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Full-Text Articles in Ancient Philosophy
Freely Bound - The Free Will Arguments Of Boethius And Martin Luther, Joshua Sullivan
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 …
Philosophy And Politics Perfected: Aristotle’S Greatness Of Soul Embodied In Plutarch’S Alexander The Great, Raquel Grove
Philosophy And Politics Perfected: Aristotle’S Greatness Of Soul Embodied In Plutarch’S Alexander The Great, Raquel Grove
Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium
In this paper, I examine the value of Aristotle’s “great-souled man” and the narrative structure of Plutarch’s Life of Alexander as political and philosophical exempla designed to lead men to virtue on a large scale. The confusing, apparently contradictory nature of Aristotle’s virtue “greatness of soul” must be read in the context of the Ethics as a deeply political work. Likewise, Plutarch’s description of Alexander the Great demands examination from a narrative, as well as historical, perspective. Despite their differences in emphasis and method, Aristotle and Plutarch produce writings characterized the same end––each work unites ethics and politics to create …