Milton's Socratic Rationalism

The Conversations of Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Poetry History & Criticism, Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Ancient, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory
Cover of the book Milton's Socratic Rationalism by David Oliver Davies, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David Oliver Davies ISBN: 9781498532631
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: August 17, 2017
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: David Oliver Davies
ISBN: 9781498532631
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: August 17, 2017
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

The conversation of Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost, that most obvious of Milton's additions to the Biblical narrative, enacts the pair's inquiry into and discovery of the gift of their rational nature in a mode of discourse closely aligned to practices of Socrates in the dialogues of Plato and eponymous discourses of Xenophon. Adam and Eve both begin their life "much wondering where\ And what I was, whence thither brought and how.” Their conjoint discoveries of each other's and their own nature in this talk Milton arranges for a in dialectical counterpoise to his persona's expressed task "to justify the ways of God to men." Like Xenophon's Socrates in the Memorabilia, Milton's persona indites those "ways of God" in terms most agreeable to his audience of "men"––notions Aristotle calls "generally accepted opinions." Thus for Milton's "fit audience" Paradise Lost willpresent two ways––that address congenial to men per se, and a fit discourse attuned to their very own rational faculties––to understand "the ways of God to men." The interrogation of each way by its counterpart among the distinct audiences is the "great Argument" of the poem.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The conversation of Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost, that most obvious of Milton's additions to the Biblical narrative, enacts the pair's inquiry into and discovery of the gift of their rational nature in a mode of discourse closely aligned to practices of Socrates in the dialogues of Plato and eponymous discourses of Xenophon. Adam and Eve both begin their life "much wondering where\ And what I was, whence thither brought and how.” Their conjoint discoveries of each other's and their own nature in this talk Milton arranges for a in dialectical counterpoise to his persona's expressed task "to justify the ways of God to men." Like Xenophon's Socrates in the Memorabilia, Milton's persona indites those "ways of God" in terms most agreeable to his audience of "men"––notions Aristotle calls "generally accepted opinions." Thus for Milton's "fit audience" Paradise Lost willpresent two ways––that address congenial to men per se, and a fit discourse attuned to their very own rational faculties––to understand "the ways of God to men." The interrogation of each way by its counterpart among the distinct audiences is the "great Argument" of the poem.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Both Prayed to the Same God by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book Dostoevsky's Political Thought by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book African Democracy and Development by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book Rhetoric of Femininity by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book Twilight's Last Gleaming by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book Congress and the Fourteenth Amendment by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book Europe and the Eastern Other by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book Beyond Same-Sex Marriage by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book Humor and Latina/o Camp in Ugly Betty by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book Early History of the Southwest through the Eyes of German-Speaking Jesuit Missionaries by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book The Pedagogy of Pop by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book Reflections on Religion, the Divine, and the Constitution by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book Mainstreaming Pacifism by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book Richard J. Bernstein and the Expansion of American Philosophy by David Oliver Davies
Cover of the book China and Southeast Asia in the Xi Jinping Era by David Oliver Davies
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy