Author: philoparadoxia
Heresy and Orthodoxy Explained — The Four Heresies That Founded Medieval Philosophy
These notes cover the four major heresies that shaped medieval philosophy: the Gnostic heresy (gnosis vs pistis — salvation through knowledge vs faith; dualism; divine spark; why the Church insisted on the world being good and salvation being universal); the Arian heresy (how one God can be three persons; Arius vs Athanasius; the Council of…
The Formation of Christianity — Saint Paul, Saint John, Logos, and the Movement to Institution
These notes cover the formation of Christianity: the universal gap between founder and religion (direct experience vs interpretation); Jesus perceived as spiritual vs political leader; the Romans’ decision to crucify him as a political threat; the three foundational events — crucifixion, resurrection (vs resuscitation — a critical distinction), and ascension; the early community’s formation and…
The Teachings of Jesus Explained — Intention, Compassion, Humility, and Comparison with Greek Philosophy
These notes cover Jesus’s teachings: Judaism’s action-based vs Jesus’s intention-based ethics; the urgency of judgment day as governing context for all his teachings (interim morality); the lost sheep parable; wealth and attachment vs undivided heart; the Great Commandment; the Good Samaritan (how to be a neighbour vs who is a neighbour; compassion as emotional extension…
Jesus and Jewish History Explained — Studying Religious Philosophy, Abraham to the Messianic Expectation
These notes cover three interlocking topics: how to study religious philosophy (context principle; ex nihilo vs Brahman expansion and all its implications for worship, time, and the self; holy vs divine vocabulary; soul vs atman; differences among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam on God, Jesus, original sin, and salvation); Jewish history (Yahweh — name meaning ‘I…
Neoplatonism Explained — Plotinus, the One, Emanation, Mystery Cults, and the Classical to Medieval Shift
These notes cover Neoplatonism in full: the great shift from secular Classical to religious Medieval philosophy; three mystery cults (Cybele/Attis, Osiris/Isis, Mithraism) and their parallels with Christianity; the collapse of Rome after Marcus Aurelius and the psychological demand for personal salvation; how Neoplatonism emerged to solve unresolved problems in Plato’s Theory of Forms; Plotinus’s biography…
Ancient Scepticism Explained — Pyrrho, Agrippa’s Five Modes, and the Path to Inner Peace
These notes cover ancient scepticism: its name from Greek skeptikos (inquirer); the self-refutation problem with naive definitions of scepticism and why appearance language is essential; Pyrrho’s lens analogy showing senses cannot verify reality; the failure of reason to settle disputes; Pyrrho and the Indian connection; the Academic Sceptics — Arcesilaus redirecting Plato’s Academy and Carneades’…
Stoic Philosophy Explained — Logos, Dichotomy of Control, Apatheia, and the Major Stoics
These notes cover Stoic philosophy: Zeno of Citium and the founding of the school; Stoicism vs Epicureanism on universe, human nature, virtue, and social philosophy; Stoic metaphysics — the logos as divine rational principle, benevolent determinism, the fire and spark imagery, and the problem of evil; the three ethical principles — freedom from passion, happiness…
Epicureanism Explained — Pleasure, Desire, Ataraxia, Atomism, and Epicurean Epistemology
These notes cover Epicurean philosophy: happiness as pleasure minus pain; philosophy as a tool not an end; two types of pain (physical unavoidable, mental avoidable); false beliefs about gods and death as the primary sources of mental suffering; atomism and the swerve; two arguments against fear of death (no subject of harm and symmetry); prudence…
Ancient Cynicism Explained — Diogenes, Nature, Freedom, and the Road to Stoicism
These notes cover ancient Cynicism: its identity as a practical way of life rather than a theoretical system; the three inseparable characteristics of the Cynic good life — reason (follow natural reason, reject convention), self-sufficiency (minimal needs, no dependence), and freedom (no desires, no vulnerability); the physis/nomos framework inherited from the Sophists and its Cynic…
Hellenistic Philosophy Explained — Historical Context, Five Schools, and the Classical to Roman Transition
These notes establish the historical context for Hellenistic philosophy: the five periods of ancient Western thought; the critical distinction between Hellenic (pure Greek, Classical) and Hellenistic (Greek-influenced, post-Alexander); Alexander’s role as both cultural bridge and cause of political collapse; the psychological shift from civic agency to helplessness that created demand for practical philosophies of inner…