The Stoic Jew

Seneca's VERY Non-Jewish Reason for Studying Physics and Metaphysics (Seneca: Letter #65 - On the First Cause)

March 16, 2021 Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss Season 3 Episode 12
The Stoic Jew
Seneca's VERY Non-Jewish Reason for Studying Physics and Metaphysics (Seneca: Letter #65 - On the First Cause)
Show Notes

Synopsis: Today’s episode focuses on an unusual letter from Seneca in which he explains his motive for studying abstract philosophical questions about the universe. I was surprised that Seneca was even interested in such questions in the first place, but I was absolutely flabbergasted by the reason he gave for his interest in thinking about such questions. As this title implies, it was a very non-Jewish reason. His phrasing reminded me of a similar phrase used by the Rambam, which we discuss towards the end of the episode, but the differences between them are equally noteworthy.

Sources:
- Seneca: Letter #65; click here to access the full text of Seneca's letter
- Aurelius: Meditations 9:40
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Stoic texts:
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Letters from a Stoic Master (Seneca)
The Discourses of Epictetus
The Enchiridion (Handbook) of Epictetus
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