Ancient Philosophy Commons^™

Knowledge Of Atoms And Void In Epicureanism, David J. Furley

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

There is an obvious paradox in the theories of the Atomists. If knowledge comes to us by means of sensation, how are we to explain the atomist's knowledge of the basic propositions of his special theory: that the world consists of void, which is called 'the intangible', and atoms, which are said to be imperceptibly small? Epicurus' method was to set up a pair of contradictories - either there is a void or there is not, either matter is infinitely divisible or it is not - and then to present an argument for rejecting one of them.

Listing Of The 1967-1968 Sagp Content, Society For Ancient Greek Philosophy

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Listing of the Contents and Commentary

The Argument For Immortality In Plato's Phaedrus, Thomas M. Robinson

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

The Phaedrus seems to be saying that soul is the cause of all movement in an organized world, a world measurable by Time. In a non-organized world not measurable by Time one can wonder whether the movement in question has anything to do with this. At this stage words start to break down under the strain. Plato is compelled to give some description of the pre-cosmic chaos, and talk of movement in such a world is no more and no less intelligible than phrases like 'before this' (53a8) in the same passage, when Time has been admitted to be absent. …

The Creation Myth In Plato's Timaeus, Leonardo Taran

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the question whether the creation myth in Plato's Timaeus is to be taken literally or not. My reason for reopening the discussion is the recent publication by Professor Vlastos of a paper entitled "Creation in the Timaeus: is it a Fiction?" In this paper Vlastos tries to answer the arguments that Professor Cherniss gave in favor of the metaphorical interpretation, in the course of which arguments he attacked Vlastos' earlier article "The Disorderly Motion in the Timaeus?. My reason for concentrating on Professor Vlastos ' papers is that his is the most …

An Inquiry Into Aristotle's Use Of Proportionality, Thomas Olshewsky

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

This paper is an exploratory investigation of the use of analogy in Aristotle's works. The thesis is that Aristotle's analogia is not simply a classification of terms as certain scholars suggest (e.g., Joseph Owens and Harry Wolfson); that it is rather a more or less precise methodological device that Aristotle uses throughout his writings and indicates certain ontological presuppositions on the part of the Stagirite. We will first investigate the etymological background of analogia, and then consider Aristotle's uses of it. On the basis of these considerations, we will attempt to formulate its ontological and historical significance. Finally, we will …

Does Aristotle Demonstrate The Definition Of The Soul?, E. M. Barksdale

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

A Translation Of The Dissoi Logoi Or Dialexeis, Rosamond Kent Sprague

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Draft translation of the Dissoi Logoi

Listing Of The 1966-1967 Sagp Content, Society For Ancient Greek Philosophy

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Listing of Articles and Commentary.

The Greek Verb 'To Be' And The Problem Of Being, Charles H. Kahn

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

I am concerned in this paper with the philological basis for Greek ontology, that is to say, with the raw material which was provided for philosophical analysis by the ordinary use and meaning of the verb einai, 'to be'. My question is: how were the Greek philosophers guided, or influenced, in their formulation of doctrines of Being, by the pre-philosophical use of this verb which serves to express the concept of Being in Greek?

Ancient Interpretations Of Aristotle's Doctrine Of Homonyma, John P. Anton

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

The main purpose of this paper is to offer an exposition and a critical examination of the ancient interpretations of Aristotle's doctrine of homonyma. It is determined that the commentators reveal their Neoplatonic interpretive stance in dealing with the question of homonyma.

The Platonic Dream, David Gallop

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

The author writes (12/13/16): "The 1965 paper concerned Plato's use of dreaming and waking as metaphors for various contrasts in different philosophical contexts, and especially for its relevance to the Divided Line and Cave of Republic VI-VII. It was a companion piece to my study of Images in the Republic, published in the Archiv sur Geschichte der Philosophie in 1965, and was originally written with it as part of a single long paper. That 1965 paper dealt with Plato's attacks on images and mimesis, and tried to reconcile them with his own constant use of images, especially in Republic V-VII."

On The "Gold-Example" In Plato's Timaeus (50a5-B5), Edward N. Lee

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Plato imagines someone moulding figures of all kinds in a lump of gold, and continually remoulding each and all into all the others. If someone points to one of these shaped pieces of gold and asks "what is it?" Three possible replies: by far the safest, "it is gold." 2, But never "triangle." 3. Unless they are willing to accept "such", that has some safety.

The most complete previous interpretation of this passage is by Harold Cherniss, AJP 75 (1954) 113-130. This paper discusses the difficulties in Cherniss' interpretation and offers alternatives.

Listing Of The 1965-1966 Sagp Content, Society For Ancient Greek Philosophy

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Listing of the SAGP papers and commentary information

A Century Of Platonic Scholarship In France: From Cousin To Robin, Ernst Morris Manasse

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Traces the influence of Neoplatonism in scholarship and philosophy in France from the 1830's to the 1930's.

The Universal In Physics I.1, Joseph Owens C.Ss.R.

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

The opening paragraph of the Physics sketches succinctly Aristotle's general notion of scientific knowledge. First, in any scientific discipline, to know a thing is to know its principles or elements. Secondly, the natural path of human knowledge is from things that are more knowable for men to things that are more knowable in themselves, that is, from concretions to the distinct cognition of principles and elements. These two norms are regarded as applying to all scientific procedure. Here they are outlined briefly as an introduction to the Aristotelian philosophy of nature. But Aristotle goes on to apparently recommend moving from …

The Aristotelian Doctrine Of Qualitative Change In Physics Vii.3, Gerard Verbeke

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Aristotle wonders whether it is possible to translate into terms of qualitative change the most important activities of man, such as technical activities, culture of the body, moral conduct, and scientific knowledge. The confrontation between the notion of qualitative change on the one hand and certain fundamental forms of human activity on the other makes it possible to define even more precisely the notion of alloiosis and to lead us to a more thorough understanding of the distinctive nature of properly human activities.

Sagp Amherst Conference 1964, Rosamond Kent Sprague

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Announcement of the Amherst conference of SAGP, August 1964

Some Observations Concerning Plato's Lysis, Donald Norman Levin

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Discussion of the authenticity and relative dating of the dialogue followed by examination of the several definitions of "philos". The Good is the ultimate goal that remains in view to Plato, no matter what else must be abandoned as dialectically unacceptable.

Listing Of 1964-1965 Sagp Content, Society For Ancient Greek Philosophy

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Notes On Aristotle De Anima 3.5, John M. Rist

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Of all the Aristotelian doctrines perhaps the most difficult is that concerning the Active and Passive Intellects which we find in the short fifth chapter of the third book of the De Anima. Interpretations of this chapter have been almost as numerous as interpreters, and it would be naive to expect at this stage to be definitive. Nevertheless it seems that progress has been delayed in many cases by a too casual approach to what Aristotle says in the chapter itself - and this at least admits of some improvement.

The World Of The Greek Philosophers: A Reappraisal, Robert S. Brumbaugh

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

In this account of an encounter with the surviving traces of the world of the Greek philosophers* and ray own discovery of their relevance to the ideas that originated and were tested there, I have three purposes in mind. The first Is to start a discussion of ancient thought in its context; such topics as "the world" are somewhat out of style, and yet our more specialized studies presuppose such a world and can go wrong if the general presuppositions are mistaken. % second purpose is to persuade our Society that it Is necessary for us to keep track of …

Sagp Program For 1963, Phillip Delacy, Robert W. Hall, Rosamond Kent Sprague

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Announcement of the meetings of the Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy with the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association and with the American Philological Association, December 1963.

Aristotle On Kinesis, Arthur L. Peck

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

This paper is zetetic rather than expository: Can we define the field in which Aristotle believed kinesis to operate? My interest in this question stems from my work with his biological writings. The distinction between potentiality and actuality was for him an indispensable instrument for philosophy. The application of this principle reaches its apex when he speaks of active and passive nous.

Socrates And Thrasymachus, Francis Sparshott

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

What is striking in the Republic is less the doctrines that Plato propounds than the relationship that he develops between ideas. We show that a surprising number of these relationships are already set forth, or alluded to, in the encounter between Socrates and Thrasymachus.

Listing Of 1963-1964 Sagp Content, Society For Ancient Greek Philosophy

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Unity Of The Laches, Michael J. O'Brien

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

On the level of ideas the dialogue remains incomplete. A satisfactory conception of courage is never formulated. On the level of personalities, however, there is a solution, in the person of Socrates. He has fought bravely at Delium and has matched or surpassed Laches in steadfastness. But he can also examine courage rationally and realizes the importance of knowledge to virtue, like Nicias. Neither Laches nor Nicias is fully worthy as a person of courage, as Socrates is. But there is a harmony between the incomplete definitions they offer and their own characters. The unity of the Laches is both …

Sagp Program For 1962, John H. Randall Jr., Rosamond K. Sprague

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Announcement of the meetings of the Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy with the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association and with the American Philological Association for 1962.

Hiccups And Other Interruptions In The Symposium, George Kimball Plochmann

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

The hoped-for result of my study will be to discover that the genius of philosophy and that of literature do not change places, yet are somehow the same; and if this conclusion involves getting rid of certain textbook conceptions of either philosophy or literature, this too will be all to the good.

Aristotle's Treatment Of Phantasia, D. A. Rees

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Review of the relevant passages in Aristotle, and (briefly) the scholarship on Aristotle's concept of phantasia. Aristotle's treatment of phantasia is contrasted with Plato's discussions of eikasia, mimesis, the receptacle in the Timaeus, the Sophist as maker of phantasmata, the treatment of memory in the Philebus, and eidola in several places. De Anima 3.3 concerns mental images; further discussion involves passages in EN, MA, and the Parva Naturalia.

Brief History Of The Society For Ancient Greek Philosophy, Rosamond Kent Sprague

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

A historical report of the society covering 1953 to 1962.