Dante's Deadly Sins: Moral Philosophy in Hell

214 Pages·2011·1.222 MB·English

by  Raymond Angelo Belliotti(auth.)

Dante’s Deadly Sins
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Dante’s Deadly Sins
Moral Philosophy in Hell
Raymond Angelo Belliotti
A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
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This edition first published 2011
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Belliotti, Raymond A., 1948–
Dante’s deadly sins : moral philosophy in Hell / Raymond Angelo Belliotti.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-470-67105-4 (alk. paper)
1. Dante Alighieri, 1265–1321. Divina commedia. 2. Dante Alighieri, 1265–1321–Ethics.
3. Deadly sins in literature. 4. Hell in literature. I. Title.
PQ4418.B45 2011
851´.1–dc22
2011015487
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDFs 9781118112403; Wiley Online
Library 9781118112434; ePub 9781118112410; mobi 9781118112427
Set in 10.5/13pt Minion by SPi Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India
1 2011
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For Marcia
Che tra bella e buona non so qual fosse più
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Contents
About the Author x
Preface xii
The Rationale xii
The Origin xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction 1
The Historical Context 1
The Life of Dante 3
Later Writings 8
The Commedia 12
Dante’s Death 14
Aims of this Book 15
Dante as Moral Philosopher 17
1 Inferno 19
Dante’s Mission 19
The Journey Begins 20
Vestibule (Ante-Hell): The Indecisive Neutrals 21
Upper Hell: Sins of Unrestrained Desire (the Wolf) 23
River Styx, Walls of the City of Dis 28
Lower Hell: Sins of Malice Leading to Violence (the Lion) 30
Lower Hell: Sins of Malice Leading to Fraud (the Leopard) 34
Dante’s Existential Lessons in Hell 46
2 Purgatorio 48
Purgatory in a Nutshell 48
The Journey Continues 50
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viii Contents
Ante-Purgatory: Late Repentants 50
Gate of Purgatory 56
The First Three Terraces: Misdirected Love 57
The Fourth Terrace: Deficient Love of the Good 62
The Final Three Terraces: Excessive Love of Secondary Goods 64
Dante’s Existential Lessons in Purgatory 71
3 The Notion of Desert and the Law of Contrapasso 73
The Notion of Desert 73
The Contrapasso 81
The Problem of Proportionality 87
First Case Study: Francesca 90
Second Case Study: Brutus and Cassius 92
Third Case Study: Epicurus 99
Dante’s Moral Conception 102
4 Paradoxes and Puzzles: Virgil and Cato 104
The Paradox of Virgil 105
Summary of the Paradox of Virgil 111
The Strange Case of Cato 116
“The Perfect Stoic” 117
Dante’s Decision 120
Dante and Conflict 123
5 The Seven Deadly Sins 124
Historical Background 124
Superbia (Pride) 127
Invidia (Envy) 129
Ira (Wrath) 133
Acedia (Sloth) 137
Avaritia (Avarice) 138
Gula (Gluttony) 139
Luxuria (Lust) 140
The Antidote: Righteous Love 142
The Bridge to Salvation 148
6 Dante’s Existential Moral Lessons 149
Dante and Existentialism 149
Jean-Paul Sartre and Hell 150
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Contents ix
Dante’s Ten Existential Lessons 157
Individualism and Community 176
Personal Strategies 179
Bibliography 185
Index 193
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About the Author
Raymond Angelo Belliotti is SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of
Philosophy at the State University of New York at Fredonia. He received his
undergraduate degree from Union College in 1970, after which he was
conscripted into the United States Army, where he served three years in
military intelligence units during the Vietnamese War. Upon his discharge,
he enrolled at the University of Miami, where he earned his Master of Arts
degree in 1976 and his Doctorate in 1977. After teaching stints at Florida
International University and Virginia Commonwealth University, he
entered Harvard University as a law student and teaching fellow. After
receiving a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School, he practiced law in
New York City with the firm of Barrett Smith Schapiro Simon & Armstrong.
In 1984 he joined the faculty at Fredonia.
Belliotti is the author of ten other books: Justifying Law (1992); Good
Sex (1993); Seeking Identity (1995); Stalking Nietzsche (1998); What is
the Meaning of Human Life? (2001); Happiness is Overrated (2004); The
Philosophy of Baseball (2006); Watching Baseball Seeing Philosophy (2008);
Niccolò Machiavelli (2008); and Roman Philosophy and the Good Life (2009).
Good Sex was later translated into Korean and published in Asia. What is the
Meaning of Human Life? was nominated for the Society for Phenomenology
and Existential Philosophy’s Book of the Year Award. He has also published
70 articles and 25 reviews in the areas of ethics, jurisprudence, sexual morality,
medicine, politics, education, feminism, sports, Marxism, and legal ethics.
These essays have appeared in scholarly journals based in Australia, Canada,
Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States.
Belliotti has also made numerous presentations at philosophical conferences,
including the Eighteenth World Congress of Philosophy in England, and he
has been honored as a featured lecturer on the Queen Elizabeth 2 ocean liner.
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About the Author xi
While at SUNY, Fredonia, he has served extensively on campus
committees as the Chairperson of the Department of Philosophy, as the
Chairperson of the University Senate, and as Director of General Education.
Belliotti also served as United University Professions local Vice President
for Academics. For six years he was faculty advisor to two student clubs:
The Philosophical Society and Il Circolo Italiano. Belliotti has been the
recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the
William T. Hagan Young Scholar/Artist Award, the Kasling Lecture Award
for Excellence in Research and Scholarship, and the SUNY Foundation
Research & Scholarship Recognition Award. He is also a member of the
New York State “Speakers in the Humanities” Program.
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Preface
Almost seven hundred years of research and scholarship have focused
on Dante Alighieri’s (1265–1321) Commedia. With the exception of
Shakespeare, no single writer has been subject to as much analysis and
critical commentary. Dante’s evocative images of the afterlife, clever ren-
dering of philosophy expressed poetically, and vivid portrayals of Christian
theology fire the imaginations of religious believers and nonbelievers alike.
The enduring influence of Dante is undeniable and his place in the canon
of Western literature is secure. Indeed, students of the humanities would be
hard-pressed to consider themselves educated if they had never confronted
the great Florentine poet.
But why publish another book on Dante? Has not everything of
importance already been said? Do we risk straining reasonable interpreta-
tion and distorting Dante’s meaning if we continue to trade on his
brilliance?
The Rationale
Yes, hundreds of books have been written about Dante’s Commedia.
However, to the best of my knowledge, none has taken the approach to be
found in the present work. Most books on Dante explain his vision and its
connection to Christian theology; or unravel the literary or poetic
dimensions of his work and its significance; or relate Dante to his literary
and philosophy precursors and successors; and a few even explain the
derivation of his moral theory from earlier religious thinkers and from the
doctrines of Christianity. But I have not come upon a single book
that teases out the practical, secular moral implications of the Inferno
and Purgatorio.
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