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Aristippus of Cyrene › Who Was
Definition and Origins
Aristippus of Cyrene (c. 435-356 BCE) was a hedonistic Greek philosopher who was one of Socrates ' students along with other pupils such as Plato, Xenophon, Antisthenes, and Phaedo. He was the first of Socrates' students to charge a fee for teaching and, since Socrates had charged nothing, this, and the accusation he had betrayed Socrates' philosophy, created a life-long friction between Aristippus and Socrates' other disciples. He believed and taught that the meaning of life was pleasure and that the pursuit of pleasure, therefore, was the noblest path one could dedicate oneself to. It is hard to understand, at first, how Aristippus could have been a student of Socrates, so different seem their philosophies. However, Aristippus' most famous phrase, “I possess, I am not possessed”, is quite in line with Socrates' own view of life as presented by Plato and Xenophon, the two primary sources on Socrates' life.
Plato presents Socrates as a man who often enjoyed drinking wine but who never got drunk, who attended parties but never had the money to host one himself, and who seems to have lived primarily - in his later years at least - on monetary gifts from friends and admirers. Xenophon does not contradict Plato on any of the above points. Although Socrates could in no way be considered a hedonist, it is fairly easy to see how a young disciple of his could come to the conclusion that enjoying those things money can buy, without becoming a slave to the money with which to buy such things, would seem a worthwhile philosophy. Further, Socrates' habit of drinking heavily, but never appearing drunk or trying to acquire more wine, would be in line with Aristippus' philosophy of possessing, or enjoying, something without being possessed by that thing.
ARISTIPPUS CLAIMED THAT THE HIGHEST TRUTH ONE COULD ATTAIN WAS THE RECOGNITION THAT PLEASURE WAS THE PURPOSE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE AND THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE WAS THE MEANING OF LIFE.
While Socrates pursued truth and sought understanding, Aristippus simplified the teaching of his master by claiming the highest truth one could attain was the recognition that pleasure was the purpose of human existence and the pursuit of pleasure was the meaning of life. In this, and in his scorn for those who complicated matters by thinking too precisely on them, he would be a kindred spirit of the Chinese hedonist philosopher Yang Zhu (440-360 BCE) who claimed that concerns about "right" and "wrong" were a waste of time because there is no god, no afterlife, and no reward for suffering needlessly by denying oneself when one could as easily, and more sensibly, enjoy life in the present.
Plato's dialogue of the Phaedo describes the last day of Socrates' life when his disciples came to visit him in his prison cell in Athens and they had their final philosophical discussion. The dialogue begins with the Pythagorean philosopher Echecrates meeting Socrates' student Phaedo (who was there at the prison and present at Socrates' death) and asking him to tell of the experience in the jail on the last day. Phaedo lists those who were present and Echecrates asks, “But Aristippus and Cleombrotus, were they present?” To which Phaedo replies, “No. they were not. They were said to be in Aegina ”(59c). As the island of Aegina was known as a pleasure resort, Plato certainly knew what he was doing in placing the hedonistic philosopher there instead of in attendance in Socrates' last hours. Whether the Cleombrotus mentioned in Phaedo is the same man whom Callimachus says leaped to his death after reading Plato's description of the afterlife and the journey of the soul in the dialogue of the Phaedo is not known, but if Cleombrotus was with Aristippus on Aegina, it may safely be assumed they were not there engaged in philosophical discourse, as Plato would have defined it, but would have been pursuing pleasure. As Plato did not approve of Aristippus (as, it seems, he did not approve of most of Socrates' other disciples nor they of him) the line referencing Aristippus' preference of pleasure on Aegina to philosophical conversation in an Athenian jail cell would have been intended by Plato to show how shallow Aristippus and his philosophy was. The ancient writer Diogenes Laertius (3rd century CE) mentions Plato's jab against Aristippus in Plato's "Book on the Soul", as the Phaedo was called.
Even so, Aristippus, like Socrates, focused his attention on practical ethics; the question, "What is the Good?" was in the forefront of his belief system. The values humans term "good" or "evil" are reducible to pleasure and pain; self-gratification, then, is a great good while self-restraint, in the face of certain pleasure, would be bad. Still, Aristippus maintained that one should not allow oneself to be possessed by those things which bring pleasure. According to Diogenes Laertius, when Aristippus was criticized for keeping a very expensive mistress named Lais, he replied, “I have Lais, not she me.” There was nothing at all wrong, then, with enjoying whatever it was one wanted to enjoy, as long as one knew the ultimate value of that thing or person and did not confuse that value with one's own personal freedom. In Aristippus' view, one should never trade one's freedom for anything. Self-restraint and self-gratification, then, were of equal value in maintaining one's personal liberty while pursuing the Good in life: pleasure.
ARISTIPPUS AT COURT
Aristippus lived at the court of the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse (432-367 BCE) or, perhaps, of his son Dionysius the Younger (397-343 BCE) where he was highly paid for his teaching and writing. When he first arrived at the palace, Dionysius asked him what he was doing there and, allegedly, he said, "When I wanted wisdom I went to Socrates; but now that I want money I have come to you." The uncertainty of which king Aristippus lived with is due to the primary sources referencing "Dionysius" without clarifying whether the father or the son, and as their personalities were similar, it could be either. Plato had attempted to turn Dionysius the Younger into his Philosopher King and failed and so, if Aristippus served that king, it would further explain Plato's enmity toward Aristippus (even though no further explanation is required than Aristippus' philosophy of pleasure).Diogenes Laertius tells us that
[Aristippus] was a man very quick at adapting himself to every kind of place, and time, and person, and he easily supported every change of fortune. For which reason he was in greater favour with Dionysius than any of the others, as he always made the best of existing circumstances. For he enjoyed what was before him pleasantly, and he did not toil to procure himself the enjoyment of what was not present (III).
His position at the court was essentially "wise man"' or "counselor" but, according to the ancient reports, he seems to have spent much of his time simply enjoying himself at the expense of Dionysius. Diogenes Laertius illustrates this, writing, "One day he asked Dionysius for some money, who said, 'But you told me that a wise man would never be in want,' 'Give me some,' Aristippus rejoined, 'and then we will discuss that point;' Dionysius gave him some, 'Now then,' said he, 'you see that I do not want money'." (IV). He apparently lived very luxuriously at the court where, among his students, he taught his daughter Arete about philosophical hedonism. She, in turn, passed his teaching down to her son, Aristippus-the-Younger (also known as Aristippus-the-mother-taught because he was raised by his mother alone), who formalized the teachings in his own writings.The teachings of Aristippus and his Cyrenaic School would later influence the thought of Epicurus and his philosophy regarding the primacy of pleasure in understanding the ultimate meaning in one's life.
ARISTIPPUS' WRITING & LATER LIFE
According to some ancient sources, Aristippus wrote many books while, according to others, none. The primary source of anecdotes concerning his life is Diogenes Laertius who has been criticized for not citing his sources but mentions Aristippus' written works in the same passage where he says he wrote nothing. One of the works attributed to him was On Ancient Luxury, no longer extant, which seems to have been a kind of scandal sheet detailing the less philosophical affairs and dalliances of Greek philosophers with young boys (and with particular attention paid to Plato). While it is entirely possible Aristippus could have written such a work, it does not seem consistent with his character. He routinely seems to have regarded himself superior to his contemporaries, especially to Socrates' other students, and it seems unlikely he would have expended the effort to write anything about them at all.
Aristippus lived into old age after a life of luxury and pleasure and retired to his hometown of Cyrene where he died. His daughter and grandson systematized his philosophy, and Aristippus the Younger is thought to have formally founded the Cyrenaic School of Philosophy (one of the earliest so-called Socratic schools originally founded by Aristippus himself) based on his grandfather's teachings.
Midas › Who Was
Definition and Origins
Midas was a mythical king of Phrygia who was famous for his ability to change anything that he touched into solid gold. He was also famous for a more unfortunate trait, his donkey ears. These he gained as punishment for judging Pan the better musician than Apollo.
In Greek mythology Midas, wandering one day in his garden, came across the wise satyr Silenus (or Silenos) who was rather the worse for wear after a night's out drinking. In other versions of the myth Midas actually drugged the pool from which the satyr drank and thereby captured him so that he could learn from his wisdom. This scene was popular on Greek pottery from c. 560 BCE. Midas, nevertheless, gave the satyr food and drink to restore his spirits and returned him to his great companion, Dionysos, the god of wine. In return for this kind treatment the god granted Midas a wish. The king, already famous for his wealth, chose to be given the magical ability to turn any object he touched into solid gold.
THE KING, ALREADY FAMOUS FOR HIS WEALTH, CHOSE TO BE GIVEN THE MAGICAL ABILITY TO TURN ANY OBJECT HE TOUCHED INTO SOLID GOLD.
On his way home to his palace, Midas immediately put his new skill to the test and was delighted to see how he could change branches, stones and even bits of soil into fantastic nuggets of shining gold. Even flowers and fruit, when touched by the king, turned instantly into gold. The full consequences of this gift soon became evident however, when Midas tried to mount his horse and it too turned into the lifeless metal. On returning to his palace, the golden robes of the king brushed the pillars of the doorway as he went through and they too instantly became gold. Then the situation took a more ominous turn when calling for dinner the King attempted to wash his hands in a bowl of water. Alas, as soon as his fingers entered the water it also changed to gold and on starting to eat, even the tasty delicacies changed into gold once put into his mouth. Terribly hungry and thirsty, even sleep brought no respite as his usually soft bed became cold and hard and sleep was impossible. Midas now became sick of the sight of the gold which surrounded him and he sought out Dionysos to reverse the gift that had so quickly become a curse.
Fortunately, Dionysos was willing to give poor Midas a helping hand and he directed the king to the source of the river Pactolus in Lydia. If Midas washed in the waters he would lose his golden touch. After much arduous travel, Midas found the spring and immediately leapt in, washing away his curse. This myth also explained the actual presence of gold dust in the river bed of the Pactolus.
Midas was to have another encounter with a deity and this time he was even less fortunate. The pastoral god Pan, inventor of the syrinx or panpipes made of reeds, boastfully set himself up against the lyre -playing abilities of the great god Apollo and challenged him to a musical contest. When Midas judged Pan to be the better musician, Apollo in his rage gave the king the ears of an ass. Understandably ashamed of his new features, Midas hid away in his palace and from then on always wore a turban so that only his barber knew the truth. Sworn and bullied into silence, the barber could not hold onto his secret for long and one day he relieved his burden by digging a hole into the ground and whispering into it 'Midas has ass's ears'. From that very spot though, grew a handful of reeds and whenever the wind blew they would forever sing softly the refrain 'Midas has ass's ears'.
It is possible that the mythical figure of Midas was based on a real king of Phrygia in the 8th century BCE known as Mita. Mita or Midas made offerings to Delphi, the first foreign monarch to do so. A skeleton discovered in the tomb mounds outside Gordium, the Phrygian capital, has been tentatively attributed to Mita by some scholars.
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