Plutarch is definitely one of the most influential philosophers of the ancient past though he does not come close to the Augustine Hippo whose profundity makes him the most influential philosophers of all times. He is one of the philosophers who dominated the Middle Ages despite the presence of Aristotle whose acumen remains unrivaled. What made Plutarch stand out was his high level of intellectual ability and excellent writing skills that made him one of the best biographers that ever graced the face of this world. He wrote many moral treatises and had the largest philosophical audience ever. His popularity rose because of his unique ability to make good explanations on philosophical debates (Duff, 2002). He appealed to non philosophical readers because of his simple philosophical ideals that had deeper connotations. He appealed to both the Greeks and the Romans, a feat that most philosophers were unable to achieve in their lifetime. Plutarch was born at a place called Chaeronea to a very wealthy family (Duff, 2002). In school, he majored in philosophy, rhetoric and mathematics. He attended the Athenian Platonic academy though he never became a follower of Plato. He was open to other philosophical schools of thought and was more inclined towards Aristotle (Duff, 2002). He was one of the wealthiest citizens in his town during his adulthood and he used to represent his town in many occasions especially outside the empire (Duff, 2002). One of his best friends called Metris secured him a Roman citizenship and this marked a turning point in his life. He became more involved in Roman affairs than Greek ones and this ultimately earned him a leadership office in Rome. However in his old age, his returned to his home town because he felt the town which was quickly falling apart and needed his services. He actually became the mayor of the town after his return.
One of the most popular and influential treatise written by this philosopher is called “should old men take part in politics?”.In this treatise, he talks about the office he occupied in a town called Delphi in his old age where he actually became one of the most reliable priests responsible for the interpretations of the utterances made by the Goddess of that town. He spearheaded the building of a library in that town which rose to become a center of academic influence (Duff, 2002). His influence in the Roman and the Greek society was as a result of his high level intellectual ability.
Plutarch was a very good scholar who used to study and write very many books in different subjects but the most influential books that he wrote were on critical thinking and philosophy. He had more than three hundred titles to his name and these books earned him international fame. His home later became a private school for young scholars he had inspired because of his large collection of books and his extraordinary intellectual capacity. There were delegations of Greeks and Romans who visited his home regularly in search of academic and philosophical knowledge. He was so popular and influential in the world of academics and philosophy that even emperors would visit him for consultation (Duff, 2002). One of the emperors who visited Plutarch was Trajan who used one of his visits to honor the scholar with an ornamental consul, which was one of the greatest awards that one could get in that empire during that period.
The philosopher had two types of oeuvres. He had biographies, which were very popular and the rest which were commonly referred to as Moralia. The Moralia were moral writings. These writings covered at least four genres. He had literary criticisms, ethical essays and political rhetoric but the most influential were consolations and conversations(Duff, 2002). Though the writings were diverse, the author had a single intention: to educate his readers about morality. His central theme was the dualistic conflict between the good and the evil in the world and this formed the basis of his very influential moral education though philosophers in the modern platonic school of philosophy have constantly disagreed with his thoughts (Duff, 2002). This explains why most of his thoughts are not very relevant in modern philosophy though they were very influential during his time. His pragmatic philosophy endeared him to the people and his books were very popular. No philosopher has ever come close to Plutarch in terms of appealing to audiences. His aim was to make people embrace virtue and this would make them happier (Duff, 2002). He succeeded in his motives and his books resemble the modern inspirational literature that has the do- it -yourself guides.
One of his mot popular yet controversial treatises was called “Advice to the Bride and Groom” and this aroused feministic debates due its stance on marriage. The treatise had a very conservative outlook and its anti-feminist stance gave it a lot of mileage among the male population who formed the largest part of his audience. Plutarch also had biographies that were written in form of treatises. Most of the biographies were descriptive in nature and they mostly make a comparison of the Greek and roman elements. One of the most influential biographies is known as Theseus-Romulus and in this biography; he makes a description of the people who founded Athens and Rome in a comparative manner. He makes an epilogue that goes to the center of their characters in a fascinating yet revealing way (Duff, 2002). The other very popular biography that he wrote is a comparison of Themistocles and Camillus, from Athens and Rome respectively who had been exiled due to their moral stance. It is one of the most entertaining biographies that this man has ever wrote and it is the biography that completely endeared him to most Greeks and Romans at the height of his illustrious philosophical and writing career. The biography gives a better understanding of morality by extrapolating the lives of the two morally outstanding personalities who suffered because of their life virtues (Duff, 2002). The book was actually used by many people for their moral improvement and had a profound impact on both the Greek and the Roman communities.
One of the best descriptions of what Plutarch had to offer is contained in his method that is titled Alexander- Caesar and the biographical details found in this piece reiterate his genius and intellectual capacity. It is a short summary of his biographical detail but the contents of this piece are very enriching and memorable. He continues writing about the conflict between vices and virtues from a personal perspective and what comes out vividly is his outstanding character (Duff, 2002).
The anecdotes found in this piece have moral foundations and he avoids going into the depths of the factors that led to the fall of the Achamenid Empire and the Roman republic by focusing on the moral lessons that the people should learn from that fall. The Alexander piece contains the most lessons of vices and virtues and is considered the most moralistic writing of his illustrious career. He tackled the significance of Alexander on the history of the world especially the way he brought civilization to the Barbarians and made them attain higher levels of humanity during his reign (Duff, 2002). According to Plutarch, Alexander was a very practical philosopher who ensured that the lives of men were improved in unusual, subtle but very effective ways. Plutarch wrote about morality and history but he was not as effective in history as he was in moral writings. In fact, his judgments on morality were more important and influential in the lives of the people more than the judgments he made in history. However, he would make some odd errors and one of his most famous errors was praising Pompey’s character, his frailties notwithstanding. He uses historical formats o sum up his moral anecdotes and this principle makes him a good historian and a good moralist unlike his Russian mentor Suetonius who never followed the historical principle of chronology.
Plutarch’s expertise in the art of biography made him to go beyond the conventions that were used at the time making him draw his materials from both the Vulgate and the Ptolemaic traditions (Duff, 2002). This enables him to tell his own moral stories by incorporating the good and the bad sides of morality unlike his contemporaries. His writings had a very profound effect on both the English and French Literature because most French and English literary greats founded their work on the teachings of Plutarch. Most Shakespearean plays have a touch of Plutarch moral teachings and he would quote Plutarch verbatim. The Moralia as very influential in both literature and philosophy and most transcendentalists drew their influence from this collection. One of the greatest students of Plutarch was Ralph Waldo Emerson who was heavily influenced by the Moralia and his philosophical principles are based purely on Plutarch. He was a utilitarian who heavily relied on Plutarch writings. Just like his mentor, he argued that physical pleasures are of lower values that spiritual and intellectual pleasures (Duff, 2002). The comment was specifically used to make a distinction between the two levels of pleasures; the higher and the lower pleasures. He claimed that no human being would accept to be transformed into an animal so that he or she could enjoy the pleasures of the beasts. According to Plutarch, there are four types of pleasures but he describes three of them. The three are the spiritual pleasure, cultural pleasure and the intellectual pleasure. The fourth one which he discredits is the physical pleasure which he claims is of a lower value than the other three because it adds little to the life of a human being. Some one who has experienced all the types of pleasures would be in a better position to tell that the three; cultural pleasures, intellectual pleasures and the spiritual pleasures are moiré enriching and valuable than the physical pleasures (Duff, 2002). For one to be a competent judge, he or she must experience all the types of pleasures and be able to make a judgment on which are more enriching and the ones that are not. Utilitarianism holds that sacrifices are virtues action especially when they benefit the majority. However, if that sacrifice does not benefit the majority, then it is not virtuous. A sacrifice would be virtuous and ethical if most people benefit from it while it would be unethical and vicious if it causes more harm than good. This means that sacrifices are not necessarily virtuous; it depends with the utility of the sacrifice. This is one of the most important principles of morality that Plutarch fronted.
One of the criticisms leveled against his theory is that sometimes it can go against the legal foundations and make people to break the law. This is because utilitarianism looks at an action and its ethical nature depending on how good it is to most people and not whether it is legal (Duff, 2002). This is why the concept of ethical but not legal arose. Montaigne essays were also influenced by Plutarch and his moral writings. He inspired Jeremy Bentham, the father of utilitarianism. His influence declined in the 19th and 20th centuries and most of has thoughts are no longer referred to in modern philosophy. However, he remains the most influential philosophers of all times and his works of morality has provided a foundation to many other philosophical and religious works many centuries after his death. No other philosopher has veer had the intellectual capacity that he had and he remains the philosopher with the widest audience in the history of philosophy
Work cited
Duff, Timothy. Plutarch’s Life: Exploring Virtue and Vice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.2002.