Статьи. Рубрика в журнале - Schole. Философское антиковедение и классическая традиция
The Tombs of the Patriarchs in Hebron: A Herodian Heroon-Temenos
Статья научная
Researchers estimated that the complex built above the Cave of the Patriarchs was built by Herod. A new carbon-14 date reinforces this opinion. The complex was built over a cave, seemingly a natural karst void, possibly modified by humans, traditionally associated with the burial Cave, where Judaism's Patriarchs and Matriarchs are interred - defining the compound as a Heroon, enclosed by a "temenos". A concealed burial loculus meant for a single ossuary was discovered in the system below the floor of the temenos. Considering all the data, we would like to suggest that the Heroon-temenos was built at the beginning of Herod's reign and the individual burial loculus was set apart for Herod himself before he opted for burial in Herodium.
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The anthropological model in the Platonic dialogue Charmides
Статья научная
In this study we investigate the extract 154b8-156c9 from the introductory chapters of the Platonic dialogue Charmides so that to examine how the terms of Aesthetics are formed, which focuses on the selfhood and makes it the core of dialectics. Specifically, we structure our study in two chapters each of which includes two subchapters. In the first subchapter we focus on the soul, which in the Platonic text appears to be the criterion for moral perfectness. In the second subchapter, which systematizes the former, we show how Socrates contrives to do the transition from subjective judgments to logical propositions and the terms of the authentic Aesthetics. In the third subchapter, paying attention to the first communication between Socrates and Charmides, we discuss how the Athenian philosopher sets beauty within its true boundaries and activates the logical part of the soul. In the fourth subchapter, we follow the introduction in dialectics, which will lead anyone involved in truth. The main contribution of our study is that we show how in this dialogue Plato succeeds to go from vulgar hedonism to the beauty of the soul, which is a requirement for the inner transformation of selfhood.
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Статья научная
The theories accounting for cognition based on formal schemata often claim that there is a logic in the human mind. From the thesis on the river given by Heraclitus of Ephesus, in this paper, it is argued that, if that logic exists, it cannot be simple, and that, at a minimum, it requires the assumption of some kind of temporal elements, which, in general, seem not to be considered in such theories. In particular, some reflections about possible ways those elements could be taken into account are presented.
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The beauty of the world in Plato’s "Timaeus"
Статья научная
In the Timaeus Plato describes the world as the ‘most beautiful’ ( kallistos, 29a5) of generated things. Perhaps indeed this is the first systematic description of the beauty of the world. It is, at any rate, one of the most influential statements of the theme. The Stoics were deeply convinced by it and later, in the third century A.D., at a time when contempt and hate for the world were propagated by Gnostic movements, Plotinus, interpreting the Timaeus, would write magnificent passages on the beauty and value of the world. But what does Plato mean by the ‘beauty’ of the world? What makes the world beautiful? In this paper these questions are approached first (1) by a brief discussion of the distinction which Plato appears to make in the Timaeus between beauty and the good. In one passage ( Tim. 87c) ‘measure’ seems to relate to this distinction. It is suitable then (2) to look at a section of another late work of Plato, the Philebus, where the themes of beauty, goodness and measure may be compared in more detail. The theme of measure then takes us back (3) to the Timaeus, in order to examine the role played by measure, in particular mathematical measure, in constituting the beauty of the world. I discuss in detail the way in which mathematical structures make for the beauty of soul and body in the living whole that is the world.
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The cosmography and cosmology of Wang Chong in the light of Greek and Latin parallels
Статья научная
In his extensive work, the Lunheng Wang Chong (27–ca. 102) repeatedly criticizes the views of certain literati. We consider the possibility that some of the views of both the literati and the critic go back to Greek scientific and philosophical traditions. Various statements in the Lunheng have clear analogies in Greek and Latin texts. For instance, to illustrate the contrary motion of the sun and moon relative to the fixed stars Wang Chong compares their movement to that of ants crawling on a rolling mill-stone. The same comparison appears in Vitruvius and a number of Greek writers. There was an early Greek theory of Air that knows everything everywhere; Wang Chong cites precisely the same idea in respect to qi, barely distinguishable from air in the context. Wang Chong knows the extravagant Chinese theory that involves seasonal rise and fall of the sun attached to heaven. However, if the sun is not attached to heaven the corresponding theory turns ingenious. Precisely such a version of the theory is attested for Anaximenes whose views display many links with the views that circulated in China. Moreover, Wang Chong holds the same basic cosmographic views as Anaximenes. Wang Chong has a correct idea of the distance between the observer and the horizon, but this normally requires knowledge of the radius of the spherical earth, which suggests the Greek origin of the numerical data available to Wang Chong.
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The dialogue on Aristotle categories by porphyry as a platonic dialogue
Статья научная
The paper focuses on interactive dialogue-form strategies in the framework of the late antique Greek and early Byzantine logical traditions. The dialogue by Porphyry On Aristotle Categories is a perfect example of the Neoplatonic approach to build logic in a Plato style. The main protagonistresses of the dialogue are The Question and The Answer, who act as collocutors do in traditional Platonic dialogues. It is proposed to consider the dialogue in the context of three perspectives: in accordance with the tradition of the Platonic dialogue; in the light of Aristotle's education system; in its relation to the late antique and medieval Greek logical dialogue experiments.
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The houses of philosophical schools in Athens
Статья научная
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
Статья научная
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 model of holy sovereign in encomia of Eusebius of Caesarea
Статья научная
The article examines the hagiographic model of a Holy Emperor, formed by Eusebius of Caesarea in his later encomiastic speeches “In Praise of Constantine”, “On Christ’s Sepulchre”, and in the laudatory biographical work “Life of Constantine”. In contrast with the literal, rhetorical and political interpretation of Eusebius’ concept of Holy Emperor, the author takes a new approach to the symbolism of the figure of Emperor Constantine. The article’s task is to reveal and trace the image of Constantine as a working “symbolical mechanism”, associating profound religious and philosophical concepts, such as the relationship between eternity and history. The investigation highlights the originality of Eusebius’ symbolical thinking, which, in contrast to the ancient traditions and customs, provides the Christian-philosophical view of the problem related to preserving the examples of holiness in the memory of descendants. It is this that consists of the tasks of hagiography. The proposed model of a Holy Emperor is based on two main components: the ruler as a sacred image, and the ruler as a subject of sacred history. Eusebius finds the sacred image in the very soul of Emperor Constantine, which reflects the eternal ideas and is likened to the Word of God. In the light of the sacred history, the Basileus acts as an “interpreter” of the Word of God, revealing it in his politics, the understanding of divine providence and his place in it. The Christian emperor opens the logos-like principle in people through his deeds, transferring it from the intelligible realm to the empirical sphere that is the sphere of history.
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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 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 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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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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