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9Demetrius of Laconia and the debate between the Stoics and the Epicureans on the nature of parental loveClassical Quarterly 67 (1): 149-162. 2017.Epicurus denies that human beings have natural parental love for their children, and his account of the development of justice and human political community does not involve any natural affinity between human beings in general but rather a form of social contract. The Stoics to the contrary assert that parental love is natural; and, moreover, they maintain that natural parental love is the first principle of social οἰκείωσις, which provides the basis for the naturalness of justice and human poli…Read more
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8The Epicurean virtue of ΜΕΓΑΛΟΨΥΧΙΑClassical Philology 112 175-199. 2017.The virtue of μεγαλοψυχία or greatness of soul is prominent in the works of Aristotle as well as in the Peripatetic and Stoic traditions. However, mention of μεγαλοψυχία is extremely rare in our surviving evidence for the Epicurean school. In this paper I reconstruct a viable Epicurean position on μεγαλοψυχία. I argue that the Epicureans have a distinctive account of the virtue that is compatible with their hedonist ethics, and that can also be seen as a reaction to Aristotle. I also demonstrate…Read more
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5Raphael Woolf. Cicero: The Philosophy of a Roman Sceptic. Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 35 (6): 319-320. 2015.
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5Cicero De Senectute- (A.) Sjöblad Metaphors Cicero Lived By. The Metaphor and Simile in De senectute. (Studia Graeca et Latina Lundensia 16.) Pp. iv + 204. Lund: Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University, 2009. Paper. ISBN: 978-91-628-7799-6 (review)The Classical Review 61 (1): 112-113. 2011.
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8Lucretius and Civil StrifePhoenix 66 97-121. 2012.I reconstruct the Epicurean philosophical position on civil strife and examine Lucretius’ engagement with the topic against it. I challenge the scholarly consensus and argue that there is in fact no compulsion to explain Lucretius’ concern with civil strife by appeal to a preoccupation with contemporary events.
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1Brad Inwood, ed. , Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, Volume 41 . Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 32 (6): 475-480. 2012.
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3Susan H. Prince, Antisthenes of Athens: Texts, Translations, and Commentary. Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 36 (5): 218-219. 2016.
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8Daniel S. Werner , Myth and Philosophy in Plato's Phaedrus . Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 33 (5): 421-423. 2013.
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1Epicurean education and the rhetoric of concernActa Classica 58 111-145. 2015.There has been a large amount of scholarly controversy over the precise nature of the motivations at play in the Epicurean accounts of justice and friendship, and whether any form of altruism or other-concern is compatible with Epicurean hedonist ethics. This paper addresses this tension between self- and other-concern from a novel angle, by examining the motivations behind Epicurean educational practice. What emerges is a rather complex motivational picture that reaffirms the Epicureans' philos…Read more
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4Marina Berzins McCoy , Wounded Heroes: Vulnerability as a Virtue in Ancient Greek Literature and Philosophy . Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 35 (1): 35-37. 2015.
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9Brad Inwood, ed. , Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, Volume 39 . Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 32 (6): 475-480. 2012.OSAP vol 39 TOC includes papers on Plato and Aristotle with one paper on Plotinus.
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7Epicureans on KingshipCambridge Classical Journal 56 178-198. 2010.Diogenes Laertius lists in his catalogue of Epicurus' works (10.28) a treatise On Kingship, which is unfortunately no longer extant. Owing to the Epicureans' antipathy to politics, such a work might be viewed with surprise and presumed to be virulently negative in outlook. Indeed, Plutarch reports that the Epicureans wrote on kingship only to ward people away from living in the company of kings(Adv. Col. 1127a) and that they maintained that to be king oneself was a terrible mistake (Adv. Col. 11…Read more
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3Plato’s Critique of Antisthenes on Pleasure and the Good LifeAncient Philosophy 35 (2): 329-349. 2015.The anonymous anti-hedonists at Philebus 44a–53c make three bold claims: (1) there are in fact no such things as pleasures; (2) what the hedonist followers of Philebus call pleasure is really nothing but escape from pain; (3) there is nothing healthy in pleasure (pleasure is never a good). These anti-hedonists are commonly identified with Speusippus, Plato’s nephew and his successor as head of the Academy. In this paper I first argue that this widely favoured view should be rejected. I then make…Read more
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2Philosophical Life in Cicero's LettersCambridge University Press. 2014.Cicero's letters are saturated with learned philosophical allusions and arguments. This innovative study shows just how fundamental these are for understanding Cicero's philosophical activities and for explaining the enduring interest of his ethical and political thought. Dr McConnell draws particular attention to Cicero's treatment of Plato's Seventh Letter and his views on the relationship between philosophy and politics. He also illustrates the various ways in which Cicero finds philosophy an…Read more
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2Brad Inwood, ed. , Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, Volumes 44 and 45 . Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 35 (2): 80-84. 2015.
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6Jonathan Zarecki: Cicero’s Ideal Statesman in Theory and Practice. London/New York: Bloomsbury 2014, xi + 212 pp (review)Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 98 (2): 234-237. 2016.Name der Zeitschrift: Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie Jahrgang: 98 Heft: 2 Seiten: 234-237.
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8Brad Inwood, ed. , Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, Volume 38 . Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 32 (6): 475-480. 2012.
Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
Areas of Specialization
Social and Political Philosophy |
Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy |
History of Western Philosophy |
Classics |