Vox Patrum, 2022, Vol. 82: The Passions in the Platonic Tradition, Patristics and Late Antiquity

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12153/4272

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    A Noble Pity. ἔλεος in Plato’s Philosophy
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Eslava-Bejarano, Santiago
    This article examines Plato’s remarks on compassion to show that his apparent rejection of this emotion is, in fact, a rejection of a kind of ill-founded compassion. In the first section, I argue that his criticisms in the Apology and the Republic are not directed to compassion per se, but to instances in which this emotion betrays false beliefs and is felt in improper contexts. Thus, Plato’s criticisms leave room for an appropriate type of pity that should be grounded on true beliefs about harm, virtue, and justice. In the second section, I address Plato’s remarks on compassion in the Gorgias and the Laws, where he asserts that it should be felt towards the unpunished wrongdoer. I argue that such a disposition to feel compassion appropriately - which I have called a “noble compassion”, akin to the “noble anger” (θυμός γενναῖος) present in the Laws – is an important feature of the character of an ideal citizen. Thus, for Plato, compassion could contribute to psychological well-being and social order. By inspecting the cognitive and contextual conditions that enable a noble compassion in Platonic philosophy, this article aims to contribute to the study of a crucial emotion both in Greek and Christian philosophy.
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    Anger in Homiletic Teaching of Saint John Chrysostom. The Analysis of Homilies on Matthew
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Szczur, Piotr
    The article is a case study of Saint John Chrysostom’s teaching on anger in his Homilies on Matthew. The author discusses only the wreath of a man, the question of God’s anger as a different research problem was omitted. Saint John Chrysostom uses two Greek nouns while describing anger: ἡ ὀργή and ὁ θυμός, which are used as synonyms without distinguishing any semantic differences between them. The preacher does not give a definition of the anger, but describes it as a passion (τό πάθος) and places it among other flaws – according to Plato’s classification – to passion of the spirited part of soul (thymoeides). He describes anger also as an illness, and by personalizing it, he says that anger is the devil. The preacher specifies many reasons for anger (jealousy, power, situation of a threat, tardiness, and devil’s action). He says also about the fatal effects of anger, which above all destroys human relations, harms spirituality, and leads to more serious misdemeanors (i.e. perjury, enmity, insult, fisticuff, and even murder). Because of that Chrysostom points out the anger prohibition expressed by Christ and Saint Paul, as well as the necessity of combating the anger, which is a crucial element of the Christian self-improvement. These efforts give spiritual fruits in the form of peace of heart and absolution of sins. The final part of the article represents an issue of justified anger which is not prohibited but also advisable against sinners, to improve their actions.
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    Augustine on Hope in Times of Suffering
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Drever, Matthew
    This article examines the way Augustine draws on the theological virtue of hope to address how people should live in times of suffering. Of the three theological virtues – faith, hope, and love – hope is the least explored theme in contemporary Augustinian scholarship. This article develops a framework for Augustine’s model of hope from his Enchiridion and then applies it to select Sermons and Letters. Through this, we see that for Augustine hope does not represent either an anesthetizing, otherworldly vision that neglects suffering or an extreme ascetic embrace of suffering. Rather, hope seeks the transcendent good that acknowledges the profound depth of suffering while also maintaining a vision of happiness to come. Here, Augustine draws on hope to maintain a tension between temporal and eternal life, between the present reality of suffering and the future hope of happiness. We will also see a close connection between hope and its compatriots of faith and love, a connection Augustine utilizes to explore how hope transforms the moral and spiritual principles that guide our actions in the world.
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    Bibliografia do apokryfu „Józef i Asenet”
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Suski, Andrzej
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    Claudian’s "Gigantomachia": Coping with Reality and Dealing with Loss
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Bresson, Adrien
    The subject of Claudian’s Gigantomachia, narrating the great war between the Gods and the Giants, is vividly felt in the fourth century AD, given the historical context during which it was written. This piece, besides being mythological in a Christian world, remains unfinished, and the perspective of the incomplete end raises some questions: did Claudian do it voluntarily? Was he forced to do so? Was the end lost? And more generally, why would an official poet choose to write on a subject which does not align with the new way of thinking of a Christian Roman Empire, while rewriting a myth which tends to echo the military and the political context he was living in? In order to see through this perspective, it may be interesting to observe Claudian’s adaptations in rewriting the myth in order to grasp the different aspects of the context he was living in and that he was trying to mirror, and also to question the function of such a narration for Claudian himself, between pessimism towards loss and hope for a brighter future. This study, which focuses on the difficult adaptation of Pagans to the Christian era, allows to see, through a thorough study of Claudian’s Gigantomachia, the expression of a personal belief in an epic poem. Late Christian Antiquity poetry therefore appears both as a means to express one’s feelings and to overcome them.
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    Emotions that Foster Learning: Wonder and Shock in Proclus
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Tresnie, Corentin
    In his Commentaries, Proclus (Neoplatonic philosopher, 5th century A.D.) describes the ways in which a teacher can awaken the desire for knowledge and philosophy in a given soul, and help this soul to make cognitive and moral progress. He considers such an intervention to be a case of providence, analogous to both the action of divine Pronoia and the care of one's personal daemon. As the soul being thus educated is still unaware of the merits of rational thought, the teacher needs to use the emotions of his student to stimulate him; he might even want to generate desirable emotions in his soul. I focus here on two emotions: wonder and shock. The first serves to stimulate interest while preserving autonomy. The second allows deeper commitment at the price of reduced autonomy of the pupil. Both are complementary aspects of philosophical perplexity.
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    Galen z Pergamonu "O porządku moich własnych ksiąg dla Eugenianosa"
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Karczewski, Łukasz; Krajewska, Judyta
    Tłumaczenie na język polski dzieła Galena z Pergamonu "O porządku moich własnych ksiąg dla Eugenianosa".
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    God and Self in Confessiones IV and Beyond: Therapeia, Self-Presence, and Ontological Contingency in Augustine, Seneca, and Heidegger
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Knotts, Matthew William
    This article investigates Augustine’s reflection on the death of his friend in Confessiones IV. A critical treatment of this passage discloses the three key themes which will form the main substance of the analysis: self-presence, the contingency of being, and divine absence. Integrating philosophical and theological methodologies with an historical-critical treatment of Augustine’s work, this article relates Augustine’s insights to his foregoing classical context and his reception in posterity, with particular attention to Lucius Annaeus Seneca (ca. 4 BCE-65 CE) and Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). This investigation shows that these three figures are connected by an appreciation of how self-presence and ontological instability are constant facets of human life, though easily neglected. Each advocates a curriculum of philosophical training, whereby one learns to pacify the mind by an awareness of the true nature of mundane reality. This research contributes to the renewed appreciation of how the therapeutic aspects of classical philosophy influenced early Christian authors; illuminates a key episode in Augustine’s life en route to his conversion to Christianity; and raises questions about the “apophatic” dimensions of Augustine’s theology and anthropology.
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    Henryk Pietras, Ortodoksja i herezja, Kraków 2022, WAM, ss. 223.
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Wilk, Piotr
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    Piotr z Cluny: Kazanie o świętym Marcelim, papieżu i męczenniku
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Libowski, Łukasz
    Tłumaczenie na język polski dzieła Piotra z Cluny "Kazanie o świętym Marcelim, papieżu i męczenniku"
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    Polska bibliografia antyku chrześcijańskiego 2021
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Stawiszyński, Wojciech
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    Separation, Loss, Confinement, and Change: How Evagrius Can Speak to the Experience of Lockdown
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Tobon, Monica
    Separation, loss, confinement, and change have been imposed on entire populations during the Covid-19 pandemic in the form of lockdowns aimed at limiting the spread of the virus. They are also central to Evagrian asceticism, where they establish the conditions for the change at which the monastic life aims, namely to begin to reverse the effects of the fall by restoring the soul to health. This paper examines how they do so in order to gain an understanding of their ascetic function. Following the Introduction, it outlines Evagrius’ anthropology in order to lay the groundwork for its main theme, the healing of pathos through the practical life. Separation, loss, and confinement are each considered in turn by referencing Evagrius’ descriptions of their ascetic function and his own experience of them. Next, the change at which they aim is described, again drawing upon a range of Evagrian material. The final section of the paper considers how Evagrius can speak to the experience of lockdown by endowing separation, loss, confinement with meaning and purpose in relation to spiritual awakening and growth, highlighting our freedom to choose our attitude to them, and acting as both our guide and our companion.
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    The Second Century Debate about the Therapy of Passions – Various Christian Remedies
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Ashwin-Siejkowski, Piotr
    The disturbing power of the passions or affections, collectively known as πάθος, was the subject of a remarkable debate in Graeco-Roman philosophical schools, as well as in Philo of Alexandria and soon among various early Christian authors. This paper contributes to the recent approach to this subject but also explores new contexts. It examines cosmological (myth), anthropological (the mind – emotions relation) and theological (salvation) ways of addressing that problematic supremacy of emotions. Although it summarises earlier philosophical views, it focuses on Christian documents from the second century and their witness to that ancient debate. By comparison with the diversity of Christian views on the passions, the paper highlights the diverse ‘therapies’ proposed by Christian authors. In conclusion, it points out common motifs among Christian responses to the passions, as well as the differences in their remedies.
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    Theatrical Visualization of Human Emotions as a Rhetorical Mean of Persuasion in the Homilies of Basil the Great on Human Vices
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Szram, Mariusz
    The presentation of various emotional states in a pictorial way, referring to visual impressions, characteristic of a theatrical performance, is a common practice of Basil the Great (d. 379) in his homilies on the vices of anger, jealousy, getting rich and drunkenness. The analysis of the homilies makes it possible to extract and discuss in this article three specific rhetorical means of persuasion that were used by the preacher to present human passions in a pictorial manner: 1) introducing dialogue scenes with the participation of characters embodying the criticized faults and displaying various feelings; 2) a plastic way of presenting the characters’ passions with the use of stage movement and elements of the scenery; 3) appealing to listeners as viewers and evoking emotions in them through visual impressions. With the help of these rhetorical means, Basil presented a kind of theatrical spectacle to his listeners, arousing in them a feeling of fear of falling into the slavery of the vices criticized by the preacher. As in the ancient Greek tragedy, Basil’s homiletic teachings, thanks to their visual elements, played the role of a kind of purification of the soul from bad sentiments related to addiction to moral defects.
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    ‘Upper’ Mereology of Human Soul and Salvation according to Hermias of Alexandria
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Neola, Benedetto
    With my article, I try to show how the Neoplatonist Hermias of Alexandria (c. 410-455 AD) elaborated on Plato’s arguments on the immortality of the human soul in order to forge a coherent psychological and ontological system which is in tune with a precise ethics of salvation. In the final Appendix, I propose that these doctrines of the soul were not just erudite theories but turned out to be an actual and effective tool for coping with the threatening moments of the everyday life (notably for coping with the loss of the beloved ones and for facing death).
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