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Ancient Roman philosophy isphilosophy as it was practiced in theRoman Republic and its successor state, theRoman Empire. Roman philosophy includes philosophy written in Latin as well as philosophy written in Greek in the late Republic and Roman Empire. Important early Latin-language writers includeLucretius,Cicero, andSeneca the Younger. Greek was a popular language for writing about philosophy, so much so that the Roman EmperorMarcus Aurelius chose to write hisMeditations in Greek.
Interest in philosophy was first shown at Rome in 155 BC by an Athenian embassy consisting of theAcademic skepticCarneades, theStoicDiogenes of Babylon, and thePeripateticCritolaus.[1] Roman philosophy was heavily influenced byHellenistic philosophy; however, unique developments in philosophical schools of thought occurred during the Roman period as well, with many philosophers adapting teachings from more than one school. Both leading schools of law of the Roman period, theSabinian and theProculean Schools, drew their ethical views from readings on the Stoics and Epicureans respectively,[2] allowing for the competition between thought to manifest in a new field in Rome's jurisprudence.
During the autocratic rule of theFlavian dynasty, a group of philosophers vocally and politically protested against imperial actions, particularly underDomitian andVespasian. This resulted in Vespasian banishing all philosophers from Rome, save forGaius Musonius Rufus, although he too was later banished.[3] This event later became known as theStoic Opposition, as a majority of the protesting philosophers were Stoics. Later in the Roman period, Stoics came to regard this opposition highly; however, the term "Stoic Opposition" was not coined until the 19th century, where it first appears in the writings ofGaston Boissier.[4]
While philosophy was often admired by jurists and aristocrats, of the emperors the affinity thatHadrian held for philosophy stands out, a feature that was likely amplified by hisphilhellenism. Hadrian was recorded to have attended lectures byEpictetus andFavorinus on his tours of Greece, and he invested heavily in attempting to reviveAthens as a cultural center in the ancient world through methods of central planning on his part.[5] Hadrian held philosophy in high esteem an attitude uncommon among Roman emperors, who were often indifferent or even hostile toward it as a discipline. These sentiments in favor of philosophy were also shared by the emperorsNero,Julian the Apostate, andMarcus Aurelius the latter two of whom are now considered as philosophers.
Later, with the spread ofChristianity inside the Roman Empire, came theChristian philosophy ofAugustine of Hippo. One of the last philosophical writers of antiquity wasBoethius, whose writings are the chief source of information as to Greek philosophy during the first centuries of the Middle Ages.[1] During this time Athens declined as an intellectual center of thought while new sites such asAlexandria andRome hosted a variety of philosophical discussion, such ascommentary on the works of Aristotle.[6]
Around 90 BC,Antiochus of Ascalon rejected skepticism, making way for the period known asMiddle Platonism, in whichPlatonism was fused with certainPeripatetic and many Stoicdogmas. In Middle Platonism, thePlatonic Forms were not transcendent but immanent to rational minds, and the physical world was a living, ensouled being, theworld-soul. The eclectic nature of Platonism during this time is shown by its incorporation intoPythagoreanism (Numenius of Apamea) and intoJewish philosophy[7] (Philo of Alexandria).
TheSchool of the Sextii was an eclectic Ancient Romanschool of philosophy founded around 50 BC byQuintus Sextius and continued by his son,Sextius Niger, however it went extinct shortly after in 19 AD due to the ban on foreign cults.[8] The school blended elements of Pythagorean, Platonic,Cynic, and Stoic together[9] with a belief in an elusive incorporeal power pervades the body in order to emphasize asceticism, honesty, and moral training through nightly examinations of conscience as a means of achievingeudaimonia.[10] The primary sources of information on the school areSeneca the Younger, who was taught by one of its members namedSotion, and the 5th century writerClaudianus Mamertus.[10] Other members of the school includedPapirius Fabianus,Crassicius Pasicles,Celsus.[10] While Seneca the Younger often conflates the school with Stoicism, the Sextians were not as inclined to rigorous logical exercises or any abstruse abstract thinking, and unlike the Stoics, advocated avoidance of politics, engaging in the correspondence between words and life, and vegetarianism.[11]
Pythagorean views were revived byNigidius Figulus during the Hellenistic period, when pseudo-pythagorean writings began circulating.[12] Eventually in the 1st and 2nd centuries ADNeopythagoreanism came to be recognized. The school was propagated bySecundus the Silent andIamblichus.
Cynic philosophy survived into the Imperial period, and even became "fashionable", though its adherents were criticized for not being fully committed.[13]
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Neoplatonism, orPlotinism, is a school of religious and mystical philosophy founded byPlotinus in the 3rd century AD and based on the teachings of Plato and the other Platonists. The summit of existence wasthe One or the Good, the source of all things. Invirtue andmeditation the soul had the power to elevate itself to attain union with the One, the true function of human beings. Non-Christian Neoplatonists used to attack Christianity until Christians such asAugustine,Boethius, andEriugena adopted Neoplatonism.
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