Selves in Conflict

This article provides a critical overview of the current scholarly debate regarding ancient notions of selfhood and personal identity. It does so by focusing on the ideas of two of the most prominent contributors to this debate, Christopher Gill and Richard Sorabji. The views of these two scholars appear to be in direct opposition: while Gill claims that there is a fundamental difference between ancient and modern conceptions of personality (he identifies these as “objective-participant” and “subjective-individualist”), Sorabji, on the other hand, stresses continuity and identifies a number of central recurring elements of selfhood. Through an analysis of several relevant examples from ancient literature and philosophy (Cicero on the theory of personae , Epictetus’ concept of prohaeresis , the motives of Medea in Euripides’ play), it is argued that the two positions are not as contradictory as they may at first appear. Instead, the readings point toward a synthesis in which central elements of both perspectives are combined

Aesthetics · Art · Cicero · Epistemology · Identity (music) · Individualism · Literature · Opposition (politics) · Personality · Political science · Politics · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Philosophy and Thought · History · Law · Philosophy · Psychology

• L’effort du vrai

  Paul Cournarie•Genèses•2023

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• Merit and responsibility

  A W H Adkins•Merit and responsibility•1960

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• The discovery of the mind in Greek philosophy and literature

  Bruno Snell•The discovery of the mind in…•1982

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• Personality in Greek Epic, Tragedy, and Philosophy

  Christopher Gill•Personality in Greek epic,…•1996

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• ‘But Why has my Spirit Spoken with me thus?’

  Open Access•R W Sharples•Greece and Rome•1983

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• Ancient Philosophy of the Self

  Open Access•Simo Knuuttila, Richard Sorabji et al.•Ancient Philosophy of the Self•2008

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• The Character of Medea

  Open Access•George Gellie•Bulletin of the Institute of…•1988

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• Cicero

  Paul Mackendrick, Cicero Cicero et al.•The Classical World•1992

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• Do Homeric Heroes Make Real Decisions

  Open Access•Richard Gaskins, Richard Gaskin•The Classical Quarterly•1990

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• Shame and Necessity

  Bernard Williams•Shame and Necessity•1993

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