Curing Human Misery: A Study of Seneca's Moral Philosophy

171 Pages·2011·2.211 MB·English

by  Robert Stephen Wagoner

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CURING HUMAN MISERY: A STUDY OF SENECA‟S MORAL PHILOSOPHY

by

Robert Stephen Wagoner

_____________________
Copyright © Robert Stephen Wagoner 2011

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

In the Graduate College

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

2011
UMI Number: 3468463
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THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
GRADUATE COLLEGE

As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation

prepared by Robert Wagoner

entitled Curing Human Misery: A Study of Seneca’s Moral Philosophy

and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the

Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

_______________________________________________________________________
Date: 8/10/11
Julia Annas

_______________________________________________________________________
Date: 8/10/11
Rachana Kamtekar

_______________________________________________________________________
Date: 8/10/11
Mark Timmons

Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate‟s
submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College.

I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and
recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement.

________________________________________________ Date: 8/10/11
Dissertation Director: Julia Annas
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STATEMENT BY AUTHOR

This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an
advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library
to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library.

Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided
that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended
quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by
the copyright holder.

SIGNED: Robert Wagoner
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I could not have written this dissertation without the support and
encouragement that I have received from many people at the University of Arizona. My
thanks above all go to Julia Annas and Rachana Kamtekar. I do not believe that a student
of philosophy could have better mentors than these. Their careful attention to my work,
their encouragement, and more generally their approaches to the study of philosophy
have not only made this dissertation possible, but have provided models to which I
continue to aspire. Thanks also to Mark Timmons for sharing an interest in Seneca‟s
texts and for helping me to think and write more clearly about them.
Many thanks also to my fellow graduate students. First and foremost thanks to
Michelle Jenkins both for reading and discussing with me many drafts of chapters and for
being a kind and supportive friend throughout my graduate career. Thanks also to Emil
Salim and Kristin Hulburt for their thoughtful and helpful comments on a number of
chapters. Thanks also to all of the graduate students and faculty whose support through
reading groups and seminars have helped shape my dissertation.
My eternal gratitude, finally, to Dena for her constant support, love and
friendship. Thank you for making the difficult times a little easier and the good times
even better.
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DEDICATION

For Dena & Charlotte
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... 8
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER 1: SENECA‟S PRESENTATION OF PHILOSOPHY ............................. 23
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 23
2. Seneca and the Stoic Tradition ............................................................................ 24
3. The Presentation of Philosophy ........................................................................... 30
4. The Division of the Parts of Philosophy .............................................................. 36
5. Philosophical Progress ......................................................................................... 40
6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 44
CHAPTER 2: SENECA ON MORAL PROGRESS .................................................... 46
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 46
2. Stages of Moral Progress ..................................................................................... 48
3. Moral Progress: Obstacles and Candidates .......................................................... 53
4. Progress in Philosophy ......................................................................................... 64
5. Seneca on Progress .............................................................................................. 72
6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 77
CHAPTER 3: SENECA‟S USE OF RHETORIC ........................................................ 79
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 79
2. The Antithesis of Philosophy and Rhetoric ......................................................... 80
3. Seneca‟s Use of Rhetoric ..................................................................................... 85
4. Olberding: Seneca‟s Violent Imagery as Death Erotica ...................................... 88
5. Senecan exempla and Moral Reasoning .............................................................. 91
6. Reading and Re-reading exempla: a Two-level Approach ................................ 100
7. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 106
CHAPTER 4: PHILOSOPHY AS THERAPY ........................................................... 108
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 108
2. Philosophy and Therapy: The Medical Analogy ............................................... 109
3. Philosophy and Therapy: The Breakdown of the Medical Analogy.................. 114
4. Seneca‟s Conception of Therapy ....................................................................... 121
4.1 Preliminaries: The Benefits of Philosophy .................................................. 122
4.2 Therapy of the Passions ............................................................................... 125
5. Immediate Relief ................................................................................................ 135
6. Therapeutic Arguments ...................................................................................... 136
7. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 138
CHAPTER 5: THE THERAPY OF GRIEF: THERAPY IN THE CONSOLATION TO
MARCIA ...................................................................................................................... 141
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 141
2. The Aim of the ad Marciam .............................................................................. 143
3. The First Dialectical Section: natura and opinio: ad Marciam 7.1-8.3 ............. 145
4. The Second Dialectical Section: Praemeditatio Futurorum Malorum & rerum
natura: ad Marciam 9.1-11.5 ............................................................................. 150
5. The Third Dialectical Section: ad Marciam 12.1-19.4 ...................................... 158
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6. Grief and Philosophy ......................................................................................... 162
7. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 164
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 167
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ABSTRACT

In this dissertation I outline and argue for a new approach to Seneca‟s moral philosophy –
with particular emphasis on the notion that human misery can only be eliminated through
philosophy. I argue that a careful reading of Seneca‟s philosophical texts reveal that a
concern for philosophical progress dominates Seneca‟s writing. This concern manifests
itself both in what might be called practical projects in Seneca‟s philosophical work –
including his approaches to reading, writing, teaching, and advising his audience – and in
his more theoretical accounts of the nature of philosophy and its role in producing a
sound mind. Seneca‟s concern for philosophical progress shapes his works both
substantively and methodologically. This is true of his account of the nature of
philosophy and the structure of philosophical discourse, his understanding of
philosophical pedagogy, and his approach to reading and writing philosophical texts. The
concern for progress is perhaps most pressing on the issue of the emotions. Here, too,
Seneca is devoted to helping the audience in a principled, if restrained, way. I argue that
Seneca‟s conception of philosophy as therapy is both more subtle and more successful
that those accounts available from his Stoic predecessors.
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INTRODUCTION

Sapientia perfectum bonum est mentis humanae. Philosophia sapientae amor
est ad adfectatio. Haec eo tendit, quo illa pervenit.

Wisdom is the perfect good of the human mind. Philosophy is the love of
wisdom and the endeavor to attain it. The latter strives toward the goal which
the former has already reached. Seneca, Ep. 89.4 (trans. Gummere)

Qui ad philosophum venit, cotidie aliquid secum boni ferat: aut sanior domum
redeat aut sanibilior. Redibit autem; ea philosophiae vis est, ut non studentes,
sed etiam conversantes iuvet. Qui in solem venit, licet non in hoc venerit,
colorabitur; qui in unguentaria taberna resederunt et paullo diutius
commorati sunt, odorum secum loci ferunt. Et qui ad philosophum fuerunt,
traxerint aliquid necesse est, quod prodesset etiam neglegentibus.

He who comes to a philosopher should everyday take away with him
something good: he should return home a sounder man or in the way to
become sounder. And he will thus return; for such is the power of philosophy
that it helps not only those who study her, but also those who associate with
her. He that walks in the sun, though he walk not for that purpose, must needs
become sunburned. He who frequents the perfumer‟s shop and lingers even
for a short time, will carry with him the scent of the place. And he who
follows a philosopher is bound to derive some benefit therefrom, which will
help him even though he be remiss. Ep. 108.4 (trans. Gummere, with
modifications).

These passages from his Epistles to Lucilius (Ep.) indicate Seneca‟s commitment
to the idea that the study and practice of philosophy are capable of improving the lives of
those who pursue them. Philosophy, moreover, is a pursuit which promises to help not
only those who adopt it but also those who encounter it in less direct – or perhaps, less
active – ways. For Seneca, then, philosophy both involves a striving for the human good
– i.e., wisdom – in the minds of those who adopt it for themselves and also promises to
benefit, in some way, those who encounter it. Seneca‟s statements here about philosophy