10 Research Essay Topics on Hellenistic Philosophies

10 Research Essay Topics on Hellenistic Philosophies If you are tasked with writing your research essay on Hellenistic philosophies, one of the first steps is picking your topic after which you must find suitable facts to substantiate any claim you make as part of unfolding your topic. That being said, below you will find a multitude of interesting facts on Hellenistic Philosophies some of which might make for suitable evidence in your next writing task: After Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato, new philosophical thinking was discouraged by the changing cultural and political climate in Athens. The Greek Empire, founded by Alexander and Philip was conquered by the Romans. Culture of the Hellenistic period is what was left among the Greeks who were still in charge of the centralized state and military. While all people were encouraged to participate in the government as part of the Athenian tradition, individual citizens found that they could no longer contribute to shaping the social structure that led their lives. It is for this reason that Hellenistic philosophers did not spend as much time focused on the ideal state or on how this construction would help people to achieve happiness in life. Instead they were more ethical thinkers who focused on the life of individuals, independent from society. The descriptions put forth focused on the kind of actions and character that would best lead to a life well lived despite the then-current pol itical realities. The Hellenistic philosophers were focused on how people should live when the external circumstances around them are beyond their control. The Hellenistic schools of philosophy did not propose radical changes or solutions to the larger governmental issues of the time, but instead paid attention to personal and individual changes There were two atomists named Democritus and Leucippus who created a systematic description of the world of nature, which was made up of particles, each having mechanical interactions with one another. This accounted for everything happening in the world. Because of such theory, people were paying significant attention to the consequences resulting from their actions. Epicurus was the leading philosopher of the Hellenistic period. He and his followers pointed out that since atoms were indestructible and accounted for the material used by all things in the universe to move and collide this movement was actually beyond the control of people. It was believed that these materials which would never go away, were all being controlled by elements within the larger universe that people could not change and so, even things such as politics were beyond control of people. It is for this reason that human life was a passive thing, and that humans could only experience nature and life but were not capable of changing it in the grand scheme of things. But it was still believed that people could live a good life and in doing so have some control over experiencing pleasant things in life rather than the unpleasant. Epicurus wrote that the goal of human life should be to enjoy mental ease and freedom from any pain. This means that sensual desires are all natural things and that wanting to satisfy them is completely natural too, as satiation is a pleasure in and of itself . However the frustration felt in not satisfying these urges is a form of pain. So to lead a good life free from pain one must satisfy these natural urges. It was also stated that death is the annihilation of personality, and it is not something which can be experienced. Therefore, people should not be afraid of death or bemoan the fact that all lives must end. Epicurus stated that people should relax, they should eat, and drink, and they should live in merriment. Epicurus stated that the most successful life is one in which people attain happiness through personal fulfillment, but in addition to this, people must also seek mental peace which can only come from accepting whatever things happen in life without complaining or struggling. These concepts were rivaled by the Stoics who represented a collection of knowledge put forth by Zeno and Chrysippus. The Stoics believed that there was a naturalistic explanation for people and their behaviors and that each person represented a microcosm of the whole universe. It was Epictetus who promoted that the central component to understanding how few of the occurances in the universe were under people’s control. It was he who stated that people must learn to remain stoic and stern in life, accepting the fates that are given without complaint. He also stated that all things in life, including family and friends, will perish and as such people should never become attached to these things and instead view each thing in life as a temporary blessing or a temporary curse, something that will naturally pass away in time. Skepticism was another school of Hellenistic philosophy which illustrated a keen lack of confidence in life, and it stated that human knowledge was severely limited in its application and scope. It was Pyrrho of Elis who originally taught skepticism and touted that people do not have any genuine knowledge or understanding of how things. Because of this they were encouraged to practice a suspension of judgment. Meaning that people can respond rationally to all situations in which they have no information or understanding. Such course of thinking concluded that people generally should not be acting at all. This is what brings about the essential peace of mind so heavily integrated into skepticism. It was Sextus Empiricus who wrote about a history of the skeptics and in doing so criticized the pretentious thoughts and acts of the other schools. It was this historian who noted that skeptics, who challenged the other popular Hellenistic philosophies of the time, arose from an odd and strict definition of â€Å"knowledge†. He argued that people truly know very little due to the fact that they cannot know something unless absolutely certain and was heavily ignored at the time of the statement release. However, later on it was used when the skeptical philosophy had been revived. These facts on Hellenistic Philosophies should give you enough knowledge to start drafting a new academic paper. Also check our collection of 20 potential topics on this matter with a provided sample and complete guide on writing a research essay on Hellenistic Philosophies. References: Adamson, Peter.  Philosophy in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds. Print. Algra, Keimpe. Hellenistic Philosophy.  Phronesis  45.1 (2000): 77-86. Web. Inwood, Brad, and Lloyd P Gerson.  Hellenistic Philosophy. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co., 1988. Print. Irwin, Terence.  Classical Philosophy. New York [u.a.]: Garland Publ, 1995. Print. Kristeller, Paul Oskar.  Greek Philosophers of the Hellenistic Age. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993. Print. Long, A. A.  From Epicurus to Epictetus. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006. Print. Winston, David, and Gregory E Sterling.  The Ancestral Philosophy. Providence, RI: Brown Judaic Studies, 2001. Print.

Andrew Jacksons Big Block of Cheese

Andrew Jacksons Big Block of Cheese Popular legend contends that Andrew Jackson received a big block of cheese at the White House in 1837 and served it to guests at an open house. The incident achieved allegorical status during the run of the television drama â€Å"The West Wing† and in 2014 it even inspired a day  devoted to social media outreach from the Obama Administration. In reality, two early presidents, Jackson and Thomas Jefferson, received gifts of enormous blocks of cheese. Both gigantic cheeses were intended to convey a symbolic message, though one was essentially celebratory while the other reflected some political and religious squabbling in early America. Andrew Jackson’s Big Block of Cheese The better-known enormous White House cheese was presented to President Andrew Jackson on New Year’s Day 1836. It had been created by a prosperous dairy farmer from New York State, Col. Thomas Meacham. Meacham was not even a political ally of Jackson, and actually considered himself a supporter of Henry Clay, Jackson’s perennial Whig opponent. The gift was really motivated by local pride in what was becoming widely known as the Empire State. In the late 1830s New York was prospering. The Erie Canal had been open for a decade, and commerce energized by the canal had made New York an economic powerhouse. Meacham believed making a mammoth cheese for the president would celebrate the region’s spectacular success as a center of farming and industry. Before sending it to Jackson, Meacham exhibited the cheese in Utica, New York, and stories of it began to circulate. The New Hampshire Sentinel, on December 10, 1835, reprinted a story from a Utica newspaper, the Standard and Democrat: †Mammoth Cheese - Mr. T.S. Meacham exhibited in this city on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week a cheese weighing 1,400 pounds made from the milk of 150 cows for four days at his dairy in Sandy Creek, Oswego County. It bore the following inscription: ‘To Andrew Jackson, President of the United States.’ †He also exhibited a National Belt, got up with much taste, presenting a fine bust of the President, surrounded by a chain of twenty-four States united and linked together. This belt is intended for a wrapper to the mammoth cheese when presented to the President.† Newspapers reported that Meacham had also made five other cheeses, each about half the size of the presidential cheese. They were intended for Martin Van Buren, a New Yorker who was serving as vice president; William Marcy, the governor of New York; Daniel Webster, the famous orator and politician; the U.S. Congress; and the legislature of the State of New York. Meacham, the intent of generation good publicity for his project, transported the enormous cheeses with great showmanship. In some towns, the enormous cheeses were paraded on a wagon decorated with flags. In New York City the cheeses were displayed to curious crowds at the Masonic Hall. Daniel Webster, while passing through the city, cheerfully accepted his great cheese from Meacham. The cheese for Jackson was shipped to Washington on a schooner, and the president accepted it at the White House. Jackson issued a letter of profuse thanks to Meacham on January 1, 1836. The letter said, in part: I beg you, sir, to assure those who have united with you in the preparation of these presents, in honor of the Congress of the United States and myself, that they are truly gratifying as an evidence of the prosperity of our hardy yeomanry in the State of New York, who are engaged in the labor of the dairy. Jackson Served the Big Block of Cheese The enormous cheese aged in the White House for a year, perhaps because no one really knew what to do with it. As Jackson’s time in office was coming close to its end, in early 1837, a reception was scheduled. A Washington newspaper, The Globe, announced the plan for the colossal cheese: The New York present is nearly four feet in diameter, two feet thick, and weighs fourteen hundred pounds. It was transported through the State of New York with a great parade, to the place where it was shipped. It reached Washington accompanied with a splendidly painted emblematic envelope. We understand the President designs to offer this great cheese, which is finely flavored and in fine preservation, to his fellow citizens who visit him on Wednesday next. The New York present will be served up in the hall of the Presidents mansion. The reception was held on Washington’s birthday, which was always a day of celebration in early 19th century America. The gathering, according to an article in the Farmer’s Cabinet of March 3, 1837, was â€Å"crowded to excess.† Jackson, reaching the end of eight controversial years as president, was described as â€Å"looking extremely feeble.† The cheese, however, was a hit. It was very popular with the crowd, though some reports said it had a shockingly strong odor. When the cheese was served there arose an exceedingly strong smell, so strong as to overpower a number of dandies and lackadaisical ladies, said an article which appeared on March 4, 1837, in the Portsmouth Journal of Politics and Literature, a New Hampshire newspaper. Jackson had waged the Bank War, and the pejorative term Treasury Rats, referring to his enemies, had come into use. And the Journal of Politics and Literature couldnt resist a joke: We cannot say whether the smell of Gen. Jacksons cheese denotes that he goes out in ill odor with the people; or whether the cheese is to be considered as a bait for the Treasury Rats, who are to be attracted by its scent to burrow in the White House. A postscript to the story is that Jackson left office two weeks later, and the new occupant of the White House, Martin Van Buren, banned the serving of food at White House receptions. Crumbs from Jacksons mammoth cheese had fallen into the carpets and been trampled by the crowd. Van Burens time in the White House would be plagued by many problems, and it got off to a horrible start as the mansion smelled of cheese for months. Jefferson’s Controversial Cheese The earlier great cheese had been given to Thomas Jefferson on New Year’s Day 1802 and was actually at the center of some controversy. What prompted the gift of the mammoth cheese was that Jefferson, during the political campaign of 1800, had been harshly criticized for his religious views. Jefferson contended that politics and religion should remain separate, and in some quarters that was considered a radical stance. Members of a Baptist congregation in Cheshire, Massachusetts, who had previously felt marginalized as religious outsiders, were happy to align themselves with Jefferson. After Jefferson was elected president, a local minister, Elder John Leland, organized his followers to make a remarkable gift for him. An article in the New York Aurora newspaper on August 15, 1801, reported on the making of the cheese. Leland and his congregation had obtained a cheese vat six feet in diameter, and used the milk of 900 cows.When our informant left Cheshire, the cheese had not been turned, said the Aurora. But would be in a few days, as the machinery for that purpose was nearly completed. Curiosity about the enormous cheese spread. Newspapers reported that on December 5, 1801, the cheese had reached Kinderhook, New York. It had been paraded into town on a wagon. It was eventually loaded onto a ship which would carry it to Washington. Jefferson received the great cheese on January 1, 1802, and it was served to guests in the unfinished East Room of the mansion. It is believed that the arrival of the cheese, and the meaning of the gift, may have prompted Jefferson to write a letter to the Danbury Baptist association in Connecticut. Jefferson’s letter, dated the day he received the cheese from the Massachusetts Baptists, has become known as the â€Å"Wall of Separation Letter.† In it, Jefferson wrote: Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state. As might be expected, Jefferson was criticized by his very vocal opponents. And, of course, the mammoth cheese was drawn into the mockery. The New York Post published a poem making fun of the cheese and the man who cheerfully accepted it. Other papers joined in the mockery. The Baptists who had delivered the cheese, however, had presented Jefferson with a letter explaining their intent. Some newspapers printed their letter, which included the lines: The cheese was not made by his Lordship, for his sacred Majesty; not with a view to gain dignified titles or lucrative offices; but by the personal labor of free-born farmers (without a single slave to assist) for an elective President of a free people.