This article deals with the interpretation of Hipparchus and the question to which extent its advocacy of φιλοκέρδεια or the love of gain should be read ironically. It argues that this... Show moreThis article deals with the interpretation of Hipparchus and the question to which extent its advocacy of φιλοκέρδεια or the love of gain should be read ironically. It argues that this pseudoPlatonic dialogue can be best understood in the context of a broader fourth-century philosophical debate on the pursuit of (economic) self-interest. First, I show how the Hipparchus comments on and develops thoughts from Plato’s Republic. Then, I demonstrate how the re-evaluation of the love of gain compares to Xenophon’s treatment of φιλοκέρδεια, κέρδος, and πλεονεξία in the Oeconomicus and Cyropaedia, which also respond to the Republic, and show how both authors provocatively re-evaluate these negative notions of gain or self-interest into neutral ones. These comparisons inform a layered reading, in which the apparent irony helps readers to reflect on the proposed re-evaluation of commerce. Show less
In matters interpersonal it is not unusual to talk in terms of costs and benefits. But we also feel that all the money in the world cannot buy us real friends, for love is not for sale and “money... Show moreIn matters interpersonal it is not unusual to talk in terms of costs and benefits. But we also feel that all the money in the world cannot buy us real friends, for love is not for sale and “money can’t buy me love”. And in some situations we may also be hesitant to express our commitments in terms of assets and liabilities, because we do not want to come across as cynical. Is money talk in personal relations only a metaphor? Or is there more at stake? To what extent do economic ideas shape our understanding of value, obligations and commitments?These questions are not new. The Ancient Greeks of the Classical Period reflected upon the meaning of money in friendship, “philia”. The sources reflect an abundance of questions, views and dilemmas among the Greeks of the Classical Period, ranging from cynicism and pessimism, to thought experiments figuring friends as commodities and objects of purchase, to deeper and sustained attempts to grasp the meaning and morality of social life in the face of monetization. This book explores folk theories of social relations by offering an insight in Classical Greek conceptualizations of “philia” and the nature of reciprocity. Show less
