Wednesday Wisdom

WHO?

Decimus Junius Juvenalis, known as Juvenal, was a Roman satirical poet who lived during the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD. Juvenal was born in Aquinum, a town in central Italy, around 55 AD. Aquinum, also known as Aquino, is a small town located in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is situated approximately 60 miles southeast of Rome. The town is known for its Roman ruins, including remnants of an amphitheater and a Roman gate, which are popular attractions for visitors interested in ancient history. Aquino has a rich historical and cultural heritage and is also the birthplace for Dominican theologian and philosopher St Thomas Aquinas.

What he produced

He is best known for his collection of satirical poems called the "Satires of Juvenal" in which he critiques the social and moral issues of his time, particularly the moral decay of Roman society. Juvenal was biting, rude and cantankerous and no one was spared from his verbal arrows. His most pointed critiques were reserved for the Roman elite, ruling class and the politicians.

During the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire, political elites recognized the importance of keeping the population content and distracted from political and social issues that could lead to unrest. Providing subsidized grain (bread) and organizing lavish spectacles and entertainment (circuses) were the means to achieve this objective. Juvenal questions the ethics of “bread and circuses" (panem et circenses) as a way to appease the citizens of Rome while at the same time criticizing the citizens for their complacency and abandonment of their civic duties.

He writes "Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things”: bread and circuses 

2023 why do we care?

Juvenal critiques and satires have remained poignant over two thousand years and across any society. His influence can be seen in some of the great satirist like Jonathan Swift, Voltaire, Ben Franklin and Mark Twain.

His work, like all satirical writers make us reflect on our society and observe the ethics and logic of our institutions. He implores us to be on guard and be vigilant in holding those in power accountable.

As Juvenal bitingly wrote “Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes? - But who will guard the guards themselves? 

And now you know...

Philosophy is the art of thinking, the building block of progress that shapes critical thinking across economics, ethics, religion, and science.

METAPHYSICS: Literally, the term metaphysics means ‘beyond the physical.’ Typically, this is the branch that most people think of when they picture philosophy. In metaphysics, the goal is to answer the what and how questions in life. Who are we, and what are time and space?

LOGIC: The study of reasoning. Much like metaphysics, understanding logic helps to understand and appreciate how we perceive the rest of our world. More than that, it provides a foundation for which to build and interpret arguments and analyses.

ETHICS: The study of morality, right and wrong, good and evil. Ethics tackles difficult conversations by adding weight to actions and decisions. Politics takes ethics to a larger scale, applying it to a group (or groups) of people. Political philosophers study political governments, laws, justice, authority, rights, liberty, ethics, and much more.

AESTHETICS: What is beautiful? Philosophers try to understand, qualify, and quantify what makes art what it is. Aesthetics also takes a deeper look at the artwork itself, trying to understand the meaning behind it, both art as a whole and art on an individual level. A question an aesthetics philosopher would seek to address is whether or not beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

EPISTEMOLOGY: This is the study and understanding of knowledge. The main question is how do we know? We can question the limitations of logic, how comprehension works, and the ability (or perception) to be certain.