Ancient Philosophy

After a brief introduction, surveys the history of the global development of PWL, followed by an account of the key features of this philosophical orientration. I then discuss some outstanding issues in the current PWL studies, with particular emphasis on the central but problematic notion of objectivity on the thought of Pierre Hadot. I conclude with an introduction to and brief summary of the other contributions to this issue of the Bollettino.

The experiment was carried out as randomized complete block design in factorial with three replications to evaluate of the possibility of integrated weed management in Broomcorn (Sorghum bicolor) yield. Treatments were included herbicides (Foramsulfuron, Bromoxynil+MCPA and 2,4- D+ MCPA), application dose (recommendation dose, 25% less and more than recommended doses for corn farms) and mechanical control (with or without cultivation). The result indicated all factors including herbicides, application doses and cultivation were significantly influenced weeds density and dry weight. The best herbicide in weeds density and dry weight decreasing percentage was Foramsulfuron treatment. Cultivation treatment was significantly influenced weeds control. The best doses were 25% more recommended dose and recommended dose on weeds density and dry weight decreasing percentage.

Las nupcias de Filología y Mercurio de Marciano Capela, la última obra de carácter enciclopédico de la Latinidad tardía, incluye, en su libro IX, la Música como la última disciplina liberal del número. A lo largo de este libro que cierra la obra, su autor condensa las teorías musicales antiguas que comprenden las técnicas elementales principales y las especulaciones músico-matemáticas de mayor dominio y crédito y añade, aunque en menor medida, ciertas aportaciones propias. Una de ellas es su tratamiento de los pentacordos, calificado por la crítica como «único» en la tratadística antigua y tardoantigua, no habiendo nada parecido en documentos anteriores, griegos y latinos, de teoría musical. Este trabajo presentará brevemente al autor y a su obra y se centrará en la explicación de los pentacordos y de los esquemas pentacordales como parte del engranaje harmónico tratado en paralelo con los tetracordos.

This paper tackles a much-discussed passage of Aristophanes’ Birds, in which Socrates is depicted as a psuchagogos, a conjurer of souls. This is the only passage in Socratic literature in which such an activity is attributed to Socrates. In Clouds, which was staged nine years prior to Birds, Aristophanes defines Socrates’ school as the ‘thinkery of wise souls’, and the endeavors of his pupils as a ‘taking care’ of their own souls: but what Socrates specifically does with the souls of his pupils is not clear. For this, we have to look to Birds, and in particular to verses 1553-1564. I first discuss the passage itself and how it relates to the comedy as a whole, then I provide a reading of parallel passages from the Clouds and Pythagorean literature, before finally returning to the verses in the Birds to draw some conclusions.

Lucretius proposes a different conception of reality than Epicurus, especially because he separates two ontological levels: that of special ontology and that of general ontology. Far from the interpretation that Lucretius despises Latin, we maintain that he intentionally uses Latin terms and that he does not use the word atom, in order to distance himself from the debates of the Aristotelians and the Epicureans themselves on the subject.

Resumo: O fato de Platao escrever uma obra literaria apresenta uma serie de desafios para o leitor interessado na compreensao de seu pensamento. O primeiro e mais obvio desafio esta ligado ao fato de Platao nao figurar entre os personagens dos dialogos. Caso encontrassemos Platao nas acoes ali descritas, estariamos na condicao de, simplesmente, identificar tudo aquilo que um determinado personagem diz como a posicao do autor. No entanto, a ausencia de Platao nas cenas dramaticas descritas na sua obra nos deixa sem a possibilidade de uma solucao direta para este problema interpretativo fundamental: como acessar a posicao de Platao acerca das discussoes representadas nos dialogos? Como sabemos, ao longo da historia, foram criados diferentes metodos de organizacao e leitura dos dialogos com o objetivo de superar este desafio e permitir ao leitor dos dialogos o acesso ao pensamento de Platao. O presente artigo pretende realizar uma analise critica do surgimento e estabelecimento do mais...

Is the world created ex nihilo or is it eternal? Or, in Plato's words, "it has existed always, having no beginning of generation, or [. . .] it has come into existence, having begun from some beginning" (Timaeus 28b, trans. W. R. M. Lamb). Theology—and science even—affirm that the world has a beginning, i.e., it is not eternal, and its beginning comes from nothing. But the simplicity of this statement should by no means deceive us, as it conceals centuries of disputes and refutations. The question of the eternity of the world consumed Greek philosophy, dividing it into those who argued for a world without beginning (e.g., Aristotle) and those who contemplated its generation (e.g., Plato, at least according to Aristotle, or, to name a twentieth-century exegete, Gregory Vlastos). Christian philosophers inherited the dispute and when they weren't resorting to deus ex machina arguments, they were developing sophisticated and substantial arguments against the philosophical claim of the world's eternity—up to the condemnation of the Aristotelian teaching in 1270 by the Bishop of Paris.

In the Laws, Plato theorizes citizenship as simultaneously a political, ethical, and aesthetic practice. His reflection on citizenship finds its roots in a descriptive psychology of human experience, with sentience and, above all, volition seen as the primary targets of a lifelong training in the values of citizenship. In the city of Magnesia described in the Laws erôs for civic virtue is presented as a motivational resource not only within the reach of the 'ordinary' citizen, but also factored by default into its educational system. Supporting a vision of 'perfect citizenship' based on an internalized obedience to the laws, and persuading the entire polity to consent willingly to it, requires an ideology that must be rhetorically all-inclusive. In this city 'ordinary' citizenship itself will be troped as a performative action: Magnesia's choral performances become a fundamental channel for shaping, feeling and communicating a strong sense of civic identi...

Resumen:
En este trabajo se presenta una interpretación sobre la célebre distinción entre el intelecto activo y el intelecto pasivo en De anima III, 5, a partir de "otra modesta propuesta". Para ello, se expone el núcleo fundamental de esa reciente propuesta, que identifica el intelecto activo con el hábito de los principios y con el contenido de los primeros principios. A continuación, se ponen de manifiesto algunas objeciones a dicha interpretación y, finalmente, se analizan las notas o características del intelecto activo presentes en el texto de Aristóteles. El propósito de este artículo consiste en mostrar una posible comprensión del intelecto activo de Aristóteles, con la intención de que se convierta en "otra aún más modesta propuesta".

Abstract:
The object of this paper is to present an interpretation of the well-known distinction between the active intellect and the passive intellect in De anima III, 5 using as a basis a previous article entitled “a modest proposal.” To achieve this aim, I will expound on the fundamental nucleus of that recent proposal, which identifies the active intellect with the habit of principles and with the content of the first principles. I will then point out certain objections to the aforementioned interpretation. Finally, I will provide an analysis of the marks or characteristics of the active intellect in the text of Aristotle. The purpose of this article is to offer a possible understanding of the active intellect of Aristotle, with the intention that it may become “another even more modest proposal”.

Marco Donato’s chapter “Dialoguing with Plato: Allusions, Borrowings and Exegesis in Platonic Spuria” considers in more detail two dialogues from the Appendix Platonica: the short dialogue On Virtue and the Sisyphus. Both build upon Plato’s Meno, but with notable reformulations and, at least since the end of the nineteenth century, this play of allusions has been interpreted as a sign of forgery, even if confirming the Academic origins of dubia and spuria. By inquiring into the practical and exegetical background of these reprises, Donato shows how production of school dialogues supported specific interpretations of Plato’s texts and could be used as a way to dialogue with the founder of the school through his writings.

Junto con Lucas Donegana y Yanina Sarrat presentamos la traducción, acompañada de una introducción general y notas, del diálogo apócrifo Axíoco. El tema principal de la obra es la muerte y la actitud que el hombre debe tener ante ella. Una de las premisas desplegadas en el diálogo es que el fin de la vida no tiene un sentido negativo, ya que morir permite que el alma, considerada inmortal, se libere del cuerpo –prisión mortal y origen de penurias– para acceder a un estado de ausencia de dolor y a una sensación de bienestar total.

UGO ZILIOLI, Eliminativism in ancient philosophy. Greek and Buddhist Philosophers on Material Objects.
'This book presents an astute comparison between philosophers in ancient Greece and India who, for some reason or another, set out to eliminate material objects from their theories. The highly original, historically rich and analytically sophisticated discussion presented here will be of great interest to any reader wishing to learn more about fundamental questions of metaphysics, East and West.' Jan Westerhoff, Professor of Buddhist Philosophy, Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, UK.
'Zilioli's groundbreaking book explores the origins of ontology based on doubts about material reality. A captivating dialogue with Eastern tradition adds unique depth. A must-read for those seeking intellectual stimulation, a fresh perspective on existence and a philosophical adventure that is not to be missed!' (Claudia Marsico, University of Buenos Aires)

This review presents a book that might have been more useful if the author had stuck to his original intention to elucidate the intellectual debate that bishop Arethas carried out with Lucian in the scholia which he added to Lucian’s writings; but he does so satisfactorily only in his first chapter.

Suárez was probably the first theologian to propose a political understanding of the order of subordination among the demons. According to Aquinas, this subordination immediately reflects the natural differences in perfection between the demons. Suárez charged that a natural-based order of demonic subordination could not ground the capacity of the demons' ruler-Lucifer-to use his power to impose civic obligations on fellow demons so as to pursue their joint evil goals. But can there be obligations ad malum? This paper explores a number of possible paths seemingly available to Suárez to defend his controversial view. I argue that the most promising interpretation of Suárez is one according to which the obligations created by Lucifer's commands are not obligations in conscience but rather what we may call "non-moral obligations."

This dissertation offers an interpretation of Plato’s Phaedrus that takes the motif of psychagôgia (soul-leading) as an interpretative key for understanding and unifying the dialogue. In the first part, I undertake a historical-philological investigation into psychagôgia in ancient Greece to grasp Plato’s appropriation and adaptation of this term from its original semantic-pragmatic context. In the second part, I examine the Phaedrus through the prism of psychagogy across three interdependent structural domains: content, form, and function. I argue that psychagogy must be comprehended as a complex subject that necessarily involves understanding the nature of the soul, the motivating drive of love, the power of speech, and the aspirations of philosophy for truth, virtue, and knowledge. In terms of form, psychagogy explains the dramatic action of the characters within the dialogue, from Phaedrus’ encounter with Socrates after his captivation by an epideictic speech by Lysias to their lively dialectical discussion. As for function, psychagogy illuminates the purpose of the Phaedrus as a written work of philosophy against its historical background, simply put, to lead the reader’s soul to the philosophical form of life. In summary, psychagogy is what the Phaedrus is about; it is exhibited in its dramatic narrative, and it is what the dialogue intends to accomplish.

From its earliest beginnings in the Western world to the end of the Renaissance, utopian literature has developed in four primary ways: as myth about the blissful but vanished past of humanity; as prophecy about a future state of bliss, particularly in millennial visions of the post-apocalyptic kingdom of God; as explicitly posited philosophical and rationalist speculation on how an ideal or at least plausibly better city and society could be attained; and as full-blown fiction, which deploys a range of fictional speech acts. Though in certain ways its ideational origins lie in a rich interplay of topoi derived from mythic antiquity and from the Hellenistic, Roman, and early Christian cultural world, utopian literature in its most formally complex form—that of the utopian fiction—only arises in the Renaissance. In this form, which will ultimately yield the utopian novel of the 19th century, the literary utopia occupies an idiosyncratic position between realism and fantasy fiction, lacking grounding in verisimilar space or time, but also eschewing the ahistoricism and escapism of fantasy. Utopian literature has been mostly understood in terms of moral and sociological functions, ranging from its utility as an instrument of anticipation, or at least fertile speculation about the possible and desirable, to its ability to posit norms and regulatory ideals or, more negatively, its penchant for dogmatism and the abstractions of blueprint and method. A different picture emerges, however, if one considers utopias from the standpoint of how they produce social meaning—an approach that foregrounds the role of textual and semiotic factors without making ethical assumptions about the better or worse character of utopian textual worlds. At stake, rather, is the grasp of utopian literature in terms of an organizational imaginary, according to which society is something that can be beneficially re-formed and rearranged after first being critically analyzed as to its constitutive elements and institutions.

At their earliest, utopias were the repository of myths about a world free from the pains of labor and the horrors of war, from greed and often from private property as well. By the time of Plato’s philosophical writings in the 4th century BCE, utopian vision had become at once more modest and more realistic and technical, most prominently in its connection to social engineering. The earliest elements of playful fictionality emerge in the Hellenistic world, which incorporates the theme of travel and the element of the marvelous, often in a satirical vein. The early Christian world tends toward a divide between allegorical abstraction, particularly in elite versions of Christian Neoplatonism, and the more heterodox possibilities of divinely mediated subversion of established social forms and structures in the millenarianism of the lower classes. The Renaissance utopia, finally, emerges after Sir Thomas More’s homonymous text of 1516 as a complex synthesis and mediation between elite and subaltern pursuits, antiquity and modernity, Christian morality and scientific materialism, constituting utopists themselves as mediators and guarantors of social harmony in an otherwise rapidly changing and turbulent world.

This paper attempts to re-read the archaic human history from philosophical anthropological point of view by interpreting the most important historical texts in their original language as the expressions of constituting the idea of “self”, between the ideas of “universe” and “God-state”. The idea of “universe” is defined as the external intention of mind (soul) that deals with the problem of truth and science, and “God-state” as the internal one that deals with the problem of freedom and morality. The totality of these aspects of mind historically creates the idea of “self” as an art. This inner-outer movement is a kind of Hegelian dialectics but has been articulated in the role of “Transzendentale Apperzeption” in Kant’s ideas of pure reason: Universe, Soul and God. The ideas are important both in practical life and the theoretical use of reason too, because the ideas are the practical reasons of our all cognitive actions. So, we here too take the position of critical philosophy to...

The realm of science fiction serves as a captivating tapestry, weaving together speculative narratives that extend beyond the bounds of conventional reality. Within this expansive genre, three thematic strands emerge as critical foci: Posthumanism, Alternate Realities, and Cyberculture. This exploration aims to unravel the nuanced layers embedded within these themes, offering a critical lens through which to examine the implications for contemporary society, ethical considerations, and the trajectory of human existence.