Vlastos, Gregory (1907–91)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel W. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Ancient Greek Philosophy ◽  
History Of

A leading figure in the study of ancient Greek philosophy, Vlastos was a pioneer in the application to ancient philosophers of the techniques of analytic philosophy. Concentrating on figures of early Greek philosophy, he made major contributions to the understanding of the Presocratics, Socrates and Plato. He saw the Presocratics as applying ethical concepts to nature which ultimately rendered nature intelligible. He distinguished between the early dialogues of Plato, which represent the philosophy of Plato’s master Socrates – a philosophy the early Plato shared – and the middle dialogues in which Plato develops a transcendental metaphysics and rationalist epistemology to ground Socratic ethical concepts. Vlastos’s work played a major role in bringing the history of philosophy into the mainstream of philosophical research.

scholarly journals KOMUNIKACIJOS FILOSOFIJOS GENEZĖ

Problemos ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 153-164
Author(s):  
Kęstas Kirtiklis
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Communication Media ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Philosophy Of Communication ◽  
Ancient Greek Philosophy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Media Philosophy

Straipsnyje nagrinėjama komunikacijos filosofijos kilmės problema ir šios problemos reikšmė šiuolaikinėms filosofinėms komunikacijos sampratoms. Tvirtinama, jog, priešingai nei teigia paplitusi pozicija, komunikacijos filosofija kyla ne iš antikinio domėjimosi komunikacijos ir medijų problematika, bet iš filosofų dėmesio pastarųjų dviejų šimtmečių visuomenės kaitai (industrializacijai, urbanizacijai, informatizacijai) ir naujųjų medijų plėtrai. Toks komunikacijos filosofijos genezės aiškinimas išryškina šiuolaikinės komunikacijos specifiką, skiriančią ją nuo komunikacijos ankstesnėse visuomenėse, – būtent tai, kad vyraujanti šiuolaikinė komunikacija yra masinė ir medijuota1.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: komunikacijos filosofija, medijų filosofija, filosofijos istorija.Genesis of Philosophy of CommunicationKęstas Kirtiklis SummaryThe article deals with the problem of the genesis of philosophy of communication and its impact on contemporary philosophical conceptions of communication. The article argues that, contrary to the widespread opinion, philosophy of communication originated not from the interest in problems of communication that could be traced back to the ancient Greek philosophy (namely Plato), but from the attention that is paid by philosophers to the recent changes in society (industrialization, urbanization, informatization) and the development of new media. Such an explanation of the genesis of philosophy of communication highlights some specific traits of contemporary communication, namely that the prevailing form of contemporary communication is mediated mass communication.Keywords: philosophy of communication, media philosophy, history of philosophy.

On Contents Division of Ancient Greek Philosophy

2018 ◽  
pp. 369-374
Author(s):  
Shaoyu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Natural Science ◽  
Practical Philosophy ◽  
Western Philosophy ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Speculative Philosophy ◽  
Science Ethics ◽  
Ancient Greek Philosophy ◽  
History Of

The history of Western philosophy usually divides the ancient Greek philosophy into three parts, namely, natural science, ethics, and logic. The author deems that the ancient Greek philosophy should be divided into two categories: speculative philosophy and practical philosophy, for which writings of Plato and Aristotle provide sufficient grounds.

The Body of Western Embodiment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Fifth Century ◽  
The Body ◽  
Western Philosophy ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Interior Space ◽  
Ancient Greek Philosophy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Body And Soul ◽  
The Relationship

Much of western philosophy, especially ancient Greek philosophy, addresses the problems posed by embodiment. This chapter argues that to grasp the early history of embodiment is to see the category of the body itself as historically emergent. Bruno Snell argued that Homer lacked a concept of the body (sōma), but it is the emergence of body in the fifth century BCE rather than the appearance of mind or soul that is most consequential for the shape of ancient dualisms. The body takes shape in Hippocratic medical writing as largely hidden and unconscious interior space governed by impersonal forces. But Plato’s corpus demonstrates that while Plato’s reputation as a somatophobe is well grounded and may arise in part from the way the body takes shape in medical and other physiological writing, the Dialogues represent a more complex position on the relationship between body and soul than Plato’s reputation suggests.

Simplicius (fl. first half 6th century AD)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Wildberg
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Main Principle ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek Religion ◽  
Ancient Greek Philosophy ◽  
History Of

Simplicius of Cilicia, a Greek Neoplatonic philosopher and polymath, lived in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. He is the author of the most learned commentaries on Aristotle produced in antiquity, works which rest upon the accumulated accomplishments of ancient Greek philosophy and science. In them he gives numerous illuminating references and explanations that not only lead to a fuller understanding of Aristotle, but also allow one to reconstruct the history of the interpretation and criticism of Aristotelian doctrines in antiquity. The main principle that guides Simplicius’ exegesis is the conviction that most Greek philosophers, including some Presocratics, can be brought into agreement with Neoplatonism. Simplicius adduces copious quotations to prove his point, thereby supplying us with substantial fragments from lost works of thinkers like Parmenides, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Eudemus and the Stoics. A devout pagan, Simplicius sought to defend traditional Greek religion and philosophy against the oppressive dominance of Christianity. His commentaries have influenced the reception and interpretation of Aristotle’s philosophy ever since.

Hellenism

2019 ◽  
pp. 46-67
Author(s):  
Averil Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Greek Literature ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Modern Greek ◽  
Historical Continuity ◽  
Ancient Greek Philosophy ◽  
Great Idea ◽  
Imperial Power ◽  
History Of

This chapter explores the persistent idea of Byzantium as a repository of Christianized Hellenism. The interpretation of Byzantium is especially fraught for Greek scholars. One of the most contentious aspects of this problem is the question of historical continuity, especially as it has been posed in relation to the modern Greek state. The idea of Constantinople/Istanbul as the capital of a modern Greek state may seem counterintuitive today. The “great idea” also conflates two conceptions of Byzantium: as the seat of Orthodoxy and as an imperial power. Yet Byzantium still occupies a privileged place in the consciousness of many Greeks. Nor is it surprising—given the role of Greek as the language of government and culture throughout the history of Byzantium, the dependence of its educational system on classical Greek literature and rhetoric, and the ambivalence of Byzantine attitudes to ancient Greek philosophy—to find that “Hellenism” is as fraught a concept within Byzantine studies as the Byzantine tradition is to Greeks today.

Teleology Without Tears: Aristotle and the Role of Mechanistic Conceptions of Organisms

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Berryman
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Natural Philosophy ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Perceived Similarity ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Living Things ◽  
Ancient Greek Philosophy ◽  
History Of

In this paper I outline a role for mechanistic conceptions of organisms in ancient Greek natural philosophy, especially the study of organisms. By ‘mechanistic conceptions’ I mean the use of ideas and techniques drawn from the field of mechanics to investigate the natural world. ‘Mechanistic conceptions’ of organisms in ancient Greek philosophy, then, are those that draw on the ancient understanding of the field called ‘mechanics’ — hê mêchanikê technê—to investigate living things, rather than those bearing some perceived similarity to modern notions of ‘the mechanical.’ I have argued elsewhere that evidence of mechanistic conceptions of the natural world can be found, not only among seventeenth and eighteenth century ‘mechanical philosophers,’ but also—albeit in vestigial form — in some ancient Greek texts. Unfortunately, these reports are slight, often by detractors of this approach, and offer only clues as to the motivational context for employing these mechanical conceptions. Here, my purpose is to suggest what role they might have played in the history of natural philosophy.

scholarly journals Federalist and Anti-Federalist: Two Divergent Concepts of Politics

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-143
Author(s):  
Obed Frausto Gatica
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
The United States ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
The People ◽  
The Federalist ◽  
Ancient Greek Philosophy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
Definition Of

This article provides a theoretical framework to help us understand the controversies between the federalist and anti-federalists in the early history of the United States of America during the Federal Convention in 1787 as a conflict of two political philosophical traditions. The sources of these opposed traditions may be traced back to the disputes in ancient Greek philosophy, in thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle who defined politics in different ways. Plato grounds his definition of politics in epistêmê, which means that society should be ruled by the wisest. The federalist argued the best form of government is one where the people could avoid decision-making and leave the wisest representatives to handle politics. In opposition to this, Aristotle believes that politics should be inspired by the notion of phrônesis, which means that decisions should be considered collectively. Similarly, the anti-federalist believed that the government tends to be corrupted, and citizens should be suspicious of the government. They believed the ideal way to govern society is to have everyone involved in decision-making.

Editor’s Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Possible Worlds ◽  
Statistical Approach ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Contemporary Philosophy ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Modal Metaphysics ◽  
Ancient Greek Philosophy ◽  
History Of

This chapter introduces the historical approach of the volume in the context of modal doctrines in contemporary philosophy, and offers a broad survey of the history of modal metaphysics. It discusses how a statistical approach to modality in ancient Greek philosophy was overtaken by a notion of possible worlds admitting unrealized possibilities, a notion that would receive its clearest expression in the philosophy of Leibniz. I discuss how Leibniz’s ideas form the historical background to twentieth-century possible worlds theories of modality, and how those theories have been challenged recently by more Aristotelian approaches. The chapter summarizes and contextualizes the following chapters of the book.

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