Schole. Философское антиковедение и классическая традиция @classics-nsu-schole
Статьи журнала - Schole. Философское антиковедение и классическая традиция
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The discussion of human nature in the 5th and 4th centuries bce in the so-called sophistic movement
Статья научная
The paper discusses the debate on the human nature in the sophistic thought. Focusing on the "nature - culture" controversy it presents the evolution of the views of the sophists: from Protagoras’ optimistic contention of the progress of mankind and his appraisal of culture to its criticism and the radical turn to nature in Antiphon, Hippias, Trasymachos, and Callicles. The paper aims at presenting the analysis of the ongoing discussion, with the stress laid on reconstruction of the arguments and concepts as well as the attitudes that are associated with various positions of this debate.
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The houses of philosophical schools in Athens
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In the first and second parts of the article we look at two archaeological sites excavated in the center of Athens, a building, located on the Southern slope of the Acropolis and now buried under the Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, known as House Chi, or the “House of Proclus”, and Houses A, B and C at the slope of the Areopagus overlooking the Athenian Agora. We outline and illustrate the basic finds and reexamine the principal arguments in favor of identifying these constructions as the houses of philosophical schools and, in the third part of the paper, offer a remark on religious practice in the Neoplatonic school.
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The human and the divine in the first stasimon of Sophocles’ Antigone
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The first stasimon of the Antigone has the second antistrophe as its key moment. If read in connection with the whole of the play, the second antistrophe points in advance to a conflict between two inadequate forms of relationship between the human and the divine as the reason for the catastrophe that befalls Thebes. It represents a microcosm of the whole play, which deals with a conflict between Antigone’s and Creon’s inadequate forms of relating to the divine. It does not refer to just one of the protagonists but to both simultaneously. By referring to what an adequate relationship between the human and the divine is and what it is not, it establishes a decisive criterion from which not only the play’s outcome but also the meaning of every human society can be assessed.
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The neoplatonic pursuit of God in the Middle Ages
Статья научная
This paper studies the differing approaches to pursuing God during the Middle Ages to show the latent Neoplatonism inherent to four prominent thinkers from the Early to High Middle Ages. Beginning with Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, God’s darkness is equated with an ineffable light. Pseudo-Dionysius used darkness to describe God exceeding the bounds of the intellect; a metaphor also used to illustrate the non-objectifying imperative for union with God. In union, Pseudo-Dionysius outlines an apophatic process concurrently with a ladder of ascent. Eriugena appropriates Pseudo-Dionysius’ darkness, albeit dialectically. In accepting the limitations of the intellect, Eriugena maps the boundaries of the intellect using binary oppositions between being and non-being and the created and uncreated. Eriugena concludes we can achieve union only by meditating upon God’s theophanies. By distinguishing reason from faith, we observe the turn to reason in Anselm. In signifying the start of the High Middle Ages, Anselm makes the unprecedented claim that God is proveable through reason alone, although such proof requires arduous contemplative work. Anselm nevertheless understood prayer and faith as prerequisites for pursuing God. Anselm’s view of the limitations of the intellect later becomes the backbone of his Ontological Argument, which Aquinas takes up and revises by focusing on Anselm’s definition of contemplation. For Aquinas, the non-objective vision of God, which he calls a beatific vision, is the ground for union with God. The very limitations of the intellect for Aquinas prove the need for beatific vision as the prerequisite for bridging the infinite gap between God and intellect. Throughout this investigation, we uncover the intrinsic Neoplatonism in the Middle Ages philosophers exhibited in their pursuit of God.
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Статья научная
In this paper, I argue against Jack Visnjic’s claim (in his recent book “The Invention of Duty”) that the Stoic term καθῆκον conveys the idea of moral duty. First, I examine Visnjic’s explicit argumentation and find it inconclusive. Then, I provide additional objections based on the evidence which Visnjic, in my opinion, either underestimates or completely disregards. Basically, I believe that at least the early Stoics regarded καθήκοντα as morally neutral activities that can become both morally right and wrong depending on the agent’s motivation.
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The ordinal numbers in Hesiod's myth of the races
Статья научная
To understand the meaning and function of the ordinal numbers in the myth of the races it is essential to have a full grasp of how the myth is composed and its structure is supposed to be perceived by a listener or reader. There is a general silence among Hesiod scholars about the meaning and function of the ordinal numbers in the myth. A tacit agreement may be inferred from such a silence: the ordinal numbers are implicitly taken to merely express the chronological order of the races. In this article, we examine each and every one of the ordinal numbers that appear in Hesiod’s myth. We demonstrate that the ordinal numbers preserve their hierarchical dimension even in the cases in which this appears to be less convincing.
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The origins of Platonists' dogmatism
Статья научная
John Dillon (Trinity College, Dublin) again turns to the problem of the origins of platonic dogmatism in the Ancient Academy. See also Rus. trans. his books The heirs of Plato (St. Petersburg, 2003) and the Middle Platonists (St. Petersburg, 2001). School controversy and rivalry between schools, initially between the Academy and Peripat, and then between Platonists, Stoics and Aristotelians, led to the fact that Platonism eventually became more formal than it was at the time of Plato, with Xenocrates primarily responsible for this development, which, in a number of treatises of a general and a private nature, laid the foundation for a new integral doctrine. It can not be asserted that the Platonists were inclined to monolithic orthodoxy. The teachings of Plato did not seem to them as something that came from above. Most likely, the school was a self-regulating system in which everyone as a whole understood what it meant to be a Platonist (and later a Pythagorean) and, from his point of view, passionately polemicized both with his colleagues and with representatives of other schools.
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The philosophical initiation in Plato's Phaedrus
Статья научная
The article deals with the topic of "initiations" in Plato's Phaedrus. The idea of initiation was characteristic of Greek mysteries, especially the Eleusinian and Orphic mysteries, which played a large role in the formation of Greek philosophy. The essence of initiations was the experience of divinity. The motive of initiations in Plato's Phaedrus seems to have a similar meaning. This is also suggested by the allegory of human souls as chariots and the mystical “epopteia” motif woven into it, suggesting Eleusinian analogies.
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The power of semen: Aristotle and some Galen’s fallacies
Статья научная
In this paper, I try to demonstrate how critical empiricism and philosophical reasoning intertwine with each other and affected the development of medicine. It is a case study considering the problems of generation and semen in the writings of Aristotle and Galen via relationship between such concepts as matter, form, movement, change, causes and some others. The main question addressed in the paper is the reason of Galen’s return to Hippocratic paradigm of two-semina (male and female). I argue that the reason is two-fold: 1) Different philosophical reasoning and erroneous understanding of some aspects of Aristotle’s embryological model by Galen. 2) Empirical discoveries, which proved to be wrong. I demonstrate that Galen’s understanding of form/matter relationship, and his view on matter as an underling principle conditioned his understanding of the notion of physical change, that allowed him to speak about conception only as quantitative mixture between equal substrata. Finally, I show that Galen’s view on teleology and his limited understanding of formal/final vs efficient causes and their relationship forced him to claim the inadequacy of Aristotle’s biology and necessitated Galen to introduce emendations in definitions of seminal faculties of genders and reproductive fluids.
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The psalter as a source of knowledge in Origen’s and Basil’s Exegesis on the Psalms
Статья научная
By comparing Origen’s and Basil’s homilies on the psalms, this article aims to demonstrate how both authors conceived of the literary and theological unity of the Psalter. Both exegetes incorporate Christian spiritual progress-as presented, according to them, in the divine music-into the dichotomy of praxis and theoria. To this end, they use a set of specific images. For instance, they both contrast the practical life of moral preparation, depicted as the “psalm” and a kind of instrumental music, with the contemplative life as the “canticle” and a kind of vocal music. In this way, drawing on the superiority of the body over the mind, Basil and Origen present the human body as a musical instrument and the virtuous life as harmonious song. I suggest that the recurring stress on this philosophical structure in the exegesis of the Psalter is explained by a desire to present this scriptural book as adapted for every Christian from the simplest to the more advanced ones, whatever spiritual preparation they have. The conception of the Psalter as an universal text embracing the content of the whole Bible developed by Basil, Athanasius and possibly Origen also leads to this approach. My research focuses primarily on Origen’s and Basil’s Homilies on the Psalms , but also establishes some relevant connections with other commentaries on the psalms.
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The reception of Aristotle’s interpretation of Plato’s forms in Plotinus and Al-Farabi
Статья научная
This paper makes four arguments to challenge attributing to Plato a theory of Forms. I begin by closely studying Aristotle’s critique of the Forms to show that Aristotle was more focused on the epistemological implications of the Forms as opposed to their existence. Additionally, it remains unclear as to whether Aristotle was targeting Plato or the Platonists in his critiques. I then turn to the inconsistencies inherent in Plato’s discussion of the Forms. Essentially, this is incumbent upon Plato’s commitment to the belief that writing and language fail to capture the Forms holistically. As such, Plato’s variegated discussions of the Forms in the dialogues reflect his commitment to the mutability of the world concurrently with language. This carries over to the reception of Plato and Aristotle in Antiquity and beyond. I show that starting from Antiochus of Ascalon onwards, Plato and Aristotle were accepted to be representatives of a consistent philosophy. This historical ‘harmonization’ of Plato and Aristotle shows that opposition between both thinkers concerning the Forms was not a commonly held view. I then turn to Plotinus who syncretised Plato’s Forms with Aristotelian Intellect which was appropriated by al-Fārābī who rejected the idea that there had been any distinction in the first place. Al-Fārābī composed a treatise on the harmony of Plato and Aristotle, whereas Plotinus based his entire philosophical enterprise on the synthesis of Platonic-Aristotelian philosophy that proved historically influential. The resulting thesis of this paper is that any close historical study of Aristotle’s interpretation of Plato’s Forms would show that one cannot attribute to Plato a theory of Forms without facing serious contradictions.
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The soul-parts as a cause of embryogenesis in Aristotle's De generatione animalium
Статья научная
In De generatione Animalium Aristotle proposes a theory of embryogenesis and indicates its causes. An account of embryo’s animation plays an important role in this theory. From the moment of conception foetus is generated as a living and animated being, and its actual soul appears as a principle of its development and growth. However, unless embryo comes to perfection its soul is also incomplete. The animation of the embryo is a process, which consists of successive actualization of its soul’s parts and powers. Parts of the soul are both the causes of generation and the actuality of yet non-perfected embryo. In this paper Aristotle’s conception of embryogenesis will be considered in the context of his doctrine of soul-parts and organic composition.
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The theory of "union-distinction" as a paradigm of Gr. Palamas’ methodology
Статья научная
The issue concerning the real existence of the divine energies and consequently their relation to the divine essence is remarkably important for Christian Metaphysics. This study deals with the way in which Gr. Palamas included in this perspective the theory on unions and distinctions, which derives from Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite’s works, who is considered to be one of the main founders of Christian theology. It is also important to mention that the study deals with matters that, on the one side, have formed a tradition in the history of Christianity and, on the other, are subsumed in the context of the hesychastic controversy of the fourteenth-century, during which the specification of both the similarities and the differences between philosophy and theology was decisively raised.
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Статья научная
Based on approach, which stems from neoanalysis and intertextuality, the paper aims to highlight the suitability of Achilles’ afterlife place through escalation of alternatives. Beginning with the Underworld, the research goes on with the Elysian Fields, the Islands of the Blessed and Mount Olympus and ends up with Leuke Island, presenting an updated information about it, carrying out a comparative analysis and justifying it as the most appropriate afterlife place for the hero via a holistic context whose focal points are cult, caliber, mythological and symbolic reasons.
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Theory and method: bridging the gap between history and archeology
Статья научная
This article aims to bridge the gap between history and archaeology by linking the methodological and theoretical developments of both scientific disciplines. This is done by tracing general societal trends and developments within both disciplines, divided into five periods, from the professionalization of the sciences in the nineteenth century, up to the present day. The result will hopefully offer practitioners of both disciplines an insight into the others’ intellectual framework, and thereby foster better understanding and opportunities for future cooperation.
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Time and eternity from plotinus and Boethius to Einstein
Статья научная
This article seeks to show that the views on time and eternity of Plotinus and Boethius are analogous to those implied by the block-time perspective in contemporary philosophy of time, as implied by the mathematical physics of Einstein and Minkowski. Both Einstein and Boethius utilized their theories of time and eternity with the practical goal of providing consolation to persons in distress; this practice of consolatio is compared to Pierre Hadot’s studies of the “Look from Above”, of the importance of concentrating on the present moment, and his emphasis on ancient philosophy as providing therapy for the soul, instead of mere abstract speculation for its own sake. In the first part of the article, Einstein’s views are compared with those of Plotinus, and with the elucidation of Plotinus’ views provided in the Arabic Theology of Aristotle. The second part of the article studies Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy, which, contrary to recent interpretations, is indeed a genuine consolation rather than a parody thereof. The Consolation shows how the study of the Neoplatonic philosophical curriculum can lead the student along the path to salvation, by awakening and elaborating his innate ideas. To illustrate this doctrine, a passage from the little-known Pseudo-Boethian treatise De diis et praesensionibus is studied. Finally, after a survey of Boethius’ view on fate and providence, and Aristotle’s theory of future contingents, I study Boethius’ three main arguments in favor of the reconcilability of divine omniscience and human free will: the distinction between absolute and conditional necessity, the principle that the nature of knowledge is determined by the knower, and finally the doctrine that God lives in an eternal present, seeing past, present, and future simultaneously. This last view, developed primarily from Plotinus, is once again argued to be analogous to that advocated by contemporary block-time theorists on the basis of Eisteinian relativity. God’s supratemporal vision introduces no necessity into contingent events. Ultimate, objective reality, for Boethius as for Plotinus and Einstein, is atemporal, and our idea that there is a conflict between human free will and divine omniscience derives from a kind of optical illusion, caused by the fact that we cannot help but think in terms of temporality.
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Traduttore traditore: проблемы перевода платоновского "Теэтета"
Статья научная
Задача этой небольшой заметки - показать на конкретных примерах, как в некоторых русских переводах «Теэтета» смысл меняется на ровно противоположный, что, разумеется, не просто существенно затрудняет понимание текста для читателя, не владеющего древнегреческим, но порой доводит его до неразрешимого логического тупика. В статье анализируются два примера из перевода Т.В. Васильевой в сравнении с некоторыми другими переводами с рассмотрением соответствующих контекстов диалога: Th. 160e7-8 и 164c7-d2. Важно, что это не проходные места, а ключевые для выстраивания Платоном логики софистов: в первом случае он показывает необходимое отсутствие субъекта ощущения в концепции всеобщего движения; во втором - роль «соглашения о словах» в эристической стратегии софистов. В обоих случаях перевод Васильевой, к сожалению, может только запутать читателя и заставить его усомниться в логике и связности платоновского текста. С точки зрения истории переводов Платона было бы небезынтересно рассмотреть возможные источники ошибки в первом примере (Th. 160e7-8.) у разноязычных переводчиков разных эпох. С точки зрения практики анализ перевода «Теэтета» Васильевой, включенного в «каноническое» русскоязычное издание Платона, показывает одно: настоятельно необходим новый перевод «Теэтета» на русский язык.
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Tritogeneia, Poseidon's trident and early sacred trinity
Статья научная
The name Tritogeneia likely means ‘born of the Third’, this Third one being the supreme god, the Most High. Poseidon (at least Poseidon Helikonios) was once such a god. He was the lord of the water that descended from heaven and a deity closely associated with the celestial pole. His trident is the symbol that indicates his celestial nature, and this symbol developed from a previous one - a raised hand with three fingers. This number of fingers signified the similarity with the dwellers of the sky - the birds, with their three toes in front.
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Статья научная
The article analyses and juxtaposes the images of the eschatological soteriological figures of Melchizedek in 11QMelchizedek (11Q13) and the “Son of God” in 4QApocryphon of Daniel (4Q246). Identifying the differences in the soteriological concepts reflected in 11Q13 and 4Q246, the author reaches the following main conclusions. God the Creator is transcendent to creation; Melchizedek is predominantly the spiritual head of the entire Universe (cf. also 4Q521, frag. 2, 2:1 of the “Messiah” of the Lord), who during the Eschaton will put an end to all the dark forces of creation led by Belial, atone for the sins of the worthy and retaliate against the sinful. As for the “Son of God” in 4Q246, his mission is mainly directed to earthly affairs, albeit on a global scale; he appears as a lay and military leader who comes at a critical moment to the aid of God’s people and is called to establish a just and righteous world order and in fact to become the sovereign of the united earthly kingdom. To a certain extent the image of the “Son of God” in 4Q246 may be compared with the personality of the eschatological “messenger who announces peace ( שלום )” (Isa. 52:7), i.e. establishes socio-political welfare on earth (cf., e.g., 4Q246, frag. 2, 2:5–6), and who is identified in 11Q13 2:16, 18 with the figure of the “anointed”/”prince” mentioned in Dan. 9:25 (the lay Messiah). Melchizedek, on the other hand, appears in 11Q13 as a divine figure on a universal, not just global, scale—one could even say like a second “God” within the created universe. As for the “messenger of good who announces salvation, saying to Zion: your God reigns” (Isa. 52:7), referred to in 11Q13 2:18–24, this is probably the Teacher of Righteousness of the Qumran community (the priestly Messiah).
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Ultimum dilemma Брута или возможно ли моральное оправдание убийства Цезаря?
Статья научная
Данная статья представляет собой исследование того, насколько может быть оправдано применение моральной и философской рефлексии при совершении преступления. Поступок - результат решения уравнения со многими переменными, преодоление противоречий правовых, нравственных, философских, эмоциональных. Однако современная правовая и этическая мысль абсолютизировала аргументы против убийства во всех его формах, закрыв тем самым путь для понимания его причин и мотивов. В качестве примера мы исследуем заговор и убийство Цезаря в Риме в 44 г. до н.э. В статье вскрываются объективные различия в понимании морали в античности и в современной этической науке. На основе сохранившихся документов той эпохи анализируются философские и этические основания, которые могли помочь в решение этой дилеммы. В первую очередь мы рассмотрели философско-политические работы и эпистолярное наследие Цицерона, размышления которого об обязанностях гражданина могли повлиять на решение Брута участвовать в заговоре против Цезаря и принять моральный выбор как свою судьбу. Брут действовал не как убийца, а как выразитель общественной цели и публичной пользы, для которого целью поступка было общественное благо, несовместимое с тиранией.
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