Wounded heroes: Vulnerability as a virtue in ancient Greek literature and philosophy Author: Marina McCoy Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:103502 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013 This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. WOUNDED HEROES This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] Wounded Heroes Vulnerability as a Virtue in Ancient Greek Literature and Philosophy MARINA BERZINS McCOY 1 This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. 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This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] Dedicated to John, Katherine, and James This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] Preface Vulnerability is not often associated with virtue. Yet, to be vulnerable is central to human experience. Etymologically, ‘being vulnerable’ means capable of being wounded (from its Latin root, vulnus or wound). Thus vulnerability, as the capacity to be hurt, is distinct from the state of actually being harmed or suffering pain. Instead of communicating the actual experience of pain or harm, the term communicates the possibility of such experience, and self-awareness of its possibility. One can know of one’s own capacity to be wounded directly, by experiencing suffering, but may also know it in significant ways in the anticipation of harm, in its likelihood. To this extent, vulnerability concerns not only the present moment, but also the future. Vulnerability is a part of the human condition that is con- cerned with living as temporal creatures who undergo change and transformations of various sorts and who live with an awareness of the likelihood of change. At times these changes are joyful or satisfy- ing, at times painful or needful. A self-conscious and aware person understands the meaning of his or her life in terms of a larger temporal whole, of which vulnerability forms one part. Narrative is a central mode of expression through which human beings find and create meaning about the experiences and patterns in their lives. Such patterns are sometimes discovered or felt to be ‘found’ at the phenomenological level, but often only after the fact. Current incidents or experiences, whether positive or negative, often take on a different kind of meaning in human retelling of the events later; what was confusing or chaotic at the moment may later display a kind of sense or meaning. At the experiential level, this meaning is often found by making connections between events, persons, and larger purposes that were not before apparent. While the meaning of an immediate experience of happiness seems not to require explan- ation (in its pleasure and seeming ‘fit’ with our expectations of happiness), suffering seems to demand explanation. When people experience pain of their own, or witness it in others—especially in extreme cases—there is an experiential demand to understand its meaning, even when such meaning seems to be unavailable or diffi- cult to discern. Such meaning is often developed through narratives, This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] viii Preface stories told about painful events, whether historical or mediated fictions. The historical existence of real suffering makes significant its performance in tragedy or other forms of Ł. But Ł also reflects back on how we come to understand real human experience. Indeed, such experiences are reflected on by whole communities, and not only individuals, for the suffering of others, or its possibility, is also central to human experience. Not only my own, but also others’ suffering, is constitutive of my own vulnerability. The contention of this book is that Greek epic, tragedy, and philosophy have important insights to offer about the nature of human vulnerability and how human beings might better come to terms with their own vulnerability. While studies of Greek paradigms of heroism and virtue often focus on strength of character, prowess in war, or the achievement of honour for oneself or one’s ºØ, there is another side to Greek thought that extols the recognition and proper acceptance of vulnerability. A number of Greek authors address the question of the political value of vulnerability. Homer takes on the dark side of war and does not shy away from descriptions of human suffering along with glory. Sophocles creates a supreme tension between the expectation of order and control, and the reality of convoluted and unexpected human experience. Philosophers seek to not only offer moral and political solutions to suffering, but also set out the limits of such solutions and even extol the virtues of acknow- ledging and accommodating human limit. The range of works that might be chosen to display Greek engage- ment with vulnerability is nearly inexhaustible. Thus, my aim here has not been to develop anything like a comprehensive theory of ‘Greek culture’. Neither is the development of a ‘theory of tragedy’ the primary aim—indeed, two works of Sophocles would hardly suffice to develop such a theory. Instead, the larger purpose of the book is to analyse and interpret several important Greek works of epic, tragedy, and philosophy in order better to develop a philosophical under- standing of vulnerability and its role in the life of the larger commu- nity.