The Philosophy of History, and Ethics

Epiphanius, the philosophy of history, and Ethics

Epiphanius realizes that historiography has a purpose beyond the elucidation of historical fact; the writing of history is a method of making the metaphysical truth about his enemies tangible. In the pursuit of this goal, Epiphanius believes that he is justified in using many types of action that he and his supporters would otherwise shun as ethically suspect.

Methodology

The task of historical ethics demands that the present evaluation of the past avoid historical anachronism. Therefore, any such evaluation must establish criteria for determining if an action of the past is wrong, either by the standards of its time or universally. While the presence of a common ethic is an object of debate rather than a proven fact, and a study of the evidence for universal ethical standards constitutes too massive an undertaking for the present work, evidence of the ethical standards of Epiphanius’ time are abundant.

In his critique of the debates of John Wesley, Andrew Woodring suggests some basic guidelines for understanding societal standards in the past: (1) Consider complaints of misrepresentation in the texts of the author under examination.^[1] (2) Search for complaints of contemporaneous authors concerning such actions.^[2] (3) Compare the author’s writing about characters for which the author has obvious sympathies with the same author's less sympathetic writings to draw the comparison by which to judge misrepresentation.^[3]

The work of Epiphanius, when considered in light of the principles of Woodring’s investigation, lends itself to further points of inquiry: (4) Note defensive statements on the part of the author that imply complaints from an implied victim, or objecting party not otherwise in evidence. (5). Examine the text for evidence of the author’s personal discomfort with his actions or with the apparent tendencies of the author’s own text.

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[1] Woodring, p. 31

[2] Woodring, p. 31

[3] Woodring, p. 36