In The Early Empire, Collin Miles Hilton

Bryn Mawr College Dissertations and Theses

Plutarch of Chaeronea, an eminent figure among the Platonists of the early Roman Empire, built his philosophy by continuously drawing frameworks and models from Plato’s dialogues, both in his works dedicated solely to exegesis and his own lively philosophical dialogues. He both interprets Plato and adapts various models from the Platonic dialogues. Each philosopher was especially concerned with problems posed by myth, yet each also employed their own elaborate and imagistic narratives. In this study, I argue two main points. First, Plutarch’s treatment of mythic narratives, in their dangers and their potential uses, is carefully modelled after Plato. Both are …

Tragedy And Theodicy: The Role Of The Sufferer From Job To Ahab, Nora Carroll

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The character of Job starts in literature, a trope and archetype of the suffering man who potentially gains wisdom through suffering. Job’s characterization informs a comparison to Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Shakespeare’s King Lear, Milton’s Paradise Lost, and finally Melville’s Moby-Dick. These versions of Job rally, fight, and rebel against a universe that was once loving and fair towards a more chaotic and nihilistic one. Job’s suffering is on the mark of all tragedy because he not only experiences a downfall, he gains wisdom through universalizing his torment. The Job trope not only stresses the role of suffering, it …

Matĕj Of Janov: Corpus Mysticum, Communionem, And The Lost Treatise Of His Regulae, Stephen E. Lahey

Department of Classics and Religious Studies: Faculty Publications

The Bohemian theologian Matěj of Janov (d.1393) is little known outside of Czech Hussite scholarship, yet his Regulae Veteris et Novi Testamentum is arguably as important an influence on the genesis and development of Hussitism, as is the thought of John Wyclif. The chief Hussite theologian Jakoubek of Střibro relied on his works, and his emphasis on the need for daily Eucharist for all Christians seems to have been central to the utraquist ideal central to Hussitism. This article describes the structure and content of Matěj’s Regulae, a carefully constructed sustained argument of the threat of Antichrist facing the …

Sense And Sensibility: A Sermon On Living The Examined Life, Sarah J. Mejias

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Jane Austen’s novels remain an essential component of the literary canon, but her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, is frequently neglected. However, in Sense and Sensibility is the genesis of Austen’s technique through which her major characters cultivate and reveal a strong inner life, demonstrated through the character of Elinor Dashwood. This technique is a characteristic she incorporates in each of her succeeding novels. Her approach to literature centers on the interiority of her characters and their ability to change, but it her first novel Austen takes a unique approach. Following the structure of an eighteenth-century sermon, Austen …

Differentiating Averroes’ Accounts Of The Metaphysics Of Human Epistemology In His Middle And Long Commentaries On Aristotle’S De Anima, Caleb H A Brown

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

Averroes (an Islamic Andalusian philosopher in the 12^th century) discusses the metaphysics of human epistemology extensively, and his socio-religious context sheds light on this discussion. Several of his works, most prominently his three commentaries on Aristotle’s De Anima, attempt to explain how finite, particular minds interact with universal, eternal intelligibles. Current scholarship focuses on the two longer commentaries, the Middle Commentary and the Long Commentary, but there is no consensus regarding which of these presents Averroes’ final articulation of the metaphysics of human epistemology. Those who maintain that Averroes wrote the Middle Commentary last tend to minimize …

How To Attain Liberation From A False World? The Gnostic Myth Of Sophia In Dark City (1998), Fryderyk Kwiatkowski

Journal of Religion & Film

In the second half of the 20th century, a fascinating revival of ancient Gnostic ideas in American popular culture could be observed. One of the major streams through which Gnostic ideas are transmitted is Hollywood cinema. Many works that emerged at the end of 1990s can be viewed through the ideas of ancient Gnostic systems: The Truman Show (1998), The Thirteenth Floor (1999), The Others (2001), Vanilla Sky (2001) or The Matrix trilogy (1999-2003).

In this article, the author analyses Dark City (1998) and demonstrates that the story depicted in the film is heavily indebted to the Gnostic myth of …

The Tyranny Of Authority: Eternal Damnation In The Fragments Of Clement Of Alexandria?, Daniel J. Crosby

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

This short paper discusses a fragment that John Potter (1715) incorrectly assigned to a hypothetical work of Clement of Alexandria called "On the soul," and how his error came to be responsible for a sharp divide in scholarship with regard to Clement's beliefs about hell and punishment after death. I conclude by suggesting that this short case study also highlights the importance of maintaining an awareness of the ideas and decisions that underlie a critical edition of a text.

Ephemeris Vol. Vii, Karyn Greene, Paul Filippelli, Paul Bisagni, Rachel Mazzara, Dalton Tracey

Ephemeris

No abstract provided.

Ephemeris Vol. V, Georgia Blume, Bob Wyllie, Nicole Miller, Andrew Sweet, Autumn Lotze, Heather Thompson, Larkin Kennedy, Frank Ward

Ephemeris

No abstract provided.

Ephemeris Vol. Iv, Maggie Glover, Melanie Vanderkolk, Larkin Kennedy, Lindsay Starkey, John Leebens, Derek Mong, Lauren Caryer, Matt Messmer, Nate Emmerson, Nicole Miller, Alli Cartmell, Tashina Browning, Betsy Prueter, Garrett Jacobsen

Ephemeris

No abstract provided.

Ephemeris Vol. Iii, Melanie Vanderkolk, John Pyles, Betsy Prueter, Derek Mong, John Leebens, Larkin Kennedy, Charles Shonk, Lauren Haas, Jennifer Hart, Bob Wyllie, Matt Messmer, Michael Fronda Phd, Garrett Jacobsen Phd

Ephemeris

No abstract provided.

Ephemeris Vol. I, Adam Mallinger, Audra Russo, Christopher Bungard, Marisa Wikramanayate, Bob Wyllie, Alison Hughes, Steve Nery, Michael Fronda Phd, Tara Ellison, Robyn Bowers

Ephemeris

No abstract provided.

The Repercussions Of Having A Body, James Harkness

CIE Essay Writing Contest

No abstract provided.

Pharaonic Occultism: The Relationship Of Esotericism And Egyptology, 1875–1930, Kevin Todd Mclaren

Master's Theses

The purpose of this work is to explore the interactions between occultism and scholarly Egyptology from 1875 to 1930. Within this timeframe, numerous esoteric groups formed that centered their ideologies on conceptions of ancient Egyptian knowledge. In order to legitimize their belief systems based on ancient Egyptian wisdom, esotericists attempted to become authoritative figures on Egypt. This process heavily impacted Western intellectualism not only because occult conceptions of Egypt became increasingly popular, but also because esotericists intruded into academia or attempted to overshadow it. In turn, esotericists and Egyptologists both utilized the influx of new information from Egyptological studies to …

Christian-Stoicism: Exploring The Relationship Between Christianity And Stoicism And Constructing A Manual Of Christian-Stoic Wisdom, Trevor Kelly

Master of Arts in Religious Studies (M.A.R.S. Theses)

While the theological assumptions of Christianity and Stoicism may seem disparate, their philosophies are highly compatible. This compatibility is one of the reasons that early Christian authors looked to pagan Stoic authors for support and inspiration. Many Stoic and Christian authors compiled manuals for right living. The historical connections and conceptual similarities between the two schools of thought suggest the viability and value of constructing a combined Christian-Stoic manual of wisdom. Such is the constructive task of this thesis. Passages from Christian and Stoic sources are brought together to illustrate major common themes. The passages are followed by original commentaries …

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 …

Cyprian The Apologist, Philip Palmer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Cyprian has not generally been viewed as an apologist of the Patristic era. This study examines whether Cyprian should be considered an apologist under a four-part definition of the term, which coheres with the New Testament uses of apologia and apologeomai and finds expression in the work of the recognized second-century apologists Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Mathetes, Minucius Felix, and Tertullian. It is argued that Cyprian engaged in an extensive program of apologetics characterized by these same four elements.

To The Jew First: A Socio-Historical And Biblical-Theological Analysis Of The Pauline Teaching Of `Election' In Light Of Second Temple Jewish Patterns Of Thought, Anthony Thornhill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Paul's "doctrine" of election has remained a controversial and enigmatic topic for centuries. Few studies, however, have approached Paul's doctrine through the context of Second Temple Judaism. This study examines Paul's view of election through the lens of Second Temple Jewish texts written prior to 70 CE. In doing so, it is argued that the best framework through which to view Paul's discussion of election is through a primarily corporate model of election. While such a model is rooted in Judaism, Paul departs from his Jewish contemporaries in arguing that the locus of election is in God's Messiah, Jesus.

Why I Am Not A Materialist, John Cramer Dr.

Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research

Materialism is a world view that insists the world is nothing but matter. My purpose here is to show it is not a viable world view. Its monism creates severe difficulties for it, centered on the nature of the human mind and the truth of beliefs. Nor is it fit for human consumption because it denies human uniqueness and denigrates human needs.

A Catholic Core Curriculum, Richard Liddy

Department of Religion Publications

No abstract provided.

For Their Own Good: Moral Slavery 101--The Aristotelian Cantus Firmus, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

“Moral slavery” will sound curiously—even immorally—oxymoronic to most of us, and a “course” in Aristotle’s views on “moral slavery” will seem quaintly archaic or irrelevantly “academic.” We will be surprised to learn how much these ideas have influenced our culture and continue to influence our lives and politics.

"Putting On The Neighbor": The Ciceronian Impulse In Luther's Christian Approach To Practical Reason, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Method In Catholic Studies, Richard Liddy

Department of Religion Publications

No abstract provided.

Changing Our Minds: Bernard Lonergan And Climate Change, Richard Liddy

Department of Religion Publications

No abstract provided.