Therapy And Redemption

As a Philosopher of Stoics in Rome,Seneca's works have been read widely since ancient times,which have influenced many statesmen and thinkers.But for modern researchers,Seneca seems to be a problem because as a claimed Stoic and he had intimate connections with Epicureans and Christianity.So he has been called an"eclectic" in academics.Seneca has provided an explanation that he would adopt everything that contributes to pursue truth.Truth should not fall into a narrow understanding,and it includes virtue,prudence and divine wisdom.We believe that after grasping the new characteristics of Stoics,and those of all philosophical school in the Hellenistic and Roman periods,we will comprehend Seneca.The key concept is therapeutic philosophy.For the sake of curing spiritual diseases in human,Seneca opens his mind to accept other therapies in addition to Stoic methodology.From this perspective,I will study Seneca as a spiritual doctor.In healing the diseases of human soul he has used both Stoic virtue,and the Epicureans pleasure and Christian sacred wisdom.Therefore,in my dissertation I shall explore the "complex ambiguity",of Seneca's personality and ideology.The treatment of Stoic virtue is Seneca's main therapy.Seneca inherits the theory of Stoics about medical diagnosis and disease treatment to human soul.First,he analyses passion as pathology of mind.As disorder from ethics,ontology and epistemology what showing that it is necessary and possible to treat passion.Then,Seneca argues a kind of Value Order as a prescription of eradicating passion that only virtue is good from different dimensions:virtue is the real excellence of human being,and it represents happiness which can be achieved by people themselves;and virtue's exclusive desirability can be proved by craft analogy and metaphysics akin to God.The reductive treatment of Epicureans' pleasure is Seneca's assistant therapy.Seneca gets support from Epicureans because he understood Epicureanism profoundly,which is similar to Stoicism for it also aims at invulnerability,spiritual tranquility and happiness of human.But it is also different from Stoicism,as it is more gentle and amiable,more fit for ordinary people or the weak.Sacred wisdom of Christianity is Seneca's expectant therapy.That Seneca is interested in tragedy seems to indicate his despair about rationality and looking forward to the saving by the Holy.From Seneca's Moral Essays,he can be seen as a seeker after god,and from some details of his Epistulae Morales,his pursuits corresponds to Christianity and leads beyond Stoicism.Although Seneca is still confirmed as an eclectic in our interpretation,we argue that this term indicates that the Seneca's charming lies in his broad perspectives.He never adhered to a system of thought rigidly,which can explain his influence on such different types of thinkers,as Augustine and Adam Smith,the former has expressed Grace clearly,and the latter expounded diverse roles and limitations of prudence,virtue and divine wisdom.