Author: Takahata, Tokiko
Title: Das Bild des römischen Staates in Ciceros philosophischen Schriften
Place edition: Marburg / Lahn
Editor: Philipps-Universität
Year edition: 2004
Pages: 253
Description: [Abstract] Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Dr. phil. Dem Fachbereich Fremdsprachliche Philologien der Philipps-Universit?t Marburg = The roman Republic and the political propaganda in Cicero?s philosophical Works The dissertation aims to trace the image of the Roman state, which is unfolded in Cicero’s philosophical opera. While Cicero treats politics and law in other writings, such as De re publica and De legibus, he argues also in the purely philosophical-theoretical writings on many political subjects. Until today, despite extensive research on Cicero, there is no profound investigation into the political views of Cicero in the philosophical writings: A few researchers have confined their examination to the political purpose of these philosophical works of Cicero. Since previous researches have been limited to the political relationship between Cicero and Caesar and mostly to the prosopographic analysis of the interlocutors, there is a need for a renewed investigation, that tries to find out not only the current political relations of those days, but also the correlation between political conceptions, the relevant art of argumentation, which Cicero actively used in his speeches on the forum, and the philosophical position. In order to answer to the question, how and why Cicero unfolds his political thoughts also in his philosophical writings, the following analyses are carried out: 1) politician and non-politician as a dialogue participant, 2) explicit statements about politics and political engagement, 3) use of historical and political examples in the dialogues, 4) characteristic moral concepts of Rome. A concrete and detailed connection between politics and philosophy appears in a special way in Cicero, who was both a Roman politician and a philosopher. Cicero mostly expresses the state ideal and the virtuous actions of Roman politics through the exempla maiorum, which shows at the same time just the Roman specialty. >From the above-mentioned analyses it can be concluded as follows: Cicero uses just in the 213to outward seeming213 purely philosophical works before the death of Caesar under political pressure both philosophical discussion and exempla skilfully. He does it in order to criticize influential public enemies 213not only active public enemies such as Caesar and his supporters, but also passive corrupt politicians, who yield to luxury and give up their skeptic attitude towards the republican enemies213 indirectly, but effectively. At the same time Cicero produces a connection between epistemology and the art of governing the state: He propagates thus not only a philosophical, but also a political skepticism. This Dissertation comes to this conclusion: the political background influences the determination of the time in each piece of writing and its form, dialogue or monologue. After the death of Caesar the philosophica, which Cicero wrote after his return to Rome, treat suddenly real political and social themes. Moreover Cicero places special emphasis on his own person by use of the monologue. Then the sapiens, who was severely criticized in the earlier works, plays the main role and is represented in a positive way as authority. In the last three works Cicero’s will can be recognized to act as the only real sapiens in Roman politics, to unite his political friends, optimates and all viri boni and to restore the senate and a new res publica. Finally Cicero acts up to his ideal pro patria mori by means of his speech activity in the Philippica, to which he appealed again and again through exempla maiorum in his philosophica, and places himself in the number of the Roman sages, who devoted themselves to the state.
Link: https://archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de/diss/z2004/0622/
Author initials: Takahata 2004
Title: Das Bild des römischen Staates in Ciceros philosophischen Schriften
Place edition: Marburg / Lahn
Editor: Philipps-Universität
Year edition: 2004
Pages: 253
Description: [Abstract] Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Dr. phil. Dem Fachbereich Fremdsprachliche Philologien der Philipps-Universit?t Marburg = The roman Republic and the political propaganda in Cicero?s philosophical Works The dissertation aims to trace the image of the Roman state, which is unfolded in Cicero’s philosophical opera. While Cicero treats politics and law in other writings, such as De re publica and De legibus, he argues also in the purely philosophical-theoretical writings on many political subjects. Until today, despite extensive research on Cicero, there is no profound investigation into the political views of Cicero in the philosophical writings: A few researchers have confined their examination to the political purpose of these philosophical works of Cicero. Since previous researches have been limited to the political relationship between Cicero and Caesar and mostly to the prosopographic analysis of the interlocutors, there is a need for a renewed investigation, that tries to find out not only the current political relations of those days, but also the correlation between political conceptions, the relevant art of argumentation, which Cicero actively used in his speeches on the forum, and the philosophical position. In order to answer to the question, how and why Cicero unfolds his political thoughts also in his philosophical writings, the following analyses are carried out: 1) politician and non-politician as a dialogue participant, 2) explicit statements about politics and political engagement, 3) use of historical and political examples in the dialogues, 4) characteristic moral concepts of Rome. A concrete and detailed connection between politics and philosophy appears in a special way in Cicero, who was both a Roman politician and a philosopher. Cicero mostly expresses the state ideal and the virtuous actions of Roman politics through the exempla maiorum, which shows at the same time just the Roman specialty. >From the above-mentioned analyses it can be concluded as follows: Cicero uses just in the 213to outward seeming213 purely philosophical works before the death of Caesar under political pressure both philosophical discussion and exempla skilfully. He does it in order to criticize influential public enemies 213not only active public enemies such as Caesar and his supporters, but also passive corrupt politicians, who yield to luxury and give up their skeptic attitude towards the republican enemies213 indirectly, but effectively. At the same time Cicero produces a connection between epistemology and the art of governing the state: He propagates thus not only a philosophical, but also a political skepticism. This Dissertation comes to this conclusion: the political background influences the determination of the time in each piece of writing and its form, dialogue or monologue. After the death of Caesar the philosophica, which Cicero wrote after his return to Rome, treat suddenly real political and social themes. Moreover Cicero places special emphasis on his own person by use of the monologue. Then the sapiens, who was severely criticized in the earlier works, plays the main role and is represented in a positive way as authority. In the last three works Cicero’s will can be recognized to act as the only real sapiens in Roman politics, to unite his political friends, optimates and all viri boni and to restore the senate and a new res publica. Finally Cicero acts up to his ideal pro patria mori by means of his speech activity in the Philippica, to which he appealed again and again through exempla maiorum in his philosophica, and places himself in the number of the Roman sages, who devoted themselves to the state.
Link: https://archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de/diss/z2004/0622/
Author initials: Takahata 2004
