Marcus Tullius Cicero, Academica [Academic Books]

Harald Thorsrud (Agnes Scott College)

Ed. by Sophia Papaioannou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Jula Wildberger (The American University of Paris)

Domains

Philosophy (any)

Dates

First circulation or publication -45

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Dialogue
Treatise

Resources

Shortly after the death of his daughter in February 45 BCE, Cicero gave himself over completely to his project of recasting Greek philosophy in the Latin language. After rapidly completing his Consolatio, in part to convince himself of the futility of extreme grief, he composed an exhortation to philosophy, the Hortensius. Continuing his project in the Academica, Cicero sought to explain his lifelong devotion to the methodology that had come to be practiced in Plato’s Academy, and its underlying epistemology (ND 1.11, Tusc. 2.4, Div. 2.1, Off. 2.8). The central philosophical issue is whether wisdom is compatible with holding mere opinions. The Stoics argued that since we are capable of a…

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1869 words

Citation: Thorsrud, Harald. "Academica". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 June 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35021, accessed 14 May 2024.]

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