Maat, The Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt: A Study in Classical African Ethics

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ISBN: 9780415947534 | 0415947537
Cover: Hardcover
Copyright: 12/1/2003

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This work is a critical examination of Maat, the moral ideal in ancient Egypt. It seeks to present Maat in the language of modern moral discourse while at the same time preserving and building on its distinctiveness as a moral ideal capable of inspiring and maintaining ethical philosophic reflection. The effort here is one of both interpretation and transmission of an ethical tradition, a project in which tradition is seen not simply as a precondition and process in which one comes, but also as an ongoing product of one's efforts to understand it. Locating himself within the tradition, the author seeks to test the conceptual elasticity of its major categories and contentions and to establish its capacity for critical moral discourse.

Table of Contents

vii

Preface

xiii

Foreword

xvii

Chapter 1 The Maatian Ideal: A Conceptual Framework

(26)

1.1 Introduction

(2)

1.2 Maat: The Conceptual Ideal

(6)

1.3 Conceptual Assumptions of the Study

(14)

1.3.1 Stance and Tradition

(1)

1.3.2 Difference from Egyptology

(1)

1.3.3 The Open-Texture of Maatian Discourse

(1)

1.3.4 Beyond the Eurocentric Approach

(2)

1.3.5 Toward An African-Centered Approach

(3)

1.3.6 The Unity and Diversity of Tradition

(5)

1.3.7 Continuity and Development

(2)

1.4 Tasks and Delimitations of the Study

(4)

Chapter 2 The Maatian Ideal: From the Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom

(42)

2.1 Introduction: Formative Context

(12)

2.1.1 The Decisive Factor of Kingship

(4)

2.1.2 Civil Service and Social Ethics

(3)

2.1.3 A Context of Peace and Stability

(1)

2.1.4 The Economic Conditions

(3)

2.2 The Evolution of the Maatian Ideal: The Old Kingdom

(14)

2.2.1 The Pyramid Texts

(2)

2.2.2 The Declarations of Virtue

(9)

2.2.3 The Sebait

(2)

2.3 Maat in the First Intermediate Period

(8)

2.3.1 The Declarations of Virtue (DOV)

(4)

2.3.2 The Sebait

(3)

2.4 Maat in the Middle Kingdom

(8)

2.4.1 The Coffin Texts

(2)

2.4.2 The Declarations of Virtue

(4)

2.4.3 The Moral Narrative

(2)

2.4.4 The Books of Contemplation

(1)

Chapter 3 The Maatian Ideal: From the New Kingdom to the Late Period

(64)

3.1 Maat in the New Kingdom

(27)

3.1.1 Early Phase: Formative Context

(5)

3.1.2 Early Phase: Autobiographies

(6)

3.1.3 The Amarra Period: Autobiographies

(4)

3.1.4 The Restoration

(1)

3.1.5 The Ramessid Period

(11)

3.1.5.1 Introduction: Piety and Ethics

(3)

3.1.5.2 The Sebait

(8)

3.2 Maat in the Late Period

104

(16)

3.2.1 Introduction

104

(2)

3.2.2 The Early Phase: Autobiographies

106

(4)

3.2.3 The Nubian Period: Autobiographies

110

(5)

3.2.4 The Saite Period: Autobiographies

115

(1)

3.2.5 The Persian Periods and the Last Independence

116

(4)

3.3 Maat in the Greek and Roman Periods

120

(15)

3.3.1 The Autobiographies

120

(9)

3.3.2 The Sebait

129

(6)

Chapter 4 Maatian Theology: The Declarations of innocence

135

(40)

4.1 Introduction

135

(1)

4.2 The Textual Locus

136

(2)

4.3 The Theological Setting

138

(3)

4.4 The Transliteration and Translation

141

(7)

4.4.1 The Introduction

141

(1)

4.4.1.1 The Transliteration

141

(1)

4.4.1.2 The Translation

142

(1)

4.4.2 Declarations of Innocence (A)

142

(3)

4.4.2.1 The Transliteration

142

(2)

4.4.2.2 The Translation

144

(1)

4.4.3 Declarations of Innocence (B)

145

(2)

4.4.3.1 The Transliteration

145

(1)

4.4.3.2 The Translation

146

(1)

4.4.4 Address to the Divine Ones

147

(9)

4.4.4.1 The Transliteration

147

(1)

4.4.4.2 The Translation

147

(1)

4.5 The Sitz im Leben of the DOI

148

(8)

4.6 Maatian Moral Theology

156

(19)

4.6.1 Fundamental Concepts

156

(6)

4.6.2 Evolution of the Idea of Judgment

162

(15)

Translation Notes for the Declarations

174

(1)

Chapter 5 Maatian Ontology

175

(40)

5.1 Introduction

175

(2)

5.2 The Potentiality and Power of Being

177

(14)

5.2.1 Creative Becoming

177

(7)

5.2.2 The Self-Affirmation of Life

184

(3)

5.2.3 The Creative Character of Speech

187

(4)

5.3 The Orderedness of Being

191

(4)

5.3.1 The Created Order of Maat

191

(2)

5.3.2 The Social Order of Maat

193

(2)

5.4 The Continuity of Being

195

(3)

5.4.1 The Creative Source of Being

195

(1)

5.4.2 Differentiation in Unity

196

(1)

5.4.3 Being and the Transmission of Essence

197

(1)

5.5 The Essential Goodness of Being

198

(9)

5.5.1 The Ontological Anchor of Maat

198

(2)

5.5.2 Cooperative Character of Being

200

(3)

5.5.3 Being and Evil

203

(4)

5.6 The Eternalness of Being

207

(8)

5.6.1 The Telos of Being

207

(2)

5.6.2 The Dynamic Character of Being

209

(6)

Chapter 6 Maatian Anthropology

215

(48)

6.1 Introduction

215

(1)

6.2 The Divine Image of Humans

216

(14)

6.2.1 Pharaonic Divinity

216

(3)

6.2.2 Divine Filiation

219

(1)

6.2.3 Shared Essence

220

(2)

6.2.4 Irt mi Re (Imitatio Dei)

222

(3)

6.2.5 Snn Ntr (Imago Dei)

225

(5)

6.3 The Perfectibility of Humans

230

(6)

6.3.1 Conceptual Implications

230

(1)

6.3.2 Assimilation with God

231

(2)

6.3.3 Essential Goodness of Human Nature

233

(2)

6.3.4 Potentiality and Maatian Practice

235

(1)

6.4 The Teachability of Humans

236

(10)

6.4.1 Moral Wisdom

236

(1)

6.4.2 The Wise Person and the Fool

237

(2)

6.4.3 The Geru Maa

239

(1)

6.4.4 Tension Between Nature and Nurture

240

(2)

6.4.5 Ignorance and Moral Failure

242

(3)

6.4.6 The Problematic of Ignorance

245

(1)

6.5 The Free Will of Humans

246

(8)

6.5.1 Introduction

246

(2)

6.5.2 The JB (Heart/Mind)

248

(2)

6.5.3 The Ba

250

(1)

6.5.4 The Issue of Destiny

251

(2)

6.5.5 Conclusion

253

(1)

6.6 The Sociality of Humans

254

(9)

6.6.1 Relationality and Practice

254

(3)

6.6.2 The Communal Context

257

(1)

6.6.3 Life-Affirming Anthropology

258

(5)

Chapter 7 The Way of Worthiness

263

(48)

7.1 Introduction

263

(3)

7.2 The Maatian Way of Life

266

(12)

7.2.1 Location: The Communal Context

269

(3)

7.2.2 The Ground of Tradition

272

(6)

7.3 Moral and Social Worthiness: Quest and Claim

278

(10)

7.3.1 Having a Good Name

278

(2)

7.3.2 Being Worthy

280

(2)

7.3.3 Being Loved

282

(6)

7.4 The DOI: Rules Without Commandments

288

(6)

7.5 Im3h Hr EVtr Worthiness Before God

294

(17)

7.5.1 Worship: Reverence, Ritual and Virtue

294

(7)

7.5.2 Service to Others as Service to God

301

(1)

7.5.3 Offering Maat

302

(4)

7.5.4 Maat and Reciprocity

306

(5)

Chapter 8 Worthiness Before People

311

(70)

8.1 Introduction

311

(6)

8.2 The Maatian Concept of Human Dignity

317

(8)

8.3 General Moral Concerns

325

(7)

8.4 Social Justice and the Vulnerable

332

(6)

8.5 The Moral Considerability of the Stranger

338

(4)

8.6 The Moral Status of Women

342

(20)

8.7 The Relationality-Responsibility Paradigm

362

(11)

8.8 Character and the Maatian Person

373

(8)

Chapter 9 Worthiness Before Nature

381

(20)

9.1 Introduction

381

(4)

9.2 The Unity of Being

385

(6)

9.3 Guardianship and Filial Obligation

391

(4)

9.4 The Shared Heritage

395

(2)

9.5 Restoration (Serudj Ta)

397

(5)

9.6 Obligations to the Future

402

Chapter 10 Conclusion

401

(10)

Abbreviations

411

(2)

References

413

(36)

Index

449

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Maat, The Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt: A Study in Classical African Ethics

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