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The Phenomenon of Chance in Ancient Greek Thought

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The Phenomenon of Chance in Ancient Greek Thought THE PHENOMENON OF CHANCE IN ANCIENT GREEK THOUGHT by MELISSA M. SHEW A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Philosophy and the Graduate School ofthe University ofOregon in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2008 11 University of Oregon Graduate School Confirmation of Approval and Acceptance of Dissertation prepared by: Melissa Shew Title: "The Phenomenon of Chance in Ancient Greek Thought" This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree in the Department ofPhilosophy by: Peter Warnek, Chairperson, Philosophy John Lysaker, Member, Philosophy Ted Toadvine, Member, Philosophy James Crosswhite, Outside Member, English and Richard Linton, Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies/Dean ofthe Graduate School for the University of Oregon. September 6, 2008 Original approval signatures are on file with the Graduate School and the University of Oregon Libraries. 111 An Abstract of the Dissertation of Melissa M. Shew for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy to be taken September 2008 Title: THE PHENOMENON OF CHANCE IN ANCIENT GREEK THOUGHT Approved: Dr. Peter Warnek This dissertation engages three facets of Greek philosophy: 1) the phenomenon of tyche (chance, fortune, happening, or luck) in Aristotle's Physics, Nicomachean Ethics, and Poetics; 2) how tyche infonns Socrates' own philosophical practice in the Platonic dialogues; and 3) how engaging tyche in these Greek texts challenges established interpretations of Greek thought in contemporary scholarship and discussion. I argue that the complex status of tyche in Aristotle's texts, when combined with its appearance in the Platonic dialogues and the framework of Greek myth and poetry (poiesis), underscores the seriousness with which the Greeks consider the role of chance in human life. I claim that Aristotle's and Plato's texts offer important counterpoints to subsequent Western philosophers who deny the importance and existence ofchance in human affairs and in the universe, dichotomously privileging reason over fortune (Boethius), necessity over chance (Spinoza), certainty over contingency (Descartes), and character over luck (Kant). My investigation oftyche unfolds in relation to a host ofimportant Greek words and ideas that are engaged and transfonned in Western IV philosophical discourse: ananke (necessity), aitia (cause, or explanation), automaton, logos (speech), poietic possibility, and philosophy. First, a close reading of tyche in the Physics shows that its emergence in Book II challenges the "four causes" as they are traditionally understood to be the foundation of the cosmos for Aristotle. Attentiveness to the language ofstrangeness (that which is atopos) and wondennent (to thauma) that couches Aristotle's consideration oftyche unveils a dialogical character in Aristotle's text. I also show how tyche hinges together the Physics and the Nicomachean Ethics. Second, I argue that tyche illuminates the possibility of human good through an inquiry into human nature in the Ethics, exploring the tension that tyche is, paradoxically, a necessity as it is grounded in nature and yet relates to human beings in "being good" (EN 1179a20), ultimately returning to a deeper understanding ofthe relation between physis and tyche. Third, I argue that the Poetics also sustains an engagement with tyche insofar as poiesis speaks to human possibility, turning to Heidegger and Kristeva to see how this is so. v CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Melissa M. Shew PLACE OF BIRTH: Royal Oak, MI DATE OF BIRTH: June 20,1977 GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Boston University, Boston Miami University, Oxford DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, Philosophy, 2008, University of Oregon Master ofArts, Philosophy, 2006, University of Oregon AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Ancient Philosophy History ofPhilosophy Continental Philosophy PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Visiting Assistant Professor, Department ofPhilosophy, Marquette University, Milwaukee, 2008-2009. Lecturer, Department ofPhilosophy, Marquette University, Milwaukee, 2007­ 2008. Lecturer, Department ofEnglish, University ofWisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, 2007. Graduate Teaching Fellow, Department ofEnglish, University ofOregon, Eugene, 2006-2007. vi Graduate Teaching Fellow, Department ofPhilosophy, University ofOregon, Eugene, 2002-2006. GRANTS, AWARDS AND HONORS: Manresa Award for Course Development, Marquette University, 2008. Outstanding Teacher ofComposition, University ofOregon, 2007. Graduate School Research Award, University ofOregon, 2005. Paideia Prize for Teaching Excellence, University ofOregon, 2004. Graduate Teaching Fellowship, University of Oregon, 2002-2007. Assistantship for Greek Philosophy, Boston University, 2001. PUBLICATIONS: Shew, Melissa. 2008. Review ofD. Brendan Nagel, The Household as the Foundation ofAristotle's Polis (2006). Forthcoming in Ancient Philosophy. Shew, Melissa. 2008. Review of Susan Collins, Aristotle and the Rediscovery of Citizenship (2006). Forthcoming in Ancient Philosophy. Shew, Melissa. 2008. Review of Nancy Shelman, Stoic Warriors: The Ancient Philosophy Behind the Military Mind. Polish Journal ofPhilosophy Vol. II No. 1: 171-175. Shew, Melissa. 2008. Chance and human error in Spinoza and Lucretius. Philosophy Now Issue 68: 12-16. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express sincere appreciation to my family: my late grama, for her lifelong example of (as she put it) "blooming where you're planted;" my dad for his praxical advice; my mom for her poetic spirit; and my sister for reminding me at times that I was writing the best possible philosophy dissertation~a dissertation "in theory." Their encouraging support ofmy education has buoyed me in many ways. Faculty and students in the Philosophy departments at Boston University, the University ofOregon, and Marquette University have likewise sustained me fonnidably. At the University of Oregon, I have enjoyed six years of wann collegiality, challenging classes, conscientious professors, and dedicated undergraduates who kept me on my toes; I am thankful for the many, many efforts of its small but mighty Philosophy Department, cheerily tended by TK McDonald. I also thank Drs. John Lysaker, Ted Toadvine, and James Crosswhite for reading this manuscript (in the summer, no less) and giving me a hard time about it; I have benefited from their philosophical acumen and dialogue. A special debt of gratitude goes to my advisor, Dr. Peter Warnek, whose patience, generosity, and ability to inhabit the Greeks' questions have demonstrated the life and urgency ofGreek thought time and again. I am lucky to have the benefit ofgood friends in philosophical matters and otherwise who contributed to the cultivation ofthis dissertation. Karen Cooper, Jena Jolissaint, Brent Crouch, James Wood, Kim Garchar, Alexis Simpson, Stacy Keltner, Mat Foust, Anne Tomlanovich, Clint Newman, Tricky Burns, Elizabeth Caldwell, and new friends at Marquette have demonstrated what it means to be hellkia, or flowering in life. I am also deeply grateful to Adam Arola, who carefully read and gave me substantial feedback on most viii ofthis manuscript, which probably would not have concluded (let alone begun) without his encouragement. I thank Adam for being my officemate extraordinaire whose passion for philosophy and constant conversation finds friendship with me. Finally, to Michael, who made me realize I needed to write this dissertation, and for helping me understand how truly fortunate I am. IX TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTIOJ\[ 1 Section I: Aristotle's Triptych: The Physics, Nicomachean Ethics, and Poetics 1 Section II: Contemporary Resources for Reading Aristotle 5 Section III: From Contemporary Thought Back to the Greeks 8 Section IV: Tyche's Role in Greek Thought 10 Section V: Getting There From Here: Ways to Consider the Phenomenon of Tyche 12 Section VI: Outline ofChapters 16 II. TYCHE AND THE INQUIRY INTO NATURE IN ARISTOTLE'S PHYSICS 27 Section I: The Contemporary Aristotelian Landscape 32 Section II: Necessity and the Natural Road 46 Section III: Aitia and Logos: Two Explanations 54 III. THE STRANGE AND WONDERFUL PLACE OF TYCHE AND AUTOMATON IN ARISTOTLE'S PHYSICS II. 4-6 65 Section I: Aristotle and His Predecessors 66 Section II: Tyche and Automaton in Physics II. 4-6........................................... 75 Section III: The Role ofKata Symbebekos 81 Section IV: Chance: A Necessary Logos?......................................................... 87 IV. TYCHE AND THE INQUIRY INTO HUMAN NATURE IN ARISTOTLE'S NICOMACHEAN ETHICS 92 Section I: An Endoxic Beginning? Tyche as Eudaimonia 100 Section II: Tyche and "External Goods" 108 Section III: Tyche and the Gods 118 Section IV: Tyche, Solon, and Looking to the End............................................ 124 x Chapter Page Section V: Tyche, Stability and Forgetfulness 129 V. THEKAIROSOF A BEAUTIFUL LIFE 136 Section I: Kairos: The Opportune Moment 139 Section II: Tyche, Physis, and the Possibility ofBecoming Good..................... 153 VI. TYCHE AND THE INQUIRY INTO POIETIC POSSIBILITy............................ 175 Section I: Plato's Symposium: Eros and Harmonia 179 Section II: Heidegger's Topology: Earth and World 182 Section III: Kristeva's Topology: The Semiotic and Symbolic 187 Section IV: Aristotle: Rhythm and Mimesis 193 Section V: Tyche: "That Little Something" 197 VII. EPILOGUE: THE MYTHIC HORIZONS OF TYCHE 202 BIBLIOGRAPHY 208
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