Socrates, Vlastos, Scanlon and the Principle of the Sovereignty of Virtue

This article offers a new formulation of the Socratic principle known as the Principle of the Sovereignty of Virtue (PSV). It is divided in three sections. In the first section I criticize Vlastos’ formulation of the PSV. In the second section I present the weighing model of practical deliberation, introduce the concepts of reason for action, simple reason, sufficient reason and conclusive reason that were offered by Thomas Scanlon in Being realistic about reasons (2014), and then I adapt these concepts so as to render them apt to be used in the formulation I intend to offer. In the third section I present my formulation of the PSV using the concepts introduced in the second section and explain why I believe this formulation is better than the one offered by Vlastos.

Warrant, Conclusive Reason, and Failure-Of-Transfer-Of-Warrant

[straipsnis ir santrauka anglų kalba, santrauka lietuvių kalba]Fredas Dretske savo episteminio uždarumo (epistemic closure) atmetimą grindžia tuo, kad pagrįsto samprotavimo pagrindas (warrant) neprivalo pereiti (arba būti „perduotas“) samprotavimo išvadai. Pagrindo neperdavimo (failure of transfer of warrant) strategiją taip pat naudojo episteminio uždarumo šalininkai kaip apsaugą nuo Michaelo McKinsey’io argumento prieš pirmojo asmens autoriteto suderinamumą su semantiniu eksternalizmu, taip pat kaip bendresnį paaiškinimą, kodėl tam tikri pagrįsti samprotavimai atrodo neįtikinamai jų išvadų pagrįstumo požiūriu. Šiame straipsnyje naujai nagrinėjami kai kurie svarbiausi mėginimai paaiškinti pagrindo neperdavimo atvejus ir pagrindinė kontrargumentavimo strategija atsakant teoretikams, įžvelgiantiems ydingą ratą. Pagrindinis šio straipsnio tikslas yra apginti dretskišką minėtų samprotavimų neįtikinamumo paaiškinimą.

The Cult of Asclepius: Its Origins and Early Development

This article explores the origins and early development of the cult of Asclepius. Most of the relevant materials are found in classical literature, although archaeology can also help to shine some light on certain areas. Unsurprisingly, the origins of the cult are quite obscure. A number,of places in ancient Greece competed for the honour of being his birthplace, and there is no conclusive reason for deciding in favour of any of them. One thing that is constant in the stories told about him is that Apollo was usually his father. Another constant in the history of the cult is the practice of incubation. It seems likely that the cult brought together and combined elements of several healing cults that were originally quite separate. The cult emerged at the same time that Hippocratic medicine was developing. A new understanding of the nature of the soul, and the relationship between it and the body was also taking root. It is reasonable to believe that these facts are related, although harder to say exactly how.