Machiavelli was shocking, but other philosophers would be equally shocking if they were free from bullshit. Such honesty about political dishonesty would have been hardly possible in another age, except perhaps in Greece during the time of the sophists. When Savonarola dominated Florence in his twenties, his miserable end made an impression on Machiavelli, for … Read more
“A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others. When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges … Read more
Chapter XIII: ST Thomas Aquinas St Thomas’s most important work was the Summa contra Gentiles (1259–64). It tried to establish the truth of Christianity by arguments to a non-Christian, likely a man versed in the philosophy of the Arabs. His other book, Summa Theologiae, is of equal importance, but it assumes the truth of Christianity before … Read more
Zeno, the founder of Stoicism (a school of thought that appealed to rulers), was a Phoenician. When it comes to preaching about the superiority of slaves or the brotherhood of man, there are few philosophies that could compare to Stoicism during that moment in history. Stoicism, unlike the earlier purely Greek philosophies, is emotionally narrow and … Read more
Chapter XXVII: The Epicureans The philosophy of Epicurus, like all philosophies at the time with the exception of Scepticism, was designed to secure tranquility. Pleasure was the good. He says in a book on The End of Life, ‘I know not how I can conceive the good, if I withdraw the pleasures of taste and withdraw … Read more
Aristotle was the last philosopher to describe the world cheerfully. Diogynenes and the Cynics who came after saw the world as something to recoil from, as something dangerous and doomed. In the third century BC, Cynicism became the most popular doctrine. But it did not appeal to those who had political, scientific, or artistic ambitions, … Read more
There are two kinds of virtues: intellectual and moral, corresponding to the two parts of the soul. Intellectual virtues result from teaching, moral virtues from habit. To create a virtuous society, you must create laws that cause citizens to acquire good habits. With time, pleasure comes from performing these good habits. The Golden Mean The … Read more
Aristotle is similar to Plato, but with more common sense. His argument for God’s existence is the First Cause: There must be something that begins motion, and this “something” must itself be unmoved and eternal. The object of desire and thought cause movement in this way without being in motion themselves. Unlike the billiard ball … Read more
Plato argues that anything that distracts man from the pursuit of the vision of truth and philosophy should be avoided, and this includes the pleasures of the senses. With each instance of pleasure and pain, the soul becomes more closely identified with the body, until there is no longer any separation. Man becomes a purely … Read more
Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatnessand wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside,cities will never have rest from these evils—no, nor the human race, … Read more