Marcus Aurelius: Reason and Human Fellowship
Listen now
Description
In his Meditations, Marcus Aurelius repeatedly affirms that human beings are both reasonable and social.  And in Book X, Verse 2, he appears to identify a deep connection between aspects of human nature when he claims “what is reasonable is consequently also social”.   In this show, we will explore the meaning of this connection.  What is the nature of relationship between the reasonable and the social?  Do human beings possess the natural capacity for reason to serve the social?  Or are human beings social so that their rational natures can be developed?  Or perhaps the reasonable and the social are inter-entailing and ‘co-dependent’ in some way.  The objective of the show is to gain a better understand Marcus Aurelius’ view of the relationship between the ‘reasonable’ and ‘social’ aspects of human nature and how this facet of Marcus Aurelius’ philosophy connects with his metaphysical views about the nature of the universe and the ‘human commonwealth’
More Episodes
We continue discussing Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, focusing on the relationship between the individual, rational being and the Commonwealth or "World City".   This week we will be approaching the topic from the lens of self-interest.   How does Marcus Aurelius' view of a Commonwealth of...
Published 10/16/12
In this show, we sit down with Caitlin Cheevers (President) and Randi Shaffer (Promotional Manager) of the Central Michigan University Chapter of Invisible Children.  Caitlin and Randi will discuss the hugely successful KONY 2012 campaign from the inside.  Our objective is to provide our...
Published 03/27/12
In this show, we introduce the listener to 'Atrocity Law' - the legal framework which saw a growth spurt with the historic Nuremberg trials of Nazi Germany.   But atrocities also occurred in World War 1 - including atrocities against the Armenian people - a Christian minority  living within the...
Published 03/20/12