Intellectual Philosophy In Gilgamesh

The intellectual traditions of the ancient world tend to focus on answering four questions that play into the purpose of one’s life. The four questions being, who am I, where am I, who am I with and what is necessary to be happy. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus and Epictetus all had different opinions on these questions which allowed me to develop my own understanding through dissection of their philosophies. These four questions were also addressed through several aspects of readings throughout the quarter. The purpose of good and evil, religion, civilization, government, honor, shame and pleasure all helped develop some concrete background for the philosophers to apply their thinking. In order to begin to understand philosophers,

Gilgamesh began as a terrible king who was lustful and selfish yet, the people had no way to revoke his power as he owned everything and had warriors that could force the civilians to stay in accordance with his wishes. The city itself was civilized which meant that it was not in harmony with nature as modifications of nature, such as water wheels, were needed just to grow crops and provide for basic human needs. This brought up the nature of kingship and why it is necessary in civilization. In a group discussion, we decided that the purpose of having a king was to keep order and efficiency. Having one person who makes decisions allows for ease of those decisions and gives the civilians one voice that reigns supreme rather than having different members of upper government give different opinions. It is human nature to want a leader and to want one who is a judge to bring about justice to those who have done something that is considered evil. A king, being the only judge, must have good judgement in order to be a benevolent king because of the power that one would possess in that position. However, as history has shown, absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely. In the case of Gilgamesh, this was true as he was a corrupt king in the beginning of the story. However, because of the experiences that Gilgamesh went through, he became a king who was more honorable and created a city in which people had a better chance of pursuing happiness. The lenses through which Gilgamesh saw the world changed throughout his experiences ultimately making him a better