FYS Exam 2

Rufus

The main character who searched for the river of immortality in “The Immortal.”

Diocletian

The Roman emperor who served from 284 to 305 and was seen as a stabilizing force that allowed the empire to continue. He went to war in Egypt from 297 to 298 and was the last emperor to persecute Christians.

Thebes

An ancient Egyptian city in the Nile valley where Rufus was deployed.

Joseph Cartaphilus

The wandering Jew who taunted Jesus while he was being crucified which forced him to walk the earth until the second coming.

Homer

An ancient Greek poet who wrote The Iliad and The Odyssey. Widely seen as the greatest ancient Greek writer.

Argos

Odysseus’s dog, who waited 20 years for his return. Once he saw Odysseus, albeit in disguise, he died happy, having seen his owner one more time. Is also what Rufus called the Troglodyte who followed him.

Alexander Pope’s Iliad

An English writer who translated Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

Odysseus

The main character in The Odyssey who fails to offer sacrifices to the gods after the war which causes him to go on a voyage full of strange encounters, before he finally returns home

Sinbad the Sailor

The hero of a number of epic stories passed around the Arab-speaking world, beginning around 1000 years ago; many of these stories were compiled in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights,

Stamford Bridge

The site of a great battle between the English armies and those of an invading Viking army from Norway in September of 1066. The English would win.

A Stoic Argument

Defines death as a natural, morally indifferent event that is outside human control, rather than an evil or a terrible misfortune.

Negative Visualization

A Stoic philosophical practice that involves deliberately imagining worst-case scenarios, loss, and one's own mortality to cultivate gratitude, resilience, and psychological preparedness.

Presentism

Only the present instant of time exists.

Eternalism

All points of time exist and are equally real.

Nancy Sherman

Approached death by focusing on the aftermath, arguing that grief and survivors’ guilt are natural expressions of human attachment that require self-forgiveness and emotional management.

Epictetus

Defined death not as a terrible, evil event, but as a natural, neutral process that is completely outside human control. (Stoic)

Part 1 of the Stoic Argument

The ultimate goal in life for beings like us is to achieve ataraxia (an undisturbed life), which is only possible by developing virtue.

Part 2 of the Stoic Argument

The development of virtue must focus on things that are actually part of our character and that we actually control.

Part 3 of the Stoic Argument

We control our attitudes towards our circumstances, and actions that are within the range of our capabilities.

Part 4 of the Stoic Argument

The objects of most of our fears and desires are not within our control.

Part 5 of the Stoic Argument

The right sorts of practices can make us more indifferent to things that are outside our control.

Part 6 of the Stoic Argument

We should develop our virtue by focusing on our own attitudes and actions, and strive to become more indifferent to things that are out of our control.

Jorge Luis Borges

Viewed death not as a tragic medical event, but as the foundational element that gives human life its beauty, weight, and meaning.

Allusion

An indirect reference to a person, place, thing, event, or another literary work, relying on the audience to recognize the connection

Annihilationism

Bad people cease to exist following their death, while good people are granted eternal life in heaven.

Problem of repetition

After a while of doing something, the more you do it, the less you enjoy it.

Don Quixotic

An author who wrote a novel that began with him acting like he did not write it, which is alluded to in “The Immortal.”

Categorical desire

Something you would desire regardless of your circumstances.

Contingent desires

Something you only desire because of specific circumstances.

Todd May

Argued that immortality would strip life of meaning, urgency, and value.

Mary Oliver

Believes death is not something to fear or hide from, and is rather a natural, inevitable part of the cycle of life that gives our time on Earth its urgency, beauty, and deep meaning.

Epicurus

Believed pleasures and pains are the only things that are truly good or bad in life.

Hedonism

Pleasure is the highest good and the sole source of intrinsic value, while pain or displeasure is the sole intrinsic evil.

The Symmetry Argument

It is irrational to fear death because it is essentially the same as before you were born.

Atomism

All of reality consists of tiny, indivisible, and indestructible particles (atoms) moving through an empty void.

Lucretius

Believed in the symmetry argument, that we shouldn’t fear death because it is the same as how we didn’t exist prior to our birth.

Steven Luper

Argued that death is a bad thing because it robs the victim of the good experiences they could’ve had, and people can be harmed even if they don’t exist to feel that harm. Death can also be bad for us while we are living because it can change our actions.

Enchiridion

Epitecus’s “manuel” for aspiring young philosophers

Stoic

Individuals who achieve inner peace, resilience, and personal well-being by focusing on reason and self-mastery.

Ataraxia

A life that is undeterred.

Eudaimenia

An ancient Greek term translated as "human flourishing," "living well," or achieving the "good life."

Virtue

A habit, trait, or quality that is considered morally good, righteous, or standard-setting. Is a valid form of happiness because it is in your control.

Spirit

Ambition/notoriety that isn’t a valid form of happiness because it isn’t in your control.

Pleasure

Not a valid form of happiness because it may run out.