Welcome to Conrad's Philosophy Series ((Part Two)).

[In this fragment of the Philosophy Series, I will examine the ditrichotomous division of facets being the philosophical and political segments/components of Ciceronian thought.]

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Philosophical Section:

Some philosophical works produced by Marcus Tullius Cicero were: Tusculan Disputations, On Duties, Laelius: On Friendship, On the Orator and The Dream of Scipio. The main tenet of Ciceronian thought is that a divine spark animates the human spirit. The Platonic thought that nature, God and other universals were pervading, incorporeal and sempiternal was forceful in the treatises and compositions of Marcus Tullius Cicero. Cicero was a great synthesizer of Greek philosophy consisting of Thales, Pythagoras, Xenophon, Anaximander, Heraclitus, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Zeno, Epicurus, Posidonius, Spuesippus, etc and of Roman thought of Hortensius, Cato 'the Elder', etc.

The Tusculan Disputations was intended for a purging of base and vulgar human properties and for humans to undergo a transcendence to more lofty and grand ideals, and at the same time avoid becoming contumelious and consumed by hubristic passions. The chief thesis of the Tusculan Disputations was that moral goodness alone is sufficient for the good/happy life.

On Duties was a moral denunciation of autocracy and despotism and acted as a blueprint for true and ardent republicans. It seemed as a form of a social contract between the Roman Republic/Commonwealth and the participants of civil society. This philosophical treatise applied moral ethics and behavioural standards to the citizens of the Republic in order for a coherent and functional Commonwealth to exist.

Laelius: On Friendship was based on Plato's Lysis and Symposium, and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. This Ciceronian treatise dealt with the universal themes of human bonds, friendship, love, human relationships and social interactions/mechanics.

Marcus Tullius Cicero's On the Orator attempted to fuse philosophy and rhetoric into a single entity. Rhetoric as an art form came into full force by Corax and Tisias during the fifth century B.C.E. Cato 'the Elder' described that only a true philosopher was also an orator whilst Theophrastus declared that philosophy and rhetoric were one. In On the Orator, Cicero included Roman orators as disputants such as Lucius Licinus Crassus and Marcus Antonius Orator. Other speakers featured within this treatise were Publius Sulpicius Rufus, Gaius Aurelius Cotta and Quintus Mucius Scaevola.

The Dream of Scipio was based on the Ptolemaic conception of the planetary model as surrounded by firmament. In this philosophical treatise, Cicero elaborated on the universal forms of Plato and on the immortality of the soul. Plato's tetralogy of Euthyphro, Apology, Crito and Phaedo that discussed moral conviction as well as an obstreperous determination to maintain one's own viewpoint amidst adversity fueled the imagination of Marcus Tullius Cicero and led to the formation of the brief philosophical treatise of The Dream of Scipio.

[I will include the section two of Ciceronian philosophy on the topic of the political sphere/component of Ciceronian philosophy as I receive a few comments within this Ciceronian philosophy thread.]

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Source(s):

1.) Oxford's World Classics Edition ((Political Speeches of Cicero))
2.) Michael Grant's translation ((On the Good Life))