The Study of Ancient Philosophy

2021 ◽  
pp. 139-163
Author(s):  
Michael Frede
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Ancient Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Historical Importance ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Many

This chapter reflects on the study of ancient philosophy. Ancient philosophy can be studied in many ways. The thoughts of ancient philosophers are of great interest not just as philosophical thoughts; many of them, in one way or another, are also of great historical importance. They help to explain a great many historical facts, not just in the history of philosophy but in many other histories. Or they are reflections of some historical development we may be interested in; again, this may be a development in the history of philosophy or in some other history, even one that at first may seem to have very little to do with philosophy. Thus, there are many approaches to the thought of ancient philosophers, all of which contribute to a better understanding of it. One can pursue each of the many histories in which ancient philosophy, either as a whole or in part, plays a role and try to determine what this role is in a manner appropriate for the history in question. Indeed, one reason why the study of ancient philosophy is so attractive and so lively is that it allows for so many interests and approaches.

WHY STUDYING THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY MATTERS

Think ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (60) ◽  
pp. 5-20
Author(s):  
Anna Marmodoro
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One

The debate over whether and how philosophers of today may usefully engage with philosophers of the past is nearly as old as the history of philosophy itself. Does the study of the history of philosophy train or corrupt the budding philosopher's mind? Why study the history of philosophy? And, how to study the history of philosophy? I discuss some mainstream approaches to the study of the history of philosophy (with special focus on ancient philosophy), before explicating the one I adopt and commend.

Heidegger the Obscure and Heraclitus the Obscure

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 277-287
Author(s):  
John M. Rose ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ordinary Language ◽  
Ancient Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Intermediate Level ◽  
Thematic Role ◽  
Philosophical Writing ◽  
History Of ◽  
Writer’S Block ◽  
Goucher College

Heidegger’s works are useful in teaching undergraduates in a variety of ways besides simply introducing Heidegger as an important figure in the history of philosophy. This paper outlines the role of Heidegger in the structure of my Ancient Philosophy course, an intermediate level requirement in the history of philosophy for the philosophy major at Goucher College. The thematic role of Heidegger in the course is illustrated with the intersection of Heidegger’s and Heraclitus’ philosophies and their related pedagogy of following language in a polysemic movement that can break the spell of sclerotic ordinary language about beings. Both Heraclitus and Heidegger move from the ordinary opining of the natures of things to the enigma at the heart of language. The paper also references the effect of this pedagogy on students with writer’s block, or graphophobia, when faced with their first attempts at serious philosophical writing. I conclude with describing the outcome of overcoming the fear of writing.

Some Evaluations

1970 ◽  
pp. 129-146
Author(s):  
Francis E. Reilly
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Theoretical Knowledge ◽  
Personal Attitude ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Personal Philosophy

This chapter evaluates two aspects of Peirce's thought: his Greek insistence on the primacy of theoretical knowledge, and his almost Teilhardian synthesis of evolutionary themes. It reflects the author's own personal attitude toward both of these topics in Peirce, which is one of endorsement, though some criticisms are also offered. Concerning the first aspect, Peirce was not only an outstanding philosopher but also a man well acquainted with the history of philosophy. His knowledge of history, going back to Plato, Aristotle, and other Greeks, contributed to the formation of his own personal philosophy. One obvious Greek attitude that he made his own was the dedication to theoretical knowledge. On the second topic, the chapter argues that Peirce understood evolution as one of the chief characteristics of the world. It is not restricted to the biological sphere, but extends to the whole cosmos and to the historical development of science. In proposing this synthetic, post-Darwinian view of evolution, Peirce was decades ahead of his time.

Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Michael Frede
Keyword(s):  
Modern Philosophy ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Ancient Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Medieval Philosophy ◽  
Factual Question ◽  
History Of ◽  
Theoretical Question

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the study of the history of philosophy. In general, there is an enormous difference between those who concern themselves with ancient philosophy, those who concern themselves with medieval philosophy, and the students of the history of modern philosophy. And, across this distinction, there is a great variety of approaches. One should not forget that the historiography of philosophy itself in many ways is a product of history and reflects the historical context in which it is pursued. Nevertheless, what this book is interested in is not the factual question of why historians of philosophy do what they do, but the theoretical question, the question of how one ought to conceive of and explain what they do; though they themselves in this work may not in fact be guided by these assumptions and principles, there must be such principles to the extent that their activity is a rational activity. It is also important to note that philosophers tend to criticize historians of philosophy as being unduly historical and not sufficiently philosophical.

Philisophy in Italy

Philosophy ◽  
1935 ◽  
Vol 10 (38) ◽  
pp. 219-222
Author(s):  
Guido De Ruggiero
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Religious Experience ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Moral Sense ◽  
Abstract Knowledge ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Historical Importance ◽  
History Of ◽  
Scientific Doctrine

In a posthumous book by F. Meli1 there are joined two interesting studies in the history of philosophy. The first discusses the religious and political doctrines of Fausto Socino and their developments in the thought of the seventeenth century, and the second the rationalistic mentality of Spinoza. The two themes are essentially related, for in the religious rationalism of Socino the author recognizes one of the currents of thought that were to meet later in Spinoza’s philosophy. The first essay has the merit of greater novelty, because Socinian studies have been neglected up to the present and only touched on indirectly, in their repercussions rather than in their origins. For Meli the historical importance of Fausto Socino lies in the fact that he draws from the religious experience of the Reformation a new conception of religion, clearly affirming the principle that Holy Scripture does not aim at conveying abstract knowledge, a scientific doctrine, but on the contrary, as Galileo confirmed, it aims at increasing in us justice, charity, and the moral sense.

The Oxford Handbook of Hegel

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
German Idealism ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Phenomenology Of Spirit ◽  
Science Of Logic ◽  
The Past ◽  
Philosophical Movement ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Many ◽  
Systematic Importance

The Oxford Handbook of Hegel is a comprehensive guide to the philosophy of G. W. F. Hegel, the last major thinker in the philosophical movement known as German Idealism. Beginning with chapters on his first published writings, the authors draw out Hegel’s debts to his predecessors and highlight the themes and arguments that have proven the most influential over the past two centuries. There are six chapters each on the Phenomenology of Spirit and The Science of Logic, and in-depth analyses of the Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences. Five chapters cover Hegel’s philosophy of law, action, and the ethical and political philosophy presented in his Philosophy of Right. Several chapters cover the many recently edited lecture series from the 1820s, bringing new clarity to Hegel’s conception of aesthetics, the philosophy of religion, and the history of philosophy. The concluding part focuses on Hegel’s legacy, from his role in the formation of Marx’s philosophy to his importance for contemporary liberal political philosophy. The Handbook includes many essays from younger scholars who have brought new perspectives and rigor to the study of Hegel’s thought. The essays are marked by close engagement with Hegel’s difficult texts and by a concern with highlighting the ongoing systematic importance of Hegel’s philosophy.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Ancient Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Scholarly Output ◽  
Systematic Philosophy ◽  
Simple Question ◽  
History Of ◽  
Primary Focus

Through their writing, their teaching, their mentoring, and their broader scholarly output, Gail Fine and Terry Irwin have reshaped the character of ancient philosophy as an academic discipline. Their contributions to the discipline do not, however, end there. On the contrary, their wide-ranging achievements extend into all periods of the history of philosophy and indeed into several areas more systematic than historical. Or perhaps one should say, rather, that their work defies any ready classification as being either historical or systematic, because whatever its primary focus on a given occasion, what they write cannot be pigeonholed as either exclusively scholarly or thematic; for they practice an unremittingly philosophical form of history of philosophy, or, judged from another angle, a historically enriched form of systematic philosophy. That is, as they pursue it, philosophy engages the discipline’s history in a manner animated by its current and perennial concerns, but it does so while remaining fully sensitive to the original context of its production. Their work combines the highest level of scholarly rigor and rich philosophical insight. Animated by a purely philosophical spirit, it is never narrowly antiquarian in orientation. Although alert to matters of text and transmission reflecting painstaking philological care and exceptionally broad scholarly erudition, their work never loses sight of a simple question: should we too believe this?...

The Historical History of Philosophy and Its Object

2021 ◽  
pp. 44-54
Author(s):  
Michael Frede
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Historical Approach ◽  
History Of ◽  
Or History ◽  
The Way

This chapter evaluates the historical history of philosophy. Given the very strong philosophical assumptions underlying the early philosophical histories of philosophy, and given in particular the fact that they tended to be written from the point of view of some kind of idealism, it is not surprising that they should have met with some resistance, in particular outside philosophy. Thus, one finds Albert Schwegler criticizing Hegel’s method of treating the history of philosophy, rejecting any kind of philosophical history of philosophy as history. He insists that the systematical study of the history of philosophy is the task of a historian and has to be pursued in precisely the way one studies any other kind of history or history in general. Zeller therefore advocates a purely historical approach to the history of philosophy, a historian’s history of philosophy, and his own monumental work on the history of Greek philosophy is inspired by this conception, just as it, in turn, inspires a lot of work, at least on ancient philosophy of the same kind. The chapter then presents a systematical consideration of the historical history of philosophy.

The Liaison between Analytic and Ancient Philosophy and Its Consequences

2018 ◽  
pp. 120-139
Author(s):  
Christof Rapp
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Paradigm Case ◽  
Philosophical Debate ◽  
Two Generations ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1950S

Is it reasonable to expect that the occupation with history of philosophy contributes to our contemporary philosophical debate? The scholarship on ancient philosophy seems to be a paradigm case for the discussion of this kind of question. In the 1950s and 1960s, philosophers and scholars such as John L. Austin, Gilbert Ryle, G.E.L. Owen, John Ackrill and Gregory Vlastos initiated a new style of scholarship that was influenced by analytic philosophy. This analytic style of ancient philosophy scholarship encouraged philosophers to take arguments presented by Plato or Aristotle more seriously and to import ancient ideas into contemporary debates. It was objected that analytic scholars tend to be thematically narrow and to neglect the historical context. By sketching the development of the first two generations of analytic scholarship this chapter tries to show that analytic scholarship need not be anachronistic and that the gain of this method outweighs possible excesses.

The Deleuze-Lucretius Encounter

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan J. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Gilles Deleuze ◽  
Ancient Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Way Of Thinking

This book explores how Deleuze's thought was shaped by Lucretian atomism — a formative but often-ignored influence from ancient philosophy. More than any other 20th-century philosopher, Gilles Deleuze considers himself an apprentice to the history of philosophy. But scholarship has ignored one of the more formative influences on Deleuze: Lucretian atomism. Deleuze's encounter with Lucretius sparked a way of thinking that resonates throughout all his writings: from immanent ontology to affirmative ethics, from dynamic materialism to the generation of thought itself. Filling a significant gap in Deleuze Studies, this book tells the story of the Deleuze-Lucretius encounter that begins and ends with a powerful claim: Lucretian atomism produced Deleuzianism.

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