Platonic and Stoic Passions in Philo of Alexandria - King's College

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Platonic and Stoic Passions in Philo of Alexandria
Kerns, Loren
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Title:
Platonic and Stoic Passions in Philo of Alexandria

A uthor:Loren Kerns
The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information
derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement.
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Kings College London

Platonic and Stoic Passions in Philo of Alexandria

A Dissertation submitted to
The School of Arts and Humanities
In Candidacy for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

Department of Theology and Religious Studies

By
Loren Kerns

London, United Kingdom
July 2012
Copyright by Loren Kerns, 2012
All rights reserved.
Abstract
Philo of Alexandria forged his theory of the soul and its passions while
expositing the meaning of Torah. Though writing as a Jewish teacher and disciple of
Moses, his biblical reflections display a strong orientation toward Middle-Platonic
philosophy. On the topic of the soul and its passions, however, Philo also exhibits
significant Stoic influence. The introduction notes Philo’s apparent incompatible use
of both the complex Platonic and the monistic Stoic psychological models. After
assessing the degree to which Philo understood 'passion' to be a type of Stoic
impulse or opinion (chapter one), chapter two demonstrates that Philo consistently
drew upon the Stoics’ depiction of all passions as irrational, excessive, and
unnatural. Though Philo also joined the Stoics in condemning the passions and
championing their extirpation, he is unique, even among the Stoics, in the extent and
degree to which he emphasized their blameworthiness. Chapters three and four
examine Philo's Stoicizing treatment of the tripartite and bipartite Platonic elements
in his psychology, including Plato’s chariot metaphor and variants. In each of these
areas, Philo’s key deviations are noted. Chapter four concludes by demonstrating
that Philo arranged the Stoic and Platonic accounts of the soul and its passions
within a biblical and spiritual narrative of spiritual progress that moves from Stoic
fool to Platonic progressing soul and finally arriving at the ideal of the apatheiac
Stoic sage. The outlook summarizes the results and suggests lines of further
research.

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Acknowledgements
Writing a dissertation is in many ways a lonely process, but it is not a solitary
one. I would never have finished this project without the support of many people.
First, I want to thank my colleagues at George Fox Evangelical Seminary for their
encouragement to pursue a dissertation in the first place. In this regard, thanks goes,
above all, to Dr. Daniel Brunner, my Master’s Thesis advisor as well as to Dr. Steve
Delamarter, Dr. R. Larry Shelton, and Dr. MaryKate Morse. Second, I want to thank
Dr. Jules Glanzer and Dr. Chuck Conniry for their support as my Deans. It would
have been nearly impossible to do the work necessary without the time and
flexibility that they accorded to me.
Second, I want to thank my dissertation advisor, Dr. Markus Vinzent, for his
guidance. I would not have explored Philo without his encouragement. Markus not
only taught me the nuts and bolts of post-graduate research, he even inspired me to
love the process! Though I relied upon his expert academic supervision along the
way, I count sharing a cup of espresso or meals with his family to be among some of
my treasured memories.
Finally, I would not have been able to complete this long journey without the
support of my family. My parents, Martin and Shirley Kerns, and my in-laws, Darrel
and Annie Snyder, helped in more ways than I can count. They shaped me to
become the person that I am, offered financial support, and spent countless hours
with my children. I also want to thank my children: Libby, Molly, Chloe, and
Wesely. Each of them made significant sacrifices along the way, often without their
knowledge of it. Indeed, Chloe and Wesley have never known life without ‘daddy in
school’! Above all, I want to thank my wife Tiffany for her wholehearted support
throughout the dissertation journey. Without her support, I certainly would not have
succeeded. Though God has granted me many blessings in Christ, I count each of
the people named above to be among the foremost.

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Table of Contents
Abstract .................................................................................................................. 3

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... 4

Table of Contents .................................................................................................. 5

Illustrations ............................................................................................................ 7

Abbreviations ........................................................................................................ 8

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 13

Philo’s complicated approach to the soul and its passions .............................. 15

History of research .......................................................................................... 18

Plan of the dissertation .................................................................................... 24

Section 1: Stoic passions ..................................................................................... 26

Introduction ..................................................................................................... 26

Chapter 1: What is a passion? ......................................................................... 27

Philo’s definition of ‘passion’ ..................................................................... 27

The passions as a species of impulse ........................................................... 31

The passions as opinions or judgments ....................................................... 62

Conclusion ................................................................................................... 79

Chapter 2: The characteristics of passion ........................................................ 81

Irrational and excessive ............................................................................... 82

Unnatural ..................................................................................................... 99

Blameworthy ............................................................................................. 113

Conclusion ................................................................................................. 126

Section 2: Platonic features and alternatives ..................................................... 127

Chapter 3: The Platonic tripartite model for the soul .................................... 127

Plato’s tripartite metaphor in Philo ............................................................ 127

Plato’s three parts of the soul as distinct ‘agent-like’ elements ................ 136

‘The rational part’ of the soul .................................................................... 144

‘The appetitive part’ of the soul ................................................................ 155

‘The spirited part’ of the soul .................................................................... 159

Conclusion ................................................................................................. 162

Chapter 4: Stoic, Platonic, and biblical metaphors ........................................ 164

Philo’s use of Plato’s charioteer simile ..................................................... 164

Philo’s biblical and Stoic transformations of the chariot metaphor .......... 173

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Charioteering as metriopatheia: The case of Aaron, the progressing soul 205

Conclusion ................................................................................................. 219

Summary: Philo’s creative use of Stoic and Platonic philosophy in service of
his exposition of Torah ........................................................................................ 221

Outlook .......................................................................................................... 226

Works Cited ....................................................................................................... 231

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Illustrations
Figures
1. Schematization of the soul in Plato and Philo 133
Tables
3. Zeno’s and Chrysippus’ accounts of the passionate cognitive process 69

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Abbreviations
Ancient authors:
AËTIUS (Aët.)
Plac. De placitis reliquiae

ALBINUS (Albinus)
Epit. Epitome doctrinae Platonicae sive Διδασκαλικός

ANDRONICUS Rhodius (Andronic.)
Pass. De passionibus

ARISTOTLE (Arist.)
An. De anima
Motu an. De motu animalium
Eth. Eud. Ethica Eudemia
Eth. Nic. Ethica Nicomachea
Mag. mor. Magna moralia
Ph. Physica
Pol. Politica
Rh. Rhetorica
Sens. De sensu

ASPASIUS (Asp.)
In Eth. Nic. In ethica Nichomachea commentaria

Marcus Tullius CICERO (Cic.)
Acad. Academica
Acad. post. Academica posterior
Fat. De fato
Fin. De finibus
Off. De officiis
Tusc. Tusculanarum disputationum

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