“Art and Life”: Oscar Wilde’s Aesthetic Platonism

The article examines the Platonism of Oscar Wilde, starting from his studies at Trinity College and Oxford, and how it was related to his aestheticism. Plato was one of the key figures for the so-called Oxford Hellenistic movement (1850–70s of the 19th century). In its context, the “Symposium” was read almost as a manifesto of a new aestheticism, an important part of which was homoeroticism. Wilde believed that Plato should be interpreted as a “critique of Beauty” and compared a philosopher of the Platonic school with a poet. At the same time, considering himself a Platonist, Wilde turned Plato upside down. The metaphor of the “Cave” remained relevant to him as well, and the Cave itself was understood in about the same way, viz. as a vulgar sensual life with its senseless utilitarianism, taking shadows for genuine reality. But while for Plato the exit from the Cave was associated with pure comprehension in the rarefied and, most importantly, extra-figurative space of merging oneself with the transcendent, and attaining genuine virtue by this outlook for genuine reality, for Wilde, the beautiful in itself was imagery par excellence (according to Plato, the world of eidolons, the lowest sphere of being), and imagery was art, and the possibility of virtue according to Wilde is precisely fidelity to art.

Damascius in Alexandria (2). Selected fragments of his “Philosophical History”

In the paper, I trace the evolution of the Neoplatonic school in Alexandria on the basis of select fragments from Damascius’ “Philosophical History,” translated into Russian for the first time. The fragments concern the Alexandrian intellectual scene of the second part of the fifth century (fragments 72–96 Athanassiadi). Damascius vividly presents the major philosophical figures of this period, such as Heraiscus, Asclepiades, Asclepiodoti (Senior and Junior), and Domninus. Most information is preserved about Asclepiodotus the Junior, who against the background of the general fascination of the Platonists with theurgy and other forms of philosophical religion, the practice of piety and, as a scientific component, theoretical mathematics, stands out for his penchant for empirical research, which could be applied to botany, biology, medicine, geology, for the study and development of technology, and even, if we believe Damascus' account that during his journey from Athens to Aphrodisias he "studied men", then psychology.

Fondation de Qarthadasht en Afrique du Nord – comme problème dans les recherches sur la chronologie de la plus ancienne histoire de Carthage

The author of the article tries to connect the observation of economic and trade relations developed by the Phoenicians in the western part of the Mediterranean with a reflection on the situation in which the Levant countries found themselves. It is known that in the period in which the founding of Carthage can be hypothetically located, the Phoenician centers were under political, economic and military pressure – mainly from Assyria – although other powers, such as Damascus, cannot be ruled out. On the other hand, however, it is known that, for example, in German science the lack of a founding act of Carthage in North Africa was emphasized, and the archaeological traces left in this territory seem insufficient to reconcile conventional literary relations with the founding of Carthage at the end of the 9th century BC. The intention of this article is an attempt to show the issues on the basis of which one should consider the reinterpretation of the events reported as the context of the founding of Carthage. This procedure would serve to revise the existing findings of science on the chronology of the founding of Qarthadasht and could, consequently, contribute to showing that the founding of Carthage fell on a later period - i.e. the end of the 8th or the beginning of the 7th century BCE.

In Search of the Heraclitean Logos

The paper attempts to clarify the essence of logos as found in the teaching of Heraclitus. The author identifies meanings which Heraclitus attributes to the concept, investigates his suggested method of cognizing logos, and analyzes the benefits bestowed upon a human being by comprehension of logos. It is hypothesized that the Heraclitean logos is not an originating principle, like a supreme god or cosmic fire, but its attribute – the verbalized intelligence of being inherent both in the world as a whole and one’s soul. As a mental-verbal projection, logos is open not to the sensory organs or even reason, but to the intellectual intuition. Therefore, the knowledge of logos cannot be taught, but can be obtained through self-cognition. Comprehension of logos leads to following the universal, which, in polity’s life, is equal to the common good. However, according to Heraclitus, this is something attainable only by wise and virtuous, “the best”, not by wicked and ignorant majority.

Language and laughter in the treatise of Philo of Alexandria The worse attacks the better

The present paper investigates the interaction between Logos and language in the treatise of Philo of Alexandria "The Worse attacks the Better". Language is regarded by Philo as the actualization of thought in its articulated expression, as the initial moment of creativity. The source of such action is the divine Logos, but the development of thought in the word happens in two opposite directions: one leads to joy, while the other, to suffering. The starting point of this separation is the initial orientation (love) of the mind to God or to self. In the first case, the mind in the act of utterance (expression) overcomes its own isolation. It comes into contact with the divine Logos and achieves joy. The crucial moment of this "leaving the brackets" of self individual thinking towards the light of the divine Logos is laughter. In another case, when the mind does not link words with their source, false creativity is produced, leading to suffering. Аpplying the concept of laughter to the doctrine of Logos and language, Philo reconciles the ideal plan of conceiving truth and its interpretation with the real functioning of the human mind and speech.

Constantine Lascaris, his manuscripts and his ethical concerns

This article aims to examine Constantine Lascaris’s work on Aristoteles’ ethical corpus. We consider evidence from the textual witnesses of the Nicomachean Ethics, the Eudemian Ethics, the Magna Moralia, and some other minor ethical writings, which belonged to Lascaris, in order to reconstruct his working methods. We also explore Lascaris’ own statements about virtuous life; a life devoted to the service of the common good, to philosophy and to the study of texts. For him philosophy was a way of life, rather than simply a discourse. We look at the link between written culture and philosophical life and propose further research into how Byzantine and Renaissance scholars understood their own intellectual activities to be a special kind of spiritual exercise intended to promote moral improvement in both individuals and societies.

Scientific Theories in the Exegesis of the Book of Genesis and Christological Polemics in the First Half of the Sixth Century: Methods of Argumentation using ἀναλογία and παράδειγμα

This article analyzes the use of scientific theories in the exegesis of the Book of Genesis and in Christological dispute between Diophysites and Monophysites in the first half of the sixth century, focusing on the conditions under which traditional methods of rhetorical argumentation could be applied and on using scientific models for explaining the phenomena of the created nature in order to clarify the aporias from the Book of Genesis and Incarnation. The argument using παράδειγμα (example) and ἀναλογία (analogy), which belonged to the repertory of methods from the Neoplatonic scholarly tradition, made it possible to discuss such heterogeneous phenomena as created and non-created as well as divine and human in theological texts by providing the rules for correct descriptions and for verifying their theological and philosophical accuracy. These two methods are analyzed against the background of Neoplatonic commentaries of Aristotle, while their application to theology is viewed through polemical argument in John Philoponus and Leontius of Byzantium. The Monophysite Philoponus used the argument from ἀναλογία to defend the Christological formula of one composite nature of Christ, while the Chalcedonian Leontius of Byzantium employed the method of argumentation from παράδειγμα for defending the presence of two natures in Christ.

A Group Portrait of the Sophists

The article is devoted to a major change of meaning of the word "sophist" (σοφιστής) in the testimonies of ancient authors. Initially term “sophist” was applied to various groups of people - poets, rhapsodes, sages and legislators were called sophists, it was synonymous with the word "sage" (σοφός). But in the middle of the 5th century it was used to refer only to the teachers of virtue and rhetoric, which appeared in Greece and began to call themselves sophists following Protagoras. Most or all of the fifth-century sophists tend to require a fee, to travel from city to city, to educate young people, promising to teach virtue and rhetoric. The influence of Plato in determination and evaluation of the sophists played a decisive role. In his dialogues, Plato calls Protagoras, Gorgias, Hippias and others as sophists. Besides that, Plato gave the word σοφιστής all well-known negative connotations, among them a liar and a charlatan. Negative assessments of the activities of the sophists persisted until the middle of the 19th century, until the English historian of Antiquity George Grote began a long process of their rehabilitation.

God and Individual Persons

The atheistic Hiddenness Argument contains a controversial premise that a perfectly loving God would love every single person. J. L. Schellenberg, the author of the Argument, claims that this premise is necessarily true. However, many ancient theologians would disagree with the truth of this premise. In this paper, I provide evidence of the variety of alternative theological views from antiquity concerning the proper object of perfect divine love. The list of alternatives includes 1) the whole humanity as a collective subject, 2) humanity as a universal, 3) divine image reflected in human beings, 4) the community of the faithful, 5) a chosen people. Based on the disagreement between Schellenberg and the ancient theologians concerning the proper object of perfect divine love, I argue that the aforementioned premise of the hiddenness argument, even if true, is not necessarily true. Therefore, the key premise of the hiddenness argument turns out to be without support, and the Argument turns out to be unsound.

PLAYING AND LAUGHING GODS OF PLATO’S DIALOGUES IN THE COMMENTARIES OF PROCLUS

“Socrates’ irony” is a well-known topos even for those readers who are far from ancient philosophy. Dialogues of Plato contain different modes of humour, from mild self-irony to quite sarcastic tones. Plato’s gods are ‘playful,’ they treat people as those were ‘playthings.’ The best way of mortals’ life is to play also, spending their time in “sacrificing, singing, and dancing.” However, Neoplatonic commentaries to Plato tend to avoid explicit laughter and any direct mode of humour. Proclus Lycaeus, one of the most fruitful commentators of Plato, seems to disregard anything ludicrous in Plato’s writing. The places, where Plato speaks about laughter or playing games, are explained by Proclus as signs to some kind of divine activity towards the material realm. Even smile and laughter of particular humans are interpreted in the same way as symbols (synthēmata) of gods’ providence. What Proclus discusses in minor details, is the dialectics of gods’ procession into the sensible world, causing substantiation of the universe, and retention of the internal bonds that keep it eternal and unchangeable. Similarly, temporary particular beings also benefit from divine providence, which fortifies their vital capabilities. In general, these forms of providence are depicted by “the undying laughter” of gods. In spite of this approach seeming to be superfluously ‘scholastic’ and therefore losing the dramatic perspective of Plato’s writings, we suggest that Proclean interpretation may assume laughter to be related to some theurgic practice. Therefore, reading and interpretation the game- and laughter-related passages of Plato could have been considered themself a kind of theurgic “sacred play.”