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Platonic and Stoic Passions in Philo of Alexandria Loren Kerns George Fox University, Lkerns@Georgefox.Edu Digital Commons @ George Fox University George Fox Evangelical Seminary 2013 Platonic and Stoic Passions in Philo of Alexandria Loren Kerns George Fox University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gfes Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Church History Commons Recommended Citation Kerns, Loren, "Platonic and Stoic Passions in Philo of Alexandria" (2013). George Fox Evangelical Seminary. Paper 6. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gfes/6 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in George Fox Evangelical Seminary by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. Kings College London Platonic and Stoic Passions in Philo of Alexandria A Dissertation submitted to The School of Arts and Humanities In Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Theology and Religious Studies By Loren Kerns London, United Kingdom July 2013 Copyright by Loren Kerns, 2013 All rights reserved. Abstract Philo of Alexandria forged his theory of the soul and its passions while expositing the meaning of Torah. Though writing as a Jewish teacher and disciple of Moses, his biblical reflections display a strong orientation toward Middle-Platonic philosophy. On the topic of the soul and its passions, however, Philo also exhibits significant Stoic influence. The introduction notes Philo’s apparent incompatible use of both the complex Platonic and the monistic Stoic psychological models. After assessing the degree to which Philo understood 'passion' to be a type of Stoic impulse or opinion (chapter one), chapter two demonstrates that Philo consistently drew upon the Stoics’ depiction of all passions as irrational, excessive, and unnatural. Though Philo also joined the Stoics in condemning the passions and championing their extirpation, he is unique, even among the Stoics, in the extent and degree to which he emphasized their blameworthiness. Chapters three and four examine Philo's Stoicizing treatment of the tripartite and bipartite Platonic elements in his psychology, including Plato’s chariot metaphor and variants. In each of these areas, Philo’s key deviations are noted. Chapter four concludes by demonstrating that Philo arranged the Stoic and Platonic accounts of the soul and its passions within a biblical and spiritual narrative of spiritual progress that moves from Stoic fool to Platonic progressing soul and finally arriving at the ideal of the apatheiac Stoic sage. The outlook summarizes the results and suggests lines of further research. 3 Acknowledgements Writing a dissertation is in many ways a lonely process, but it is not a solitary one. I would never have finished this project without the support of many people. First, I want to thank my colleagues at George Fox Evangelical Seminary for their encouragement to pursue a dissertation in the first place. In this regard, thanks goes, above all, to Dr. Daniel Brunner, my Master’s Thesis advisor as well as to Dr. Steve Delamarter, Dr. R. Larry Shelton, and Dr. MaryKate Morse. Second, I want to thank Dr. Jules Glanzer and Dr. Chuck Conniry for their support as my Deans. It would have been nearly impossible to do the work necessary without the time and flexibility that they accorded to me. Second, I want to thank my dissertation advisor, Dr. Markus Vinzent, for his guidance. I would not have explored Philo without his encouragement. Markus not only taught me the nuts and bolts of post-graduate research, he even inspired me to love the process! Though I relied upon his expert academic supervision along the way, I count sharing a cup of espresso or meals with his family to be among some of my treasured memories. Finally, I would not have been able to complete this long journey without the support of my family. My parents, Martin and Shirley Kerns, and my in-laws, Darrel and Annie Snyder, helped in more ways than I can count. They shaped me to become the person that I am, offered financial support, and spent countless hours with my children. I also want to thank my children: Libby, Molly, Chloe, and Wesely. Each of them made significant sacrifices along the way, often without their knowledge of it. Indeed, Chloe and Wesley have never known life without ‘daddy in school’! Above all, I want to thank my wife Tiffany for her wholehearted support throughout the dissertation journey. Without her support, I certainly would not have succeeded. Though God has granted me many blessings in Christ, I count each of the people named above to be among the foremost. 4 Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... 4 Table of Contents .................................................................................................. 5 Illustrations ............................................................................................................ 7 Abbreviations ........................................................................................................ 8 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 13 Philo’s complicated approach to the soul and its passions .............................. 15 History of research .......................................................................................... 18 Plan of the dissertation .................................................................................... 24 Section 1: Stoic passions ..................................................................................... 26 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 1: What is a passion? ......................................................................... 27 Philo’s definition of ‘passion’ ..................................................................... 27 The passions as a species of impulse ........................................................... 31 The passions as opinions or judgments ....................................................... 62 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 2: The characteristics of passion ........................................................ 81 Irrational and excessive ............................................................................... 82 Unnatural ..................................................................................................... 99 Blameworthy ............................................................................................. 113 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 126 Section 2: Platonic features and alternatives ..................................................... 127 Chapter 3: The Platonic tripartite model for the soul .................................... 127 Plato’s tripartite metaphor in Philo ............................................................ 127 Plato’s three parts of the soul as distinct ‘agent-like’ elements ................ 136 ‘The rational part’ of the soul .................................................................... 144 ‘The appetitive part’ of the soul ................................................................ 155 ‘The spirited part’ of the soul .................................................................... 159 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 162 Chapter 4: Stoic, Platonic, and biblical metaphors ........................................ 164 Philo’s use of Plato’s charioteer simile ..................................................... 164 Philo’s biblical and Stoic transformations of the chariot metaphor .......... 173 5 Charioteering as metriopatheia: The case of Aaron, the progressing soul 205 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 219 Summary: Philo’s creative use of Stoic and Platonic philosophy in service of his exposition of Torah ........................................................................................ 221 Outlook .......................................................................................................... 226 Works Cited ....................................................................................................... 231 6 Illustrations Figures 1. Schematization of the soul in Plato and Philo 133 Tables 3. Zeno’s and Chrysippus’ accounts of the passionate cognitive process 69 7 Abbreviations Ancient authors: AËTIUS (Aët.) Plac. De placitis reliquiae ALBINUS (Albinus) Epit. Epitome doctrinae Platonicae sive Διδασκαλικός ANDRONICUS Rhodius (Andronic.) Pass. De passionibus ARISTOTLE (Arist.) An. De anima Motu an. De motu animalium Eth. Eud. Ethica Eudemia Eth. Nic. Ethica Nicomachea Mag. mor. Magna moralia Ph. Physica Pol. Politica Rh. Rhetorica Sens. De sensu ASPASIUS (Asp.) In Eth. Nic. In ethica Nichomachea commentaria Marcus Tullius CICERO (Cic.) Acad. Academica Acad. post. Academica posterior Fat. De fato Fin. De finibus Off. De officiis Tusc. Tusculanarum disputationum 8 DIOGENES Laertius (Diog. Laert.) Vit. phil. Vitae philosophorum EPICTETUS (Epic.) Diatr.
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