Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 15, 2014
The Philosophical Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Antoninus
The Physical, Ethical, and Logical actions of a wise man are a matter of properly training the body, soul, and mind. Before one can appreciate the abstract arguments of the great philosophers, one must first tame one's passions and train one's mind, else further self actualization toward enlightenment is nothing but intellectual masturbation.
From a modern perspective Marcus Aurelius is certainly not in the first rank of ancient philosophers. He is no Plato or Aristotle, nor even a Sextus Empiricus or Alexander of Aphrodisias. To a certain extent this judgement is perfectly fair and reasonable. However, in order to assess the philosophical qualities that Marcus does have and that are displayed in the Meditations it is necessary to emphasize that in antiquity philosophy was not conceived merely as a matter of theoretical arguments. Such arguments existed and were important, but they were framed within a broader conception of philosophy as a way of life. The aim was not merely to gain a rational understanding of the world but to allow that rational understanding to inform the way in which one lived. If one keeps this understanding of ‘philosophy’ in mind, then one becomes able to appreciate the function and the philosophical value of Marcus’ Meditations.
Marcus Aurelius (121—180 C.E.)
The Physical, Ethical, and Logical actions of a wise man are a matter of properly training the body, soul, and mind. Before one can appreciate the abstract arguments of the great philosophers, one must first tame one's passions and train one's mind, else further self actualization toward enlightenment is nothing but intellectual masturbation.
From a modern perspective Marcus Aurelius is certainly not in the first rank of ancient philosophers. He is no Plato or Aristotle, nor even a Sextus Empiricus or Alexander of Aphrodisias. To a certain extent this judgement is perfectly fair and reasonable. However, in order to assess the philosophical qualities that Marcus does have and that are displayed in the Meditations it is necessary to emphasize that in antiquity philosophy was not conceived merely as a matter of theoretical arguments. Such arguments existed and were important, but they were framed within a broader conception of philosophy as a way of life. The aim was not merely to gain a rational understanding of the world but to allow that rational understanding to inform the way in which one lived. If one keeps this understanding of ‘philosophy’ in mind, then one becomes able to appreciate the function and the philosophical value of Marcus’ Meditations.