Religion, Platonist Dialectics, and Pragmatist Analysis: Marcus Tullius Cicero’s Contributions to the Philosophy and Sociology of Divine and Human Knowing

Whereas Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Augustine are probably the best known of the early Western philosophers of religion, Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE) also played a particularly consequential role in the development and continuity of Greco-Latin-European social thought. Cicero may be best known for his work on rhetoric and his involvements in the political intrigues of Rome, but Cicero’s comparative examinations of the Greco-Roman philosophies of his day merit much more attention than they have received from contemporary scholars. Cicero’s considerations of philosophy encompass much more than the theological issues considered in this statement, but, in the process of engaging Epicurean and Stoic thought from an Academician (Platonist) perspective, Cicero significantly extends the remarkable insights provided by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Although especially central to the present analysis, Cicero’s On the Nature of the Gods (1972) is only one of several texts that Cicero directs to a comparative (multiparadigmatic and transhistorical) analysis of divine and human knowing. Much of Cicero’s treatment of the philosophy of religion revolves around variants of the Socratic standpoints (i.e., dialectics, theology, moralism) that characterized the philosophies of Cicero’s era (i.e., Stoicism, Epicureanism, Academician dialectics), but Cicero also engages the matters of human knowing and acting in what may be envisioned as more distinctively pragmatist sociological terms. As well, although Cicero’s materials reflect the socio-historical context in which he worked, his detailed analysis of religion represents a valuable source of comparison with present day viewpoints and practices. Likewise, a closer examination of Cicero’s texts indicates that many of the issues of divine and human knowing, with which he explicitly grapples, have maintained an enduring conceptual currency. This paper concludes with a consideration of the relevance of Cicero’s works for a contemporary pragmatist sociological (symbolic interactionist) approach to the more generic study of human knowing and acting.

Exemplary Biography

Moving away from the nineteenth century’s concern with Quellenforschung, serious study of Valerius Maximus’ Facta et dicta memorabilia in the twentieth century produced a variety of different approaches to this Tiberian text of exemplary tales. One of the most interesting projects in this regard was produced by T.F. Carney, who scrutinised a key exemplar, Gaius Marius, across the work. In constructing a ‘biography’ from the exempla themselves, Carney’s labour contributed much to Roman history generally, but also pioneered a novel methodology for reading Valerius Maximus—one that was taken up and imitated by later scholars. This methodology, however, is not without problems, particularly in relation to the way that Valerius has shaped, structured, and arranged his work at the level of chapter. By building upon Carney’s methodology, but also considering the context of the individual chapters themselves, I provide in this paper a case study of the way in which Valerius writes the life of Marcus Tullius Cicero—a figure unique in the Facta et dicta memorabilia in being both exemplar and a major source for the work. In doing so, this article elucidates the process of ‘exemplary biography’.

Cicero’s writings as learning texts for humanities students: from Augustus Wilkins to Cicero Digitalis

The heritage of the ancient Roman politician, orator and thinker Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC), is considered as a set of texts that over centuries have been included in the curricula for humanities students, significantly changing the narrative tradition and detecting a way of understanding what is related to humanities. The key questions for the authors is the following: how and for what purposes was Cicero’s heritage presented to humanities students in educational texts in the first two decades of the 20th and 21st centuries? At the beginning of last century, scholars’ attention to Cicero was largely due to Augustus Samuel Wilkins (1843–1905), Paul Monroe (1869–1947) and his disciple Ellwood Cubberley (1868-1941). Many textbooks compiled by P. Monroe, A.S. Wilkins and E. Cubberley were published one after another. Thanks to the educational books of P. Monroe, A.S. Wilkins and E. Cubberley, different approaches to presenting Cicero's works for educational purposes were developed. It is these approaches that were reflected in educational books for humanists a century later. In Russian textbooks, sourcebooks, and anthologies on history of pedagogy, Cicero was mostly a figure of omission not only in the first decades, but throughout the entire 20th century. At the beginning of the 21st century, many learning books for humanities students appeared. Their authors and compilers consider Cicero as an author who left a conceptual description of pedagogical reality (a detailed description of educational process) and chose a narrative description (description of what happened through the eyes of those who take part in it). We have to regret that the Russian domestic tradition of including Cicero's heritage in the content of humanitarian education has hardly undergone any changes over a century: fragments of his works continue to be presented on a small scale, are practically not grouped according to key issues, and rarely accompanied by pedagogical commentaries. The question of why some texts were selected while others were not, can be asked to every author and compiler who included Cicero's texts in their books for humanities students. The search for answers to this “eternal question” can be associated both with the flexibility of the humanitarian curriculum, and with the personal preferences of the authors and compilers of learning books.

Pons et cella penaria – Die Bedeutung Siziliens für die Entwicklung des Imperium Romanum ausgehend von Ciceros „Verrinen“

Pons et cella penaria – The importance of Sicily for the formation of the Roman Empire on the basis of Ciceros “In Verrem”In the year 70 BCE, one of the most renowned trials in Roman history took place: The lawsuit of Gaius Verres, former propraetor of the Roman province Sicilia. Marcus Tullius Cicero, taking up the role of the claimant in this trial, wrote a series of speeches against Verres (“In Verrem”). Therein he stated, among other things, the importance of Sicily for the Roman Empire. As the first Roman province, it introduced the Romans to a new system of governing foreign territory. It functioned as a “bridge” for the conquest of Carthage and, finally, it fed the Roman population and its army. The following paper will examine each of these three steps, as well as use them as a framework to discuss the role of Sicily for the formation of the Roman Empire.

Jalan Panjang RUU MHA Memperoleh Pengakuan

“Ubi Societas Ibi Ius, di mana ada masyarakat, di situ ada hukum.” Demikian adagium yang pernah diungkapkan Marcus Tullius Cicero, seorang ahli hukum Romawi yang hidup antara106-43 SM. Ungkapan ini bermakna bahwa hukum lahir dan terbentuk akibat dari pola interaksi sesama anggota masyarakat yang mengandung nilai-nilai dan hubungannya terhadap alam dimana ia tinggal serta melangsungkan kehidupan secara turun-temurun hingga pada akhirnya membentuk kebudayaan.

Cicero’s mission of transferring Greek philosophy into Latin language and the creation of Latin philosophical terminology

Marcus Tullius Cicero is considered to be one of the greatest Roman statesmen and orators, however, this lucid creator?s philosophical writings lie in the shadow of his highly valued speeches, rhetorical writings and letters. He is widely regarded as a politician, lawyer, orator, yet few consider him a philosopher. This seems unjustified, having in mind that he received an outstanding philosophical education, wrote about numerous philosophical subjects, translated and explicated Greek authors and their philosophical doctrine. The goal of this paper is to show Cicero?s contribution to the transfer of Greek philosophy onto Latin soil, illuminate his role in the creation of Latin philosophical terminology, as well as reasons which motivated him to do so. Our subject will be presented from a linguoculturological aspect with the analysis of some of the terms, which Cicero imported into Latin philosophical vocabulary.

Fraude contra credores: noção de fraude em geral. Escorço histórico e questões sobre a fraude contra credores. Ação pauliana

Este artigo não tem o objetivo de trazer respostas definitivas, obviamente, para a fraude contra credores, tampouco realizar estudos aprofundados sobre o vocábulo fraude – nem no Direito brasileiro, nem no Direito Comparado. Também não há a intenção de estudar a hermenêutica, a interpretação e a exegese aplicáveis. Apesar disso, alguns conceitos de fraude serão analisados, tanto no âmbito primitivo como no âmbito contemporâneo do Direito. Nuances sobre o conceito e a problemática da fraude são importantes para pensar, repensar e compreender a sua inserção na frase técnico-jurídica fraude contra credores. Nuances sobre a expressão ação pauliana, contida no título deste artigo, também são importantes para compreender os objetivos do estudo. Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 a.C.) articulou um interessante conceito de direitos e deveres, no contexto da fraude: “Embora o erro possa ser feito de duas maneiras, isto é, pela força ou pela fraude, ambas são bestiais; a fraude parece pertencer à raposa astuta, enquanto a força pertence ao leão. Apesar de ambas serem totalmente indignas do homem, a fraude é a mais desprezível. Isso porque, de todas as formas de injustiça, nenhuma é mais flagrante que a do hipócrita que, no exato momento em que é falso, faz questão de parecer virtuoso”. Este é o propósito, mesmo que singelo, deste artigo.