Miira Tuominen: Porphyry’s Account of Justice in On Abstinence

Organized by: Oddělení pro studium antického a středověkého myšlení FLÚ AV & Ústav filosofie a religionistiky FF UK & Katedra filosofie a religionistiky FF UPCE

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Miira Tuominen (Stockholm University): Porphyry’s Account of Justice in On Abstinence

Abstract
In this talk, I argue for a new analysis of Porphyry’s argument for justice in his treatise On abstinence. I aim to show that, in the treatise, Porphyry develops an original view among ancient and late ancient philosophers in which (i) justice is not merely analysed as the inner order of a tripartite soul as in Plato’s influential account in Republic book 4. I also claim that, in On abstinence, (ii) Porphyry ascribes justice to external actions as well and (iii) takes justice of actions to consist in refraining from harming harmless living creatures, (iv) including animals and plants. In my view, (v) the relevant harm that justice, as Porphyry analyses it, requires us to avoid consists in taking lives of living creatures (including animals and plants) and taking products from them by force or without care. My analysis accommodates those scholarly views according to which Porphyry extends moral concern to animals on the basis of animal suffering. However, as I see it, Porphyry’s account is broader and includes violations of integrity of living creatures in general. Finally, contrary to what some scholars have claimed, I contend that we should not take Porphyry to subordinate moral concern for others to inner virtues of purity and theoretical contemplation in a harmful way but that (vi) he extends moral concern for others to all living creatures. In fact, the only criterion in his account of how we can obtain godlikeness that is the highest goal of human life is how widely justice as abstinence from harming others is extended. On the highest level of godlikeness justice extends even to plants.