On Duties

Ce livre fait peut-être partie de la série Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought.

De Officiis (On Duties) was Cicero's last philosophical work. In it he made use of Greek thought to formulate the political and ethical values of Roman Republican society as he saw them, revealing incidentally a great deal about actual practice. Writing at a time of political crisis after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44BC, when it was not clear how much of the old Republican order would survive, Cicero here handed on the insights of an elder statesman, adept at political theory and practice, to his son, and through …

Livre broché, 243 pages

Langue : English

Publié 31 décembre 2019 par Cambridge University Press.

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ISBN :
978-0-521-34835-5
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Sujets
  • Early works to 1800
  • Ethics
  • Ancient Ethics
  • Political ethics
  • Ethics, ancient

Critiques

a publié une critique de On Duties par Cicero (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)

Definitely a classic for the right reasons

This book is a must-read for understanding how the Stoic cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, courage, temperance) tie up to our duties as human beings in relation to our family, friends, colleagues, countrymen and the rest of humanity. It goes more in-depth than any other book from the same era into the practical benefits of the virtues, as well as how justice is related to social duties, benefits, and moral righteousness. This is also the only source we have of Panaetius' Four Personae Theory, which is an essential formulation in Stoic teaching.

I'm not too well-versed with the history and prominent figures of the Roman Empire so some of the examples and stories on people that apply these virtues to varying degree got lost on me. However, in addition to the excellent introduction at the beginning, the editors have done a stellar job at supplying footnotes (nearly every page has …