Tuesday, May 26, 2015

The Cornerstone of Philosphy

5/27/15

Miletus Theatre- reserved seats, such as a place for Jews or God Fearers, good spot too, had 4 ports all by theatre, abandoned when sea recessed, vomitoriums, roman theatre, where western philosophy begins, theles, turns from reliance on myth to logos, not in opposition, just different perspective, looked at natural world, everything that is has its origin in water, lived near sea so that fertile source will influence your opinion, got some ideas from Ionian philosphers, Pauline visit to Miletus: called Ephesians elders, last goodbye, testifies his faithfulness to telling of Gods word, it is more blessed to give than receive, prayed with them all, they all cried knowing they'd never see him again, Roman Faustina bath, 
Grid plan cities, first used 

Temple of Apollo in Miletus, bigger than delphi, one of the largest, 122 columns, same technique at Artemis Temple at Sardis, God of music, oracles, protected by medusa heads, used as a church after 5th cent, fish is first symbol, icthus, letters fit in circle, sign of Christian communities, church inside didymaion, Apollo historically is evidence of progress with a diety associated with prophesy and reason, God of order not just brutality, identity Christ as a new Apollo, he is described by logos,   

Biblical Heritage (Pergamum 2)
If Luke's proclamation to be a Christian isn't enough of a shocker for Antipas, his criticizing of the Emperor Domitian through his comparison to Nero because of his heavy taxation on Jews and self glorification that requires him to be referred to as God. He uses cruelty react to threats such as the Jews to his imperial power. Meanwhile, Antipas is so hung up on these gladiatorial contests, and you can tell that Luke would rather not get into the moral implications. Antipas does notice and is impressed by Jesus' family lineage although he doesn't know the names nor care for Nazareth. He also puts much contemplation in the interesting shift between a temple priest and a baptismal priest that was seen between generations with John the Baptist and his father Zechariah. He is not so thrilled with John the Baptist's ability to cause social unrest, choosing to live in isolation in deprivation as a social miscreant. It reminds him of the Essenes, except the difference between the two Luke points out is that John wants to reach out into community by providing a baptism to forgive sins. Antipas begins to recognize Luke's god as a legitimate source but still has issues that Jesus sets up utopian ideals for the peasants by replacing Roman rule with Jewish independence. He doesn't understand why Jesus castigates the rich while Antipas thinks that he is giving his money away for the benefit of the people and otherwise espousing Jesus-like characteristics such as mercy. His monetary imperialist perspective continues to mislead him as he thinks that the unlikely duo of Levi the tax collector and Simon the zealot is due to both of their interests in staking power through Jesus' miracles. Luke responds to these suppositions by pointing out that benefaction from the rich has too many holes that permit the poor to slip through,  proving to be less merciful than Antipas thinks. Meanwhile, Antipas goes to a Christian house church on Sunday and shows them Luke's gospel, now applauding Jesus for his broad appeal among both rich and poor. He finds similarities in Jesus' wishes to promote a healthy society with his own goals of benefaction. He is more interested in this and his opinions on the wealthy and poor than his miracles, supposing that it is probably the Greek gods who act favorably on Jesus. He does manage to note that Asklepios doesn't however act in the same way of healing so this puzzles him. When he goes to another Christian house the next Sunday, he finds it more appealing because of the interesting mix of ethnicities and classes, even serendipitously running into an old worker of his who provides a good example of what Luke was saying about the poor falling through the nets of benefaction. Antipas feels a likeness towards him in his noble pursuits, similar geographic backgrounds, and his honor held to Antonius for holding a "expendable" in his house. Luke notes that this diversity seen both in the story of Levi and Simon as well as at Antonius' house is not as important as their shared life as Christians. Antipas even provides an interesting reflection of Jesus' "do not worry" attitude as stoic or cynic, stating that it is because he walks through this world as if he doesn't belong here, however unlike the philosophers of those times, Jesus doesn't not seek self fulfillment in this world but communal wealth in eternity.  

Social World (Republic 6,7) 
The philosopher king rules with knowledge, not opinions, nor well-justified beliefs, nor ignorance. Ideally he can see and define morality so as not to be subjective but objective. He (or she) must be in constant pursuit of the forms such as beauty, truth, and goodness because he is not only a lover of learning but of justice- striving to know the difference between what is versus what seems. Justice as a form is constant and eternal, invisible unlike the visible images, the farthest from the truth. How to become a philosopher? One must be willing and disciplined through an education like that of which is found in the Allegory of the Cave. As a mythos, Socrates asks Glaucon to imagine a cave, in which prisoners are kept. These prisoners have been in the cave since their childhood, and each of them are chained so that they are forced to look at a wall in front of them. Behind the prisoners is a fire and between the fire and the prisoners are puppeteers, who are carrying objects, in the shape of human and animal figures, as well as everyday items. The prisoners can only see these flickering images on the wall, and so, naturally enough, they presumed the images to be real rather than representations. In fact, Socrates claimed, the images on the wall would be so real that the prisoners would assign prestige among each other to the one who could recall the most detail about the shapes, the order in which they appeared and which might typically be found together or in tandem. Of course, Socrates would point out, this was hollow praise, since in fact the images were not real. Then one of the prisoners is freed and made to turn and look at the fire, with its bright light hurting his eyes, as accustomed as he was to the shadows. In turning back to the wall, the prisoner couldn't help but notice that they weren't real at all, but only shadows of the real items. Then the prisoner is lead from the cave and brought into the open, the disorientation would be even more severe; the light of the sun would be much more brilliant than the fire. But as his eyes adjusted, the newly freed prisoner would be able to see beyond only shadows; he would see dimensions and reflections in the water (even of himself). After learning of the reality of the world, the prisoner now sees how pitiable his former colleagues in the cave really are. If he returned to the cave and rejoined them, he would take no pleasure in their knowledge of the shadow-figures; from their perspective, the prisoners would see him as deranged. It's pretty easy to see what character Socrates sees himself as in regards to the rest of society. Socrates's point is that, once we understand what reality is (the forms), it is the job of the informed to lead the ignorant out of the cave and into true knowledge by means of an education, meaning to "lead out." This means, of course, that those who still are uninformed will resist because the cave is all they've ever known. But, this doesn't change the obligation of the enlightened philosopher to try to help his fellow citizens for the betterment of the not only the city but of the soul. 

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