CATHERINE OSBORNE
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267669
- eISBN:
- 9780191683336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267669.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
There are two main claims that this book tries to defend. One is that the correct way to understand the ancient tradition concerning Eros is to see love as inexplicable, in the way suggested by the ...
More
There are two main claims that this book tries to defend. One is that the correct way to understand the ancient tradition concerning Eros is to see love as inexplicable, in the way suggested by the motif of Eros the god of love with his arrows. The second claim follows from this; namely, that where desire or admiration of fine qualities occurs and is associated with love, it would be a mistake to suggest that the desire or appreciation was itself love, or was the motive that inspired us to love. Rather, it makes more sense to see desire, and appreciation of what is good, occurring as a result of love, as the expression of the love that enables us to see such qualities as good and desirable.Less
There are two main claims that this book tries to defend. One is that the correct way to understand the ancient tradition concerning Eros is to see love as inexplicable, in the way suggested by the motif of Eros the god of love with his arrows. The second claim follows from this; namely, that where desire or admiration of fine qualities occurs and is associated with love, it would be a mistake to suggest that the desire or appreciation was itself love, or was the motive that inspired us to love. Rather, it makes more sense to see desire, and appreciation of what is good, occurring as a result of love, as the expression of the love that enables us to see such qualities as good and desirable.
Tilo Schabert
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226038056
- eISBN:
- 9780226185156
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226185156.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Whereas human beings have their first birth in the beginning of their bodily existence, only their second birth, in which their political existence and their relation to a government begin, makes ...
More
Whereas human beings have their first birth in the beginning of their bodily existence, only their second birth, in which their political existence and their relation to a government begin, makes them truly or eminently human. But while the origin of political existence is usually equated with the formation of communities, the present book utilizes the mythical, philosophical, religious and political thought cultivated in the European, American, Arab, and Chinese civilizations to identify the political dimension of human beings in Gestalten of power that render them political beings prior to their life in communities. These Gestalten include number, time, thought, Eros, the cosmological manifestation of the political that has its start in the body, the political effort to make all power a civilizing power, and the self-perception of human beings as “subjects to government” who, without altering the political mode of their existence, can set up a government over themselves as individuals in the mode of self-rule or self-control. Thus, human beings erect the work of the political world, which is their own creation, in a world that they have not themselves created.Less
Whereas human beings have their first birth in the beginning of their bodily existence, only their second birth, in which their political existence and their relation to a government begin, makes them truly or eminently human. But while the origin of political existence is usually equated with the formation of communities, the present book utilizes the mythical, philosophical, religious and political thought cultivated in the European, American, Arab, and Chinese civilizations to identify the political dimension of human beings in Gestalten of power that render them political beings prior to their life in communities. These Gestalten include number, time, thought, Eros, the cosmological manifestation of the political that has its start in the body, the political effort to make all power a civilizing power, and the self-perception of human beings as “subjects to government” who, without altering the political mode of their existence, can set up a government over themselves as individuals in the mode of self-rule or self-control. Thus, human beings erect the work of the political world, which is their own creation, in a world that they have not themselves created.
Tilo Schabert
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226038056
- eISBN:
- 9780226185156
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226185156.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
As Plato shows most lucidly, Eros both arises out of the opposition of things and is also the force that brings things together. But alongside the sociable Eros, there is also the force of ...
More
As Plato shows most lucidly, Eros both arises out of the opposition of things and is also the force that brings things together. But alongside the sociable Eros, there is also the force of quarrelsome discord. In human beings, Eros is manifested through the division into male and female, a division that is at the same time the reason for their desire for re-union. But this desire has a different aim according to the way that a human being is pulled by the “strings” of pleasure and pain. A wholly disordered, i.e., and evil soul, is attracted to the other for the sake not of letting it be but of possesssing and devouring it; this is the eros tyrannos. An ordered soul, on the other hand, maintains the proper relation to the other by letting things be what they are, and by relating to other human beings according to the model of the harmony between heaven and earth, humans and gods; this is the eros philosophos, which is a form of the presence of the Divine in human existence.Less
As Plato shows most lucidly, Eros both arises out of the opposition of things and is also the force that brings things together. But alongside the sociable Eros, there is also the force of quarrelsome discord. In human beings, Eros is manifested through the division into male and female, a division that is at the same time the reason for their desire for re-union. But this desire has a different aim according to the way that a human being is pulled by the “strings” of pleasure and pain. A wholly disordered, i.e., and evil soul, is attracted to the other for the sake not of letting it be but of possesssing and devouring it; this is the eros tyrannos. An ordered soul, on the other hand, maintains the proper relation to the other by letting things be what they are, and by relating to other human beings according to the model of the harmony between heaven and earth, humans and gods; this is the eros philosophos, which is a form of the presence of the Divine in human existence.
Joseph M. Hassett
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199582907
- eISBN:
- 9780191723216
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199582907.003.0010
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
Yeats extended his last, yearning grasp for the Muse toward Edith Shackleton Heald, whose Siren's evocation of the twin impulses of Eros and Thanatos propelled him to pursue sexual desire for the ...
More
Yeats extended his last, yearning grasp for the Muse toward Edith Shackleton Heald, whose Siren's evocation of the twin impulses of Eros and Thanatos propelled him to pursue sexual desire for the sake of desire, even as he learned to relinquish longing for life or death. The stasis of Yeats's relationship with the Muse is apparent in ‘News for the Delphic Oracle’, where eroticism leaves the ‘golden codgers’ depleted rather than energized. Chapter 9 traces these remarkable developments to their culmination in Yeats's recognition that ‘lust and rage’ were unreliable sources of inspiration. Their sterility is apparent in ‘The Circus Animals' Desertion,’ which describes the poet's vain search for a theme. Yeats's next poem, ‘Politics’ the one he intended to complete his last volume, eschews the Furies and — as he enjoined himself in ‘Those Images’ — calls the Muses home. The poet focuses on ‘That girl standing there,’ and his longing — that of a true Muse poet — ‘that I were young again/And held her in my arms.’ The wheel had come full circle with Yeats's decision to end his body of work with quite a different song from ‘Words,’ where his Muse's unattainability was essential to generating his poetry. The poet of ‘Politics’ is a devotee of a Muse who, speaking in ‘The Three Bushes,’ insists on being captured because ‘None can rely upon/A love that lacks its proper food.’Less
Yeats extended his last, yearning grasp for the Muse toward Edith Shackleton Heald, whose Siren's evocation of the twin impulses of Eros and Thanatos propelled him to pursue sexual desire for the sake of desire, even as he learned to relinquish longing for life or death. The stasis of Yeats's relationship with the Muse is apparent in ‘News for the Delphic Oracle’, where eroticism leaves the ‘golden codgers’ depleted rather than energized. Chapter 9 traces these remarkable developments to their culmination in Yeats's recognition that ‘lust and rage’ were unreliable sources of inspiration. Their sterility is apparent in ‘The Circus Animals' Desertion,’ which describes the poet's vain search for a theme. Yeats's next poem, ‘Politics’ the one he intended to complete his last volume, eschews the Furies and — as he enjoined himself in ‘Those Images’ — calls the Muses home. The poet focuses on ‘That girl standing there,’ and his longing — that of a true Muse poet — ‘that I were young again/And held her in my arms.’ The wheel had come full circle with Yeats's decision to end his body of work with quite a different song from ‘Words,’ where his Muse's unattainability was essential to generating his poetry. The poet of ‘Politics’ is a devotee of a Muse who, speaking in ‘The Three Bushes,’ insists on being captured because ‘None can rely upon/A love that lacks its proper food.’
Alex Wylie
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781526124944
- eISBN:
- 9781526150356
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526124951
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry
Geoffrey Hill’s work from 1996-2016 is a distinct phase and a development from his earlier work. This later phase is instigated by a divergence from T.S. Eliot and by Hill’s critiques of such ...
More
Geoffrey Hill’s work from 1996-2016 is a distinct phase and a development from his earlier work. This later phase is instigated by a divergence from T.S. Eliot and by Hill’s critiques of such modernist poets as W.B. Yeats and Ezra Pound, along with an abiding commitment to modernist claims about poetry. Hill’s divergence from these figures takes the form of a strenuous re-reading of modernism and its legacies, and at its heart is a close engagement with the work of F.H. Bradley, the philosopher on whom Eliot wrote his doctoral dissertation. The poetry and criticism of this period is energised by a perplexed commitment to being and an attendant sense of swimming against the stream of the “stridently post-cultural” postmodern moment in which this work takes its place. The philosophical notion of “intrinsic value” is accordingly central to this later work, as is the cultural-political sense of this period being one of “plutocratic anarchy”. The political place of poetry, and what this book in its final chapter terms the political imagination, is a crucial element in the later work, and is placed in the context of such figures as Coleridge, Wordsworth, Ruskin, Shakespeare and Dante. The cultural politics at the heart of Hill’s later achievement is also explored, drawing on the work of George Steiner, Gabriel Marcel, and Noam Chomsky, among others, along with his controversial commitment to the right of art to be difficult and his assertion that such difficulty is truly democratic.Less
Geoffrey Hill’s work from 1996-2016 is a distinct phase and a development from his earlier work. This later phase is instigated by a divergence from T.S. Eliot and by Hill’s critiques of such modernist poets as W.B. Yeats and Ezra Pound, along with an abiding commitment to modernist claims about poetry. Hill’s divergence from these figures takes the form of a strenuous re-reading of modernism and its legacies, and at its heart is a close engagement with the work of F.H. Bradley, the philosopher on whom Eliot wrote his doctoral dissertation. The poetry and criticism of this period is energised by a perplexed commitment to being and an attendant sense of swimming against the stream of the “stridently post-cultural” postmodern moment in which this work takes its place. The philosophical notion of “intrinsic value” is accordingly central to this later work, as is the cultural-political sense of this period being one of “plutocratic anarchy”. The political place of poetry, and what this book in its final chapter terms the political imagination, is a crucial element in the later work, and is placed in the context of such figures as Coleridge, Wordsworth, Ruskin, Shakespeare and Dante. The cultural politics at the heart of Hill’s later achievement is also explored, drawing on the work of George Steiner, Gabriel Marcel, and Noam Chomsky, among others, along with his controversial commitment to the right of art to be difficult and his assertion that such difficulty is truly democratic.
Catherine Osborne
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267669
- eISBN:
- 9780191683336
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267669.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
Few books on love can claim to make significant contributions to our understanding both of ancient views on Eros and its place in the Christian tradition. On the basis of a new and sympathetic ...
More
Few books on love can claim to make significant contributions to our understanding both of ancient views on Eros and its place in the Christian tradition. On the basis of a new and sympathetic reading of Plato, this book shows that the long-standing distrust of Eros, rather than agape, as a model for the believer's relation to God in Christian thought derives from a misunderstanding of ancient thought on love. Focusing on a number of classic texts including Plato's Symposium and Lysis, Aristotle's Ethics and Metaphysics, and famous passages in Gregory of Nyssa, Origen, Dionysius the Areopagite, Plotinus, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas, it shows that love is not motivated by a need that seeks fulfilment. On the contrary, the author argues, to seek a motive for love, whether in Plato's account or our own, is to pursue a philosophical confusion. To mention love is to mention the motive that explains our response of affection or devotion or desire; the response cannot be the motive for our love, but is an attitude that belongs in a vision of the beloved transfigured by love. It is for this reason that we have to restore the image of Cupid, whose mischievous darts represent the impossibility of seeking some further grounds or explanation for love.Less
Few books on love can claim to make significant contributions to our understanding both of ancient views on Eros and its place in the Christian tradition. On the basis of a new and sympathetic reading of Plato, this book shows that the long-standing distrust of Eros, rather than agape, as a model for the believer's relation to God in Christian thought derives from a misunderstanding of ancient thought on love. Focusing on a number of classic texts including Plato's Symposium and Lysis, Aristotle's Ethics and Metaphysics, and famous passages in Gregory of Nyssa, Origen, Dionysius the Areopagite, Plotinus, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas, it shows that love is not motivated by a need that seeks fulfilment. On the contrary, the author argues, to seek a motive for love, whether in Plato's account or our own, is to pursue a philosophical confusion. To mention love is to mention the motive that explains our response of affection or devotion or desire; the response cannot be the motive for our love, but is an attitude that belongs in a vision of the beloved transfigured by love. It is for this reason that we have to restore the image of Cupid, whose mischievous darts represent the impossibility of seeking some further grounds or explanation for love.
Robert C. Solomon
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780195145502
- eISBN:
- 9780199834969
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019514550X.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
I suggest that erotic love is (or can be) a virtue. I contest both the cynicism and the vacuousness in much of the love literature. I argue that love is a historical emotion, involving a great deal ...
More
I suggest that erotic love is (or can be) a virtue. I contest both the cynicism and the vacuousness in much of the love literature. I argue that love is a historical emotion, involving a great deal of historical and cultural variation. And I give an analysis of what love is as shared identity. On the way, I also talk about sex and Plato's Symposium.Less
I suggest that erotic love is (or can be) a virtue. I contest both the cynicism and the vacuousness in much of the love literature. I argue that love is a historical emotion, involving a great deal of historical and cultural variation. And I give an analysis of what love is as shared identity. On the way, I also talk about sex and Plato's Symposium.
CATHERINE OSBORNE
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267669
- eISBN:
- 9780191683336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267669.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
This chapter focuses on the role played by love in particular texts: who the lover is, who the beloved, why they love, and what that means about their relationship. If the love between God and ...
More
This chapter focuses on the role played by love in particular texts: who the lover is, who the beloved, why they love, and what that means about their relationship. If the love between God and humankind is a relation, and the relations between God and humankind are subject to change in respect of the Fall and the Incarnation, are we to suppose that God's love for humankind changes, or our love for God, or both, or neither? The fact that the goodness and beauty that supposedly belongs to the beloved object derives its origin from the lover himself affects the way in which such love could be considered acquisitive. It is at this point that we may see the importance of invoking the image of Eros as the figure whose arrows strike, if not at random, at least without regard to the real worth or beauty of the beloved.Less
This chapter focuses on the role played by love in particular texts: who the lover is, who the beloved, why they love, and what that means about their relationship. If the love between God and humankind is a relation, and the relations between God and humankind are subject to change in respect of the Fall and the Incarnation, are we to suppose that God's love for humankind changes, or our love for God, or both, or neither? The fact that the goodness and beauty that supposedly belongs to the beloved object derives its origin from the lover himself affects the way in which such love could be considered acquisitive. It is at this point that we may see the importance of invoking the image of Eros as the figure whose arrows strike, if not at random, at least without regard to the real worth or beauty of the beloved.
CATHERINE OSBORNE
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267669
- eISBN:
- 9780191683336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267669.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
In the prologue to the Commentary on the Song of Songs, Origen raises the question of how far and in what context we might be justified in using the language of Eros to describe the relationship ...
More
In the prologue to the Commentary on the Song of Songs, Origen raises the question of how far and in what context we might be justified in using the language of Eros to describe the relationship between God and humankind. While recognizing that the use of erotic imagery may be a source of moral error for some, and hence allowing that scripture may deliberately prefer the language of ‘charity’, Origen is of the opinion that the two sets of terms are not importantly distinct; there is, in his view, no theological significance to the preference for the language of ‘charity’. It would be perfectly correct and reasonable to substitute the terminology of Eros. This justification of the use of the language of Eros was one of the passages regarded by Anders Nygren as evidence of an attempt by Patristic thinkers to assimilate Platonic Eros and Christian agape.Less
In the prologue to the Commentary on the Song of Songs, Origen raises the question of how far and in what context we might be justified in using the language of Eros to describe the relationship between God and humankind. While recognizing that the use of erotic imagery may be a source of moral error for some, and hence allowing that scripture may deliberately prefer the language of ‘charity’, Origen is of the opinion that the two sets of terms are not importantly distinct; there is, in his view, no theological significance to the preference for the language of ‘charity’. It would be perfectly correct and reasonable to substitute the terminology of Eros. This justification of the use of the language of Eros was one of the passages regarded by Anders Nygren as evidence of an attempt by Patristic thinkers to assimilate Platonic Eros and Christian agape.
CATHERINE OSBORNE
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267669
- eISBN:
- 9780191683336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267669.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
The contrast between Plotinus and Plato shows us something about what is important in the account of love in the Symposium. Diotima had diverted our attention from an explanation of love in terms of ...
More
The contrast between Plotinus and Plato shows us something about what is important in the account of love in the Symposium. Diotima had diverted our attention from an explanation of love in terms of the beauty of the object to an explanation in terms of the lover. However, what Eros accounts is the very fact that one perceives the objects as desirable and worth having. That perception of the beloved as desirable is something inspired by the work of Eros that transforms one from mere mortal without erotic aspirations to philosophers who yearn for what they perceive as good. It is an attitude that takes one outside oneself, to see oneself as lacking and inadequate, and which enables one to proceed on the road of philosophy and follow the spirit of Socrates, or Eros, who can inspire one with the love of wisdom.Less
The contrast between Plotinus and Plato shows us something about what is important in the account of love in the Symposium. Diotima had diverted our attention from an explanation of love in terms of the beauty of the object to an explanation in terms of the lover. However, what Eros accounts is the very fact that one perceives the objects as desirable and worth having. That perception of the beloved as desirable is something inspired by the work of Eros that transforms one from mere mortal without erotic aspirations to philosophers who yearn for what they perceive as good. It is an attitude that takes one outside oneself, to see oneself as lacking and inadequate, and which enables one to proceed on the road of philosophy and follow the spirit of Socrates, or Eros, who can inspire one with the love of wisdom.
CATHERINE OSBORNE
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267669
- eISBN:
- 9780191683336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267669.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
This chapter turns to a third route of enquiry and asks whether it is really correct to say that Origen has very little to say about love that is directed from God towards humankind. It argues that ...
More
This chapter turns to a third route of enquiry and asks whether it is really correct to say that Origen has very little to say about love that is directed from God towards humankind. It argues that there is far more material on God's love for humanity than we might suppose and that error arises from looking for the term agape, since Origen rarely uses that term. Indeed, Origen does not use the term Eros very much. The chapter examines the occasions on which God is said to show philanthropia, since these reveal that there are certain consistent features that characterize God's love in Origen. It also claims that while there is some background in Platonic and Stoic thought for ascribing philanthropia to God, among others, Origen does something markedly different from his philosophical predecessors.Less
This chapter turns to a third route of enquiry and asks whether it is really correct to say that Origen has very little to say about love that is directed from God towards humankind. It argues that there is far more material on God's love for humanity than we might suppose and that error arises from looking for the term agape, since Origen rarely uses that term. Indeed, Origen does not use the term Eros very much. The chapter examines the occasions on which God is said to show philanthropia, since these reveal that there are certain consistent features that characterize God's love in Origen. It also claims that while there is some background in Platonic and Stoic thought for ascribing philanthropia to God, among others, Origen does something markedly different from his philosophical predecessors.
CATHERINE OSBORNE
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267669
- eISBN:
- 9780191683336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267669.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
It is nothing new to have much to say about the love of God, but there remains something very different about twentieth-century talk of the love of God that marks it out from both Eastern and Western ...
More
It is nothing new to have much to say about the love of God, but there remains something very different about twentieth-century talk of the love of God that marks it out from both Eastern and Western traditional doctrines. This chapter picks out the characteristic themes that can be illustrated from Process theology and from Jürgen Moltmann (or rather one work of Moltmann, since the chapter shall focus on The Crucified God; this should not be taken to imply that what it says here would apply to his later work). By juxtaposing these with the text from Dionysius the Areopagite, this chapter hopes to clarify the differences and explores why formulations that superficially have some resemblance lead to such different results. Dionysius is particularly concerned with apophatic theology, the way of negation, and the general problem of how it is possible to speak about God. It is in this connection that he embarks upon his discussion of the Divine Names. These names include love, Eros, discussed by Dionysius.Less
It is nothing new to have much to say about the love of God, but there remains something very different about twentieth-century talk of the love of God that marks it out from both Eastern and Western traditional doctrines. This chapter picks out the characteristic themes that can be illustrated from Process theology and from Jürgen Moltmann (or rather one work of Moltmann, since the chapter shall focus on The Crucified God; this should not be taken to imply that what it says here would apply to his later work). By juxtaposing these with the text from Dionysius the Areopagite, this chapter hopes to clarify the differences and explores why formulations that superficially have some resemblance lead to such different results. Dionysius is particularly concerned with apophatic theology, the way of negation, and the general problem of how it is possible to speak about God. It is in this connection that he embarks upon his discussion of the Divine Names. These names include love, Eros, discussed by Dionysius.
Michael Heim
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195092585
- eISBN:
- 9780199852987
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195092585.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
How does the metaphysical laboratory fit into human inquiry as a whole? What status do electronic worlds have within the entire range of human experience? What perils haunt the metaphysical origins ...
More
How does the metaphysical laboratory fit into human inquiry as a whole? What status do electronic worlds have within the entire range of human experience? What perils haunt the metaphysical origins of cyberspace? These are some of the questions that this chapter poses. By exploring various philosophies, the chapter seeks to give an account of the way entities exist in cyberspace and their ontological status. Describing a human's relationship with computers, the chapter introduces the concept of Eros where man searches for a home for his heart and mind and becomes spiritually dependent upon machines. In the end, we are faced with an amoral indifference to human relationships, an online existence that is intrinsically ambiguous. The chapter advises us that while we enter into the future of cyberspace, we must not lose touch of the body people who remain rooted in the energies of the earth.Less
How does the metaphysical laboratory fit into human inquiry as a whole? What status do electronic worlds have within the entire range of human experience? What perils haunt the metaphysical origins of cyberspace? These are some of the questions that this chapter poses. By exploring various philosophies, the chapter seeks to give an account of the way entities exist in cyberspace and their ontological status. Describing a human's relationship with computers, the chapter introduces the concept of Eros where man searches for a home for his heart and mind and becomes spiritually dependent upon machines. In the end, we are faced with an amoral indifference to human relationships, an online existence that is intrinsically ambiguous. The chapter advises us that while we enter into the future of cyberspace, we must not lose touch of the body people who remain rooted in the energies of the earth.
Robert Merrihew Adams
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153712
- eISBN:
- 9780199869381
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153715.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter argues that Eros is an intrinsically excellent as well as beneficial form of love that deserves a place in our conception of God's love and in our ideal of human love. As Eros is ...
More
This chapter argues that Eros is an intrinsically excellent as well as beneficial form of love that deserves a place in our conception of God's love and in our ideal of human love. As Eros is conceived here, its central feature is relational desire: the lover desires or prizes, for its own sake, some relationship with the beloved, where the beloved is typically a person but may be an impersonal object such as mathematics or philosophy. It is argued that Eros is not always selfish or even self‐interested, though it is essentially an agent‐centered motive.Less
This chapter argues that Eros is an intrinsically excellent as well as beneficial form of love that deserves a place in our conception of God's love and in our ideal of human love. As Eros is conceived here, its central feature is relational desire: the lover desires or prizes, for its own sake, some relationship with the beloved, where the beloved is typically a person but may be an impersonal object such as mathematics or philosophy. It is argued that Eros is not always selfish or even self‐interested, though it is essentially an agent‐centered motive.
Gâbor Betegh
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199639984
- eISBN:
- 9780191743337
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199639984.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter examines the way Aristotle describes in A 3–4 (984b8–985a29) the reasons and motivations, which, on his interpretation, lead his predecessors to introduce a new type of principle that ...
More
This chapter examines the way Aristotle describes in A 3–4 (984b8–985a29) the reasons and motivations, which, on his interpretation, lead his predecessors to introduce a new type of principle that could function as the efficient cause. By bringing in parallel texts from Physics I and On the Parts of Animals I, it is argued that, for Aristotle, the trajectory of the discovery of the truth is after all less deterministic than what the language of Metaphysics A 3 might suggest. The paper aims to show, moreover, that what is discovered is not so much new types of Aristotelian causes but rather distinctions among types of principle.Less
This chapter examines the way Aristotle describes in A 3–4 (984b8–985a29) the reasons and motivations, which, on his interpretation, lead his predecessors to introduce a new type of principle that could function as the efficient cause. By bringing in parallel texts from Physics I and On the Parts of Animals I, it is argued that, for Aristotle, the trajectory of the discovery of the truth is after all less deterministic than what the language of Metaphysics A 3 might suggest. The paper aims to show, moreover, that what is discovered is not so much new types of Aristotelian causes but rather distinctions among types of principle.
Marco Fantuzzi
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199603626
- eISBN:
- 9780191746321
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199603626.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Synchronic typology of Achilles loves (and transvestism), compared to the loves (and transvestism) of Heracles, another of the most invincible heroes of Greek mythology: Achilles and Heracles as ...
More
Synchronic typology of Achilles loves (and transvestism), compared to the loves (and transvestism) of Heracles, another of the most invincible heroes of Greek mythology: Achilles and Heracles as boundary-breaking heroes. Diachrony of the fortune of Achilles' loves. After Homer's silence, the Epic Cycle must have narrated some of them to some extent, though not without developing a sort of debate, in the Aethiopis, on their epic propriety. Finally, tragedy indulged in (re-)constructing Achilles' erotic passions with no censorious stance at all. The negative viewpoint of Alessandra (Cassandra) in her re-writing of the Iliad in a anti-Greek perspective led Lycophron to elaborate a first summary of Achilles' erotic life. This perspective was totally reversed by the Latin erotic poets of the 1st cent. BC and AD. But reactions of indignation at Achilles' erotic debauchery and opposite attempts at a dignified restoration of his heroism never stopped, at least from the Hellenistic age onwards, at both the level of interpretation of existing texts and mythopoiesis of new texts.Less
Synchronic typology of Achilles loves (and transvestism), compared to the loves (and transvestism) of Heracles, another of the most invincible heroes of Greek mythology: Achilles and Heracles as boundary-breaking heroes. Diachrony of the fortune of Achilles' loves. After Homer's silence, the Epic Cycle must have narrated some of them to some extent, though not without developing a sort of debate, in the Aethiopis, on their epic propriety. Finally, tragedy indulged in (re-)constructing Achilles' erotic passions with no censorious stance at all. The negative viewpoint of Alessandra (Cassandra) in her re-writing of the Iliad in a anti-Greek perspective led Lycophron to elaborate a first summary of Achilles' erotic life. This perspective was totally reversed by the Latin erotic poets of the 1st cent. BC and AD. But reactions of indignation at Achilles' erotic debauchery and opposite attempts at a dignified restoration of his heroism never stopped, at least from the Hellenistic age onwards, at both the level of interpretation of existing texts and mythopoiesis of new texts.
Marco Fantuzzi
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199603626
- eISBN:
- 9780191746321
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199603626.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The dynamics of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is investigated through an analysis of their stories; this analysis sticks to the text of the “Iliad” as much as possible, avoiding the ...
More
The dynamics of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is investigated through an analysis of their stories; this analysis sticks to the text of the “Iliad” as much as possible, avoiding the over-sexualized interpretations of some ancient and modern scholars. The result is that Homer is found to place great emphasis on the special intensity of this relationship, which however is markedly asexual and in tune with the Iliadic refusal of investigating sexuality as a male concern. The homosexual interpretation of Achilles' and Patroclus' relationship is explored through its Latin replicas in Virgil, Ovid and Statius.Less
The dynamics of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is investigated through an analysis of their stories; this analysis sticks to the text of the “Iliad” as much as possible, avoiding the over-sexualized interpretations of some ancient and modern scholars. The result is that Homer is found to place great emphasis on the special intensity of this relationship, which however is markedly asexual and in tune with the Iliadic refusal of investigating sexuality as a male concern. The homosexual interpretation of Achilles' and Patroclus' relationship is explored through its Latin replicas in Virgil, Ovid and Statius.
Paul Carter
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816685363
- eISBN:
- 9781452949147
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816685363.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
The Meeting Place asks what are the conditions of sociability in a globalized world. It argues that the social sciences take communication for granted and for this reason overlook the obstacles to ...
More
The Meeting Place asks what are the conditions of sociability in a globalized world. It argues that the social sciences take communication for granted and for this reason overlook the obstacles to understanding between strangers and the importance of improvised performative tactics in overcoming these. While such disciplines as sociology, legal studies, psychology, political theory and even urban planners treat meeting as a good in its own right (identifying it with the democratic procurement of wellbeing), they fail to offer a model of what makes meeting possible and worth pursuing: a prior and always unfulfilled desire of encounter. To explicate the phenomenon of encounter, Carter stages a dialogue between recent and current theories of community put forward by European and North American cultural philosophers and the theory and practice of meeting in Australian Indigenous societies. The Australian material traverses the troubled history of misunderstanding characteristic of colonial cross-cultural encounter, using recent Indigenous and non-Indigenous anthropological research to throw light on the obstacles to understanding evident in the colonial record. When this literature is brought into dialogue with western ways of conceptualizing sociability, a startling discovery: that meeting may not be desirable and, if it is, that its primary object may be to negotiate a future of non-meeting or legally binding distances between people. This finding allows us to reformulate the Modernist trope, that true meeting is only possible between complete strangers, in terms of an ecological understanding of place-making and resource management.Less
The Meeting Place asks what are the conditions of sociability in a globalized world. It argues that the social sciences take communication for granted and for this reason overlook the obstacles to understanding between strangers and the importance of improvised performative tactics in overcoming these. While such disciplines as sociology, legal studies, psychology, political theory and even urban planners treat meeting as a good in its own right (identifying it with the democratic procurement of wellbeing), they fail to offer a model of what makes meeting possible and worth pursuing: a prior and always unfulfilled desire of encounter. To explicate the phenomenon of encounter, Carter stages a dialogue between recent and current theories of community put forward by European and North American cultural philosophers and the theory and practice of meeting in Australian Indigenous societies. The Australian material traverses the troubled history of misunderstanding characteristic of colonial cross-cultural encounter, using recent Indigenous and non-Indigenous anthropological research to throw light on the obstacles to understanding evident in the colonial record. When this literature is brought into dialogue with western ways of conceptualizing sociability, a startling discovery: that meeting may not be desirable and, if it is, that its primary object may be to negotiate a future of non-meeting or legally binding distances between people. This finding allows us to reformulate the Modernist trope, that true meeting is only possible between complete strangers, in terms of an ecological understanding of place-making and resource management.
Stanley Aronowitz
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816681204
- eISBN:
- 9781452949048
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816681204.003.0056
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This section contains excerpts from a book-length project tentatively titled “The Cultural Unconscious in American Politics: Why We Need a Freudian Left.” The book’s central argument is that our ...
More
This section contains excerpts from a book-length project tentatively titled “The Cultural Unconscious in American Politics: Why We Need a Freudian Left.” The book’s central argument is that our understanding of cultural and political crises would be incomplete without a psychoanalytic dimension. The three draft chapters written integrate many of these elements with a nuanced and persuasive account of the salience of radical psychoanalytic thought. The book’s starting point is Sigmund Freud’s ideas about the influence of the unconscious on human behavior, especially the compelling power of libido. The book also finds the basis for its claims about radical psychoanalysis in Erich Fromm’s early work, Herbert Marcuse’s seminal Eros and Civilization, and especially in the many writings of Wilhelm Reich.Less
This section contains excerpts from a book-length project tentatively titled “The Cultural Unconscious in American Politics: Why We Need a Freudian Left.” The book’s central argument is that our understanding of cultural and political crises would be incomplete without a psychoanalytic dimension. The three draft chapters written integrate many of these elements with a nuanced and persuasive account of the salience of radical psychoanalytic thought. The book’s starting point is Sigmund Freud’s ideas about the influence of the unconscious on human behavior, especially the compelling power of libido. The book also finds the basis for its claims about radical psychoanalysis in Erich Fromm’s early work, Herbert Marcuse’s seminal Eros and Civilization, and especially in the many writings of Wilhelm Reich.
Linnell Secomb
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748623679
- eISBN:
- 9780748671854
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748623679.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter reviews the aspects of Plato and Sappho's reflections on love, pointing to similarities and differences between their visions of Eros. Love is a lacking and a reaching for more that ...
More
This chapter reviews the aspects of Plato and Sappho's reflections on love, pointing to similarities and differences between their visions of Eros. Love is a lacking and a reaching for more that mediates and moves between opposites. Diotima's love is a mediation moving between opposite terms but never reaching a static conclusion and always in a process of becoming. Alcibiades provides his own account of love. His speech is generally regarded as light comic relief following the more profound and serious Socratic image of philosophy as love of knowledge. Plato's Phaedrus like the Symposium speaks of love — though in the form of a conversation between two friends, Phaedrus and Socrates. Alcibiades' simultaneous passion for Socrates and for his wisdom, and the games of seduction and obstruction that Alcibiades and Socrates both employ indicate that seeking knowledge is not antithetical to, but rather facilitated by, erotic passions.Less
This chapter reviews the aspects of Plato and Sappho's reflections on love, pointing to similarities and differences between their visions of Eros. Love is a lacking and a reaching for more that mediates and moves between opposites. Diotima's love is a mediation moving between opposite terms but never reaching a static conclusion and always in a process of becoming. Alcibiades provides his own account of love. His speech is generally regarded as light comic relief following the more profound and serious Socratic image of philosophy as love of knowledge. Plato's Phaedrus like the Symposium speaks of love — though in the form of a conversation between two friends, Phaedrus and Socrates. Alcibiades' simultaneous passion for Socrates and for his wisdom, and the games of seduction and obstruction that Alcibiades and Socrates both employ indicate that seeking knowledge is not antithetical to, but rather facilitated by, erotic passions.
