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Wounded heroes: Vulnerability as a virtue in ancient Greek literature and philosophy Author: Marina McCoy Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:103502 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013 This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. WOUNDED HEROES This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] Wounded Heroes Vulnerability as a Virtue in Ancient Greek Literature and Philosophy c MARINA BERZINS M COY 1 This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] 3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP, UnitedKingdom OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries ©MarinaBerzinsMcCoy2013 Themoralrightsoftheauthorhavebeenasserted FirstEditionpublishedin2013 Impression:1 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthe priorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermitted bylaw,bylicenceorundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereprographics rightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeofthe aboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,atthe addressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherform andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016,UnitedStatesofAmerica BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013940862 ISBN 978–0–19–967278–3 Printedandboundby CPIGroup(UK)Ltd,Croydon,CR04YY LinkstothirdpartywebsitesareprovidedbyOxfordingoodfaithand forinformationonly.Oxforddisclaimsanyresponsibilityforthematerials containedinanythirdpartywebsitereferencedinthiswork. This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] Dedicated to John, Katherine, and James This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] Preface Vulnerabilityisnotoftenassociatedwithvirtue.Yet,tobevulnerable is central to human experience. Etymologically, ‘being vulnerable’ means capable of being wounded (from its Latin root, vulnus or wound). Thus vulnerability, as the capacity to be hurt, is distinct from the state of actually being harmed or suffering pain. Instead of communicating the actual experience of pain or harm, the term communicates the possibility of such experience, and self-awareness ofitspossibility.Onecanknowofone’sowncapacitytobewounded directly,byexperiencingsuffering,butmayalsoknowitinsignificant ways in the anticipation of harm, in its likelihood. To this extent, vulnerability concerns not only the present moment, but also the future. Vulnerability is a part of the human condition that is con- cerned with living as temporal creatures who undergo change and transformations of various sorts and who live with an awareness of thelikelihoodofchange.Attimesthesechangesarejoyfulorsatisfy- ing, at times painful or needful. A self-conscious and aware person understands the meaning of his or her life in terms of a larger temporalwhole,ofwhichvulnerabilityformsonepart. Narrative is a central mode of expression through which human beingsfindandcreatemeaningabouttheexperiencesandpatternsin their lives. Such patterns are sometimes discovered or felt to be ‘found’ at the phenomenological level, but often only after the fact. Currentincidentsorexperiences,whetherpositiveornegative,often takeonadifferent kindofmeaninginhumanretelling oftheevents later;whatwasconfusingorchaoticatthemomentmaylaterdisplay akindofsenseormeaning.Attheexperientiallevel,thismeaningis often found by making connections between events, persons, and larger purposes that were not before apparent. While the meaning ofanimmediateexperienceofhappinessseemsnottorequireexplan- ation (in its pleasure and seeming ‘fit’ with our expectations of happiness), suffering seems to demand explanation. When people experience pain of their own, or witness it in others—especially in extreme cases—there is an experiential demand to understand its meaning, even when such meaning seems to be unavailable or diffi- cultto discern. Such meaningisoftendeveloped through narratives, This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] viii Preface stories told about painful events, whether historical or mediated fictions. The historical existence of real suffering makes significant its performance in tragedy or other forms of (cid:1)(cid:3)Ł(cid:4)(cid:5). But (cid:1)(cid:3)Ł(cid:4)(cid:5) also reflectsbackonhowwecometounderstandrealhumanexperience. Indeed,suchexperiencesarereflectedonbywholecommunities,and not only individuals, for the suffering of others, or its possibility, is alsocentraltohumanexperience.Notonlymyown,butalsoothers’ suffering,isconstitutiveofmyownvulnerability. The contention of this book is that Greek epic, tragedy, and philosophy have important insights to offer about the nature of human vulnerability and how human beings might better come to termswiththeirownvulnerability.WhilestudiesofGreekparadigms ofheroismandvirtueoftenfocusonstrengthofcharacter,prowessin war,ortheachievementofhonourforoneselforone’s(cid:6)(cid:7)ºØ(cid:5),thereis anothersidetoGreekthoughtthatextolstherecognitionandproper acceptance of vulnerability. A number of Greek authors address the question of the political value of vulnerability. Homer takes on the darksideofwaranddoesnotshyawayfromdescriptionsofhuman suffering along with glory. Sophocles creates a supreme tension between the expectation of order and control, and the reality of convolutedand unexpected humanexperience. Philosophers seek to not only offer moral and political solutions to suffering, but also set outthelimitsofsuchsolutionsandevenextolthevirtuesofacknow- ledgingandaccommodatinghumanlimit. TherangeofworksthatmightbechosentodisplayGreekengage- ment with vulnerability is nearly inexhaustible. Thus, my aim here has not been to develop anything like a comprehensive theory of ‘Greekculture’.Neitheristhedevelopmentofa‘theoryoftragedy’the primaryaim—indeed,twoworksofSophocleswouldhardlysufficeto develop such a theory. Instead, the larger purpose of the book is to analyseandinterpretseveralimportantGreekworksofepic,tragedy, and philosophy in order better to develop a philosophical under- standingofvulnerabilityanditsroleinthelifeofthelargercommu- nity. I have chosen literary and philosophical works in which the imagery of wounding is prominent, or in which the question of vulnerability’s relationship to ethical-political life is confronted di- rectly. Physical wounds in these works are often accompanied by deeper questions about the meaning of suffering, mortality, or other formsofhumanfrailty.Thefocusonworksinwhichphysicalwounds areprominentfeaturesofthestorythusservesasatropefordelving This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] Preface ix moredeeplyintopsychological,ethical,andinterpersonalvulnerabil- itiesandtheirplaceinthecommunity. The overarching thesis concerns itself with the central philosoph- ical questions: (1) Why is awareness and acceptance of human vul- nerability important to the thriving of both individuals and communities? (2) How does narrative allow human beings better to becomeawareofandrespondtotheirownvulnerability?Iarguethat awarenessofone’sownandothers’capacitytobewounded,andthe proper response to it, are a central part of virtue for successful communities. Not only individuals, but also political communities, must come to terms with and respond appropriately to the vulner- ability that exists within. Indeed, vulnerability strengthens interper- sonal bonds within a community, and is closely intertwined with a number of different facets of ethical life. I thus suggest that rather thantreatingvulnerabilityassomethingtobeavoided,vulnerabilityis a necessary component of living a rich and authentic human life in community. A good deal of scholarship in philosophy focuses on the virtues, that is, human excellence. This attention to the virtues makes good sense,forcertainlyphilosophersandevenepicwritersandtragedians seek to articulate the ways in which human beings can successfully pursue lives of happiness and ethical living. Careful attention to the virtuesthatallowthebestaspectsofhumanbeingstoemerge—orthat assist us in combatting the worst—naturally focuses on human strengths and political resourcefulness. Nonetheless, the reality of human life often bumps up against the idealism of philosophy. The meaningofacutehumansufferingisdifficulttodiscern.Moreover,in thecourseofeverydayencounterswithothers,thequestionastothe properresponsivenesstoothers’vulnerabilityarises.Iofferthiswork on vulnerability not as an objection to the necessity of cultivating individual and political excellence, but rather as complementary. To beawareofandresponsivetothevulnerabilitiesofoneselfandothers is just as important as our care for human excellence and strength. Indeed,thesuccessofthepoliticalcommunityalreadydependsupon its own recognition and appropriation of vulnerability in its midst. Theappropriateresponsetovulnerabilityisthusakeypartofvirtue. Myworkbuildsonthescholarshipofafewotherkeyfigureswho have taken on the topic of human weakness. Martha Nussbaum’s book,TheFragilityofGoodness,remainsaformativeworkon moral luck in Greek tragedy and philosophy. Her insights into the role of This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected]
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