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'Wrestling Anger: an Investigation Into Seneca's Approach to The View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Royal Holloway - Pure ‘Wrestling anger: An investigation into Seneca’s approach to the management of passion through Stoic philosophy’ Alexandra Christina Frost Royal Holloway, University of London Classics PhD 1 Declaration of Authorship I, Alexandra Christina Frost, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: Alexandra Frost Date: 8th May 2018 2 ‘Wrestling anger: An investigation into Seneca’s approach to the management of passion through Stoic philosophy’ Abstract This thesis asks how passions, in particular anger, can be managed through practising Stoic philosophy. I explore the role of the Stoic theory of passions in Seneca’s writing and situate him within Stoic theory. I explore how Medea and Thyestes reflect his vision of anger communicated in De Ira and De Clementia by treating his protagonists as case-studies of individuals with extreme anger to assess whether they could be improved by Stoicism. Chapter One situates Seneca within the Stoic theory of passions by considering how he responds to his predecessors, how he follows orthodox doctrines, how he was influenced by later thinkers and where he advances philosophical doctrines. Chapter Two analyses anger in De Ira and De Clementia and compares Stoic perceptions with those of Aristotle and the Epicureans and compares its presentation in Seneca’s prose and dramas. Chapter Three considers how to extirpate anger according to the advice offered in Seneca’s moral essays. It traces the techniques’ origins, considering whether they are philosophical, depend on Stoic doctrines, if they are practical solutions or a combination. I critique their feasibility as remedies for passions. Chapter Four presents the Stoic elements pertinent to passions in the selected plays. It explores the anti-Stoic interpretation of Senecan drama, the reasons for philosophy’s prevalence and how his drama reflects his moral theory. Chapter Five asks whether Medea and Atreus reflect a Stoic perspective and how they would benefit by adopting a philosophical outlook. It considers possible audience responses and identifies potential ‘cures’ and whether the characters attempt to address their anger. In conclusion, I accept Seneca’s account of anger and deduce that practising Stoic techniques can help remove anger. While the opportunity for cures in the characters is not applied, the educative function of Senecan drama invites the audience to learn from the protagonists’ failures. 3 ‘Wrestling anger: An investigation into Seneca’s approach to the management of passion through Stoic philosophy’ Contents Abbreviations 5 Translations 6 Introduction 7 Chapter One 54 Chapter Two 87 Chapter Three 130 Chapter Four 176 Chapter Five 214 Conclusion 241 Bibliography 249 4 Abbreviations Abbreviations used are as listed in the Oxford Classical Dictionary 4th edition, with the addition of the following: Alex. Aphr. Alexander of Aphrodisias Beat. De vita beata Brev. De vitae brevitate Carm. aur. Golden Verses De lib. at. aegr. De libidine et aegritudine De nat. hom. De natura hominis De Stoic. rep. De Stoicorum repugnantiis Dissert. Discourses EK Edelstein and Kidd Ench. Encheiridion Epict. Epictetus HO Hercules Oetaeus Ir. De Ira LS Long and Sedley Marc. Ad Marciam Nem. Nemesius Parad. Stoic. Paradoxa Stoicorum Phaed. Phaedra Phoen. Phoenissae PHP De Placitis Hippocratis et Platonis Plac. Placita philosophorum Poly. Ad Polybium Prov. De Providentia Pythag. Pythagoras Oct. Octavia Oed. Oedipus Ot. De Otio Thy. Thyestes Troad. Troades 5 Translations I use translations of De Ira by Kaster (2010) and De Clementia by Braund (2009). I quote from Medea translated by Boyle (2014), Thyestes by Wilson (2010) and the Epistles by Gummere (Volume 1 1917, 1996; Volume 2, 1920, 1970; Volume 3 1925, 2000). Quotations of Cicero Tusculanae disputationes are translated by Graver (2002), Galen De Placitis Hippocratis et Platonis by De Lacy (1978-84) and Philodemus De Ira by Tsouna (2007). Other translations will be referenced accordingly. Unless stated to the contrary, all citations of ancient literature are written by Seneca. References denoted numerically in brackets without an accompanying title are passages of De Ira. 6 ‘Wrestling anger: An investigation into Seneca’s approach to the management of passion through Stoic philosophy’ Introduction The principal research questions The central questions of my research relate to the nature of passions and how they can be managed through practising Stoic philosophy, according to Seneca’s presentation of the School’s doctrines. The purpose of focusing on anger specifically is to apply its presentation in Seneca to advance current understanding of the established Stoic theory of the passions. Anger is the primary focus because it is the most severe and destructive passion and its catastrophic consequences mean that it particularly requires attention to prevent it from arising. By examining the worst type of emotional problem, it is possible to analyse the usefulness of philosophy against its most difficult challenge. With a particular interest in Stoic philosophy, as well as being a politician, moral advisor and author, Seneca provides insight into Stoicism and other philosophical schools’ views about how to live well, a goal he actively strove to achieve, and persuasively encourages his readers to do the same.1 I focus on the Stoic elements of Seneca’s arguments because these best illustrate how Stoicism offers cures for the problem of passions, though reference to his relationship with other thinkers is relevant to complete the picture of his beliefs about anger. Seneca is recognised for his literary ability across many genres. Through his prolific writing he manages to combine his philosophical interests and wish to entertain by incorporating subtle moral suggestions in his plays when he includes Stoic themes in his dramas. His adaptability enables him to appeal to a larger audience than those who read his prose work, including those who observe and read his plays. 1 Cf. Veyne (2003) pp. 5-9. 7 Seneca’s De Ira, a prose work dedicated to anger, forms the foundation of my research regarding ira’s nature and management and detailed analysis of this text is provided in Chapter Two in preparation for further discussion. References to this topic found in his other works will help to complete Seneca’s picture of anger. I draw on elements of De Clementia because ira is an alternative (and inappropriate) response compared to clementia. Where appropriate, I reference the Epistles for insights into the nature of passions and advice about they can be managed, as well as using Seneca’s letters as evidence of Stoic ethical theory. Regarding terminology, Cicero admitted to having problems translating the Greek pathē and concluded that the most appropriate Latin word is perturbationes (cf. Cic. Tusc. 3.7; Cic. Fin. 3.35). Seneca chooses the term passions or adfectus (cf. 1.1.1, 1.1.7, 1.3.6) as they are something from which people ‘suffer’ and they are a vice or vitium (cf. 1.1.5, 1.3.7). I believe that this is captured in the English translation of adfectus as ‘passions’ in preference to ‘emotions’.2 My research enquires into the role of the Stoic theory of passions in Seneca’s writing and through a detailed investigation of the role played by Stoic ideas in the plays Medea and Thyestes, I will explore the extent to which the tragedies are illustrations of his presentation of anger communicated in De Ira. I examine why and how Seneca uses different methods to convey similar philosophical messages in his violent dramas and his more considered moral essays and Epistles. Studying these texts enables a clearer understanding of the battle with passions and aims to consider how their problems can be resolved. I analyse the presence of the psychology of passions in the tragedies Medea and Thyestes and have chosen these plays because the protagonists display anger in its extreme state when they take revenge by murdering their enemies’ children. There are other characters in Seneca’s plays which embody similar characteristics and attitudes towards anger such as Clytemnestra in Agamemnon, Juno in the prologue to Hercules Furens, Achilles and Pyrrhus in the Troades, 2 Translations of ‘pathē/adfectus’ vary amongst scholars between the use of ‘emotion’ and ‘passions’. For example, ‘emotion’ is used by Brennan (2003, 2006) pp. 257ff. and Konstan (2015), whereas Inwood (2005, 2008) and Asmis (2015) choose ‘passions’. 8 Theseus' curse in Phaedra (Phaed. lines 947, 1207), the sibling feud in Phoenissae and Oedipus in Oedipus. However, these plays will not be included in my discussion because the sustained anger of Medea and Atreus and the extreme consequences of their ira best provide appropriate case studies for the exploration of this passion. I question the extent to which Seneca’s tragic characters in Medea and Thyestes display Stoic sympathies and how they would benefit from adopting a philosophical approach. I analyse Medea and Atreus as if they were case studies of real people with severe emotional problems rather than fictitious dramatic devices, examining any evidence of potential cognitive and behavioural improvement in order to establish whether the characters do or should take steps to cure their anger. In this way I can assess whether, if the characters behaved in this way in the real world, they could be reformed through the application of the techniques recommended by Seneca in De Ira, with particular attention to their Stoic elements. This methodology, in effect treating Seneca’s characters as exempla, will enable the use of Medea and Atreus as instances of how not to behave and how their examples could generate reflection in an audience to motivate self- improvement.3 The purpose of these questions is to assist in improving modern understanding about Seneca’s project of educating his audience and readers in virtue and vice.
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