Virtues for the People

Plutarch of Chaeronea, Platonist, polymath, and prolific writer, was by no means an armchair philosopher. He believed in the necessity for a philosopher to affect the lives of his fellow citizens. That urge inspired many of his writings to meet what he considered people's true needs. Although these writings on practical ethics illustrate in various ways Plutarch's authorial talents and raise many challenging questions (regarding their overall structure, content, purpose, and underlying philosophical and social presuppositions), they have attracted only limited scholarly attention. Virtues for the People contains a collection of essays that deal with these questions from different perspectives and as such throw a new light upon this multifaceted domain of Plutarch's thinking and writing. Special points of interest are the concept of ‘popular philosophy' itself and its implications, its dependence on a more theoretical philosophical background, and the importance of moral progress, the therapy of wickedness, and the common experiences of everyday life.

Ebook available in Open Access.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Efficiency and Effectiveness of Plutarch's Broadcasting Ethics
G. Roskam - L. Van der Stockt

1. Virtues for the people

Semper duo, numquam tres? Plutarch's Popularphilosophie
on Friendship and Virtue in On having many friends
L. Van der Stockt

What is Popular about Plutarch's 'Popular Philosophy'?
Chr. Pelling

Plutarch's Lives and the Critical Reader
T.E. Duff

Greek Poleis and the Roman Empire: Nature and Features of Political Virtues in an Autocratic System
P. Desideri

Del Satiro che voleva baciare il fuoco (o Come trarre vantaggio dai nemici)
J.C. Capriglione

Plutarch's 'Diet-Ethics'. Precepts of Healthcare Between Diet and Ethics
L. Van Hoof

2. Some theoretical questions on ethical praxis

Plutarchan Morality: Arete, Tyche, and Non-Consequentialism
H.M. Martin

Virtue, Fortune, and Happiness in Theory and Practice
J. Opsomer

Plutarch Against Epicurus on Affection for Offspring. A Reading of De amore prolis
G. Roskam

3. Virtues and vices

Plutarch's 'Minor' Ethics: Some Remarks on De garrulitate, De curiositate, and De vitioso pudore
A.G. Nikolaidis

Plutarchs Schrift gegen das Borgen (Περὶ τοῦ μὴ δεῖν δανείζεσθαι): Adressaten, Lehrziele und Genos
H.G. Ingenkamp

Competition and its Costs: Φιλονικία in Plutarch's Society and Heroes
Ph.A. Stadter

4. 'Popular philosophy' in context

Astrometeorología y creencias sobre los astros en Plutarco
A. Pérez Jiménez

Bitch is Not a Four-Letter Word. Animal Reason and Human Passion in Plutarch
J. Mossman - F. Titchener

Autour du miroir. Les miroitements d'une image dans l'oeuvre de Plutarque
F. Frazier

Bibliography

Index Locorum

Abstracts

Format: Edited volume - free ebook - PDF

320 pages

ISBN: 9789461661180

Publication: May 06, 2011

Series: Plutarchea Hypomnemata 4

Languages: English

Download: https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/25959

Geert Roskam is Professor of Greek language and literature at KU Leuven.

Luc Van der Stockt is Professor of Greek language and literature at the KU Leuven and Honorary President of the International Plutarch Society.

Ce volume consacré à «la philosophie populaire» de Plutarque montre la virtuosité de l'auteur dans son appropriation de la tradition philosophique et littéraire ainsi que sa grande connaissance de la condition humaine et son humanité dans l'éthique de vie qu'il propose. Le dernier article le démontre particulièrement bien. En effet, à travers une étude pointue de l'image du miroir chez Plutarque, F. Frazier met en exergue la façon dont l'auteur combine la pensée philosophique théorique et épistémologique avec des questions éthiques sur la connaissance et sur l'amélioration de soi.
Maria Vamvouri, Museum Helveticum 70/2, 2013