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Full Description
The Emergence of Subjectivity in the Ancient and Medieval World: An Interpretation of Western Civilization represents a combination of different genres: cultural history, philosophical anthropology, and textbook. It follows a handful of different but interrelated themes through more than a dozen texts that were written over a period of several millennia and, by means of an analysis of these texts, presents a theory of the development of Western civilization from antiquity to the Middle Ages.
The main line of argument traces the various self-conceptions of different cultures as they developed historically, reflecting different views of what it is to be human. The thesis of the volume is that through examination of these changes we can discern the gradual emergence of what we today call inwardness, subjectivity, and individual freedom. As human civilization took its first tenuous steps, it had a very limited conception of the individual. Instead, the dominant principle was that of the wider group: the family, clan, or people. Only in the course of history did the idea of what we now know as individuality begin to emerge, and it took millennia for this idea to be fully recognized and developed. The conception of human beings as having a sphere of inwardness and subjectivity subsequently had a sweeping impact on all aspects of culture, including philosophy, religion, law, and art: indeed, this notion largely constitutes what is today referred to as modernity. It is easy to lose sight of the fact that this modern conception of human subjectivity was not simply something given, but rather the result of a long process of historical and cultural development.
Contents
0: Introduction: The Humanities Questions of Identity and Difference I. Defining the Humanities I.A. Content: The Subject Matter of the Humanities I.B. Form: The Methodology of the Humanities II. The Human Mind and Its Objectification III. The Contribution of the Present Study III.A. A Philosophical Approach to Western Civilization III.B. The Notion of Subjectivity 1: The Epic of Gilgamesh I. The Initial Description of Gilgamesh and Uruk II. Enkidu and the Story of the Fall III. The Battle with Humbaba IV. The Death of Enkidu and the Nature of the Gods V. Gilgamesh's Journey VI. The Flood VII. Immortality Lost VIII. The Mesopotamians' Pessimistic World-View IX. Nature, Civilization, and Human Agency 2: The Hebrew Bible: Genesis and the Book of Job I. The Creation: The Conception of God II. The Creation: The Conception of Human Beings III. The Fall IV. The Flood V. The Tower of Babel VI. The Problem of Justice in Job VII. The Pessimistic World-View in Job VIII. The Legal Metaphor in Job IX. The Incongruities in the Work X. The Protest against the Gods XI. The Limited Conception of Individuality 3: Homer's Odyssey I. The Story and Structure of the Odyssey II. Odysseus and Kalypso III. The Lotus-Eaters IV. The Cyclops V. Circe VI. The Underworld VII. The Sirens VIII. The Warrior Ethic IX. The Greek View of Human Nature 4: Herodotus' Histories I. Scholarly History versus Mythology II. The Story of Gyges III. Solon and Croesus IV. The Relativity of Values V. The Story of Polycrates and Nemesis VI. The Debate about the Best Form of Government VII. Xerxes' Plans to Invade Greece VIII. Xerxes at the Hellespont IX. Justice as a Matter of Balance 5: Sophocles' Oedipus the King I. The Search for Knowledge II. Self-Knowledge and the Riddle of the Sphinx III. Natural Law versus Relativism IV. Human Agency and Culpability V. The Inevitability of Fate VI. Greek Ethics VII. Judging the Human Condition VIII. The Unquestioned Value of Science and Knowledge IX. Fate and the Good Life 6: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War I. Thucydides' Goal and Method II. Pericles' Funeral Oration III. The Plague in Athens IV. The Political Repercussions for Pericles V. The Revolt in Corcyra VI. The Melian Dialogue VII. Human Nature and Ethics 7: Plato's Gorgias and Apology I. The Gorgias: Callicles' Argument II. Socrates' Refutation of the Arguments of Callicles III. A Mythological View of Judgment and Life after Death IV. Socrates' Divine Mission V. Socrates, the Gods, and the Daimon VI. Socrates' Defense of Philosophy VII. Socrates as the Gadfly of Athens VIII. Socrates on the Nature of Death and a New Conception of the Self IX. The New Role of Subjectivity 8: Aristotle's Politics I. Introduction to the Politics II. The Nature of Human Beings and the State III. The Institution of Slavery IV. The Other Relations of the Household V. Political Science and the Forms of Government VI. Democracy and Oligarchy VII. The Best Form of Government VIII. The Limitations of Empiricism IX. Aristotle's Refutation of the Split between Nature and Law 9: Virgil's Aeneid I. The Fall of Troy II. Dido III. The Struggle of Duty and Inclination IV. Tartarus and the Question of Divine Justice V. Elysium VI. Anchises' Anticipation of Roman History VII. The Shield of Aeneas VIII. The Discovery of Inwardness 10: Seneca's Moral Letters I. Introduction to Seneca's Moral Letters II. Living According to Nature III. The Retreat to the Inward Sphere IV. The Cultivation of the Inward Virtues V. Stoic Indifference and Self-Sufficiency VI. The Stoic Conception of God and Human Beings VII. Seneca's Conception of Equality VIII. Providence and Divine Justice IX. Seneca's Modern Relevance 11: The New Testament: Matthew I. Introduction to the Gospel of Matthew II. Criticism of the Greco-Roman Warrior Ethic III. The Inversion of Values IV. The Development of Inwardness V. Christianity and Judaism VI. Jesus' Miracles: The Relation to Nature VII. The Notion of Offense VIII. The Messiah and the Kingdom of Heaven IX. Nietzsche's Criticism of Christian Ethics 12: Augustine's City of God I. Augustine and Virgil II. The Fall of Rome and the Gods III. Augustine's Philosophy of History IV. A New Conception of Ethics and the Expansion of Sinfulness V. A New Conception of the Origin of Evil VI. Augustine's Theodicy VII. The Prohibition of Suicide VIII. Augustine's Critical Evaluation of Roman Decadence IX. The Struggle for Meaning 13: Dante's Inferno I. Dante's Hell and the Underworlds of Homer and Virgil II. The Beginning of the Work III. Divine Justice IV. Divine Punishment V. The Changed Role of Pity VI. The Virtuous Pagans VII. The Changed Role of the Body VIII. A New Role for Odysseus IX. Understanding the Role of Humans in the Universe 14: The Dialectic of the Ancient and Modern Principles: Homer and the Internet I. Content and Form in the Notion of Subjectivity II. Alienation III. The Modern Struggle to Establish Self-Identity IV. Narcissism and Overcoming the Limitations of Time and Space V. The Creation of Illusory Identities and the Erosion of the Other VI. The Rise of Relativism and the Disappearance of Truth VII. The Perceived Threat and the Creation of the Opposite Principle VIII. The Need for a Balance Endmatter Bibliography for Further Reading Index
