Author: 18cbeliefs

In “Regrets for my Old Dressing Gown, or A Warning to Those Who Have More Taste than Fortune” by Denis Diderot, it is written, “Poverty has its freedoms; opulence has its obstacles.” Diderot continues on to speak of Diogenes and Aristippus. These two men were Greek philosophers with opposite viewpoints. They had different beliefs with regard to how one should live their life. Diogenes always stuck to his morals and questioned mankind for their own, even though he himself was a beggar. He was a man with a clever and sharp tongue who taught others through his cynicism. Aristippus was a hedonist. This means that most, if not all, of his actions led to self-gratification. Whether it was indulging in food, wine or women, he always did it in excess and gluttony. He genuinely believed that his happiness and satisfaction was the most important thing in life and that obtaining those should never be delayed. There is a story about kings for each of the men that give an example of the differences between them.

“Diogenes was knee deep in a stream washing vegetables. Coming up to him, Plato said, ‘My good Diogenes, if you knew how to pay court to kings, you wouldn’t have to wash vegetables.’ ‘And,’ replied Diogenes, ‘If you knew how to wash vegetables, you wouldn’t have to pay court to kings.’”

Aristippus, on the other hand, was criticized heavily for being the “king’s poodle.” He would give into the king’s every whim in order to reap the benefits of being in a circle of importance and wealth, even if it gave him a bad name. Diderot relates these opposite ideologies to his dressing gown dilemma. He feels that his old gown was owned by him and granted him the freedom to do as he liked (such as with Diogenes) whereas he feels owned and controlled by the new gown (like Aristippus). In the end, sometimes it’s just best to stick with your vegetables than to be owned by a king.

~ JW

Diderot, Denis. “Regrets for my Old Dressing Gown, or A Warning to Those Who Have More Taste than Fortune.” Marxists.org. 2005. Web. 9 Sept., 2012.

O’Keefe, Tim. “Aristippus (c.435-356 BCE).” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 22 July, 2005. Web. 9 Sept., 2012.

Quinn, David. “Teachings of Diogenes.” Optus Home. n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2012.

Roman Catholicism contains the largest group of Christians in the world and was very popular prior to Henry VIII’s introduction to the Church of England in the 19th century. The beginning of this new religion caused many Catholics to be denied their civil rights and to experience limitations in their everyday lives. This treatment was eminent from the start. When Henry VIII founded the Church of England (or Anglican Church) those who remained faithful to the Church of Rome were looked upon with suspicion and were denied their rights to serve in parliament, own certain kinds of property, and attend Oxford, Cambridge, and other major universities of that time. This behavior continued until 1829 when parliament granted Roman Catholics full civil rights. Later on in 1840 Parliament continued to support the Roman Catholic religion by taking away any tax support from the Anglican Church. In the end many Catholic rituals were defended and practices such as confession and celibacy were accepted rather than rejected by British Protestants who had long been against these Catholic beliefs.

SW

The belief about what is picturesque and what is beautiful differs between people, religions, societies, and even amid different time periods. William Gilpin’s essay on the picturesque describes that beauty varies amongst spectators as does the standards and importance of its presence.  In the 19^th century Britain’s religious faith found beauty in God’s word and the nature he had created around them. William Paley’s Natural Theology of 1802 stated that God’s natural design is both beautiful and influential to the British people. Their beliefs in God and his works gave importance to his creations, making them extremely beautiful to those who believed.  Believing in the existence of God generated their idea of beauty.

Part I, Section VII of Edmund Burke’s “A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful with an Introductory Discourse Concerning Taste, and Several Other Additions” is a piece detailing his personal view and definition of the sublime. His belief was that pain is unbearable when it is too near, but at a certain distance pain can become enjoyable. He also argues that there is no joy in the world that can overcome the greatest pain, and yet almost any type of pain is preferred to death.

Reading this piece with the theme of belief and religion in mind, we thought of how this idea might apply to a martyr. A martyr would not only endure pain for what they believe, but they would die for it. This contradicts Burke’s theory that “there are very few pains, however exquisite, which are not preferred to death.” A martyr would prefer death to the pain of denying their beliefs; Burke, however, writes that death is the absolute most frightening idea—it is the ‘king of terrors’.

Burke does write that “when danger or pain press too nearly, they are incapable of giving any delight, and are simply terrible; but at certain distances, and with certain modifications, they may be, and they are, delightful.” This definition of the sublime could very well define the other party involved in martyrdom: the persecutors. In the case of Joan of Arc, for example, there were many people there to not only witness her death, but to enjoy it as a show. Even today we study her life and death, and find it fascinating. In a sense, this fascination and interest can be seen as a sort of enjoyment derived from her pain.

Although martyrdom opposes Burke’s social theory, it is possible to argue for and against his opinion of death and pain. It is hard to know what we truly believe until we are facing death itself.

–          L.G. &  J.W.

Burke, Edmund. “A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful with an Introductory Discourse Concerning Taste, and Several Other Additions: Part I Section VII” Project Gutenburg.  n.d. Web.  26 August 2012.

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