Phil. 3:8 - two questions

Steve Lovullo SLovullo at etcconnect.com
Fri Jan 12 14:01:50 EST 2001


> I wonder if this "out of the box" thought is suitable for helping me 
> distinguish the Middle and Passive senses.
> 
> Could we understand the Middle as we understand a "purpose 
> clause" and 
> understand the Passive as a "result clause." That way, the 
> Middle reflects 
> the subject's "volitional choice" while the Passive reflects 
> a "completely 
> passive" concept. Hence,
> 
> As Middle (purpose), Paul chose or purposed to suffer loss
> 
> As Passive (result), (as a result of his decision) Paul received loss
> 
> This would also include "awareness." As a Middle (purpose), Paul was 
> cognizant of the implications of his decision. As a Passive 
> (result), the 
> results would befall Paul, even to the extent that he would 
> be unaware of 
> the implications of his past choice.

Without giving this a whole lot of thought (it's been a busy day), I think
it would be a mistake to assume psychological or even sentient components
such as volition or awareness to be intrinsic to the middle voice. I have
two reasons for saying this:

(1) It seems to me that some actions that could be signified by the middle
voice could be quite accidental, i.e., not consciously intended by the
subject. To use a simplistic example, it is one thing to "wash myself;" it
is quite another thing to "wet myself."

(2) What would we conclude when the subject of a middle verb is impersonal?
There clearly cannot be volition or awareness involved in these cases.

Like I said, these are off-the-cuff reactions, so let's hear from some
others.

Steve Lo Vullo
Madison, WI



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