To Act, To Do, To Perform: Shakespeare’s Stage, or How Can a Thinker Act?

Author(s): Danica Igrutinović / Language(s): English Issue: 07/2015

This paper attempts to address, by way of a rereading of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the key of the philosophy of Renaissance Neoplatonism, the question of whether (and how) a ‘thinker’ discovering what is rotten in the state of the world can be engaged in actively changing it through politics or activism without losing her integrity, objectivity and independence. Ambivalent, like much of Renaissance Neoplatonism itself, towards both pure action and pure contemplation, Shakespeare seems to offer a via media between the two, suggesting that the art of the theater can be a kind of theurgy and that the illusory truth of dramaturgy can surpass that of demiurgy.

Family and Polis. The Socio-Philosophical Legacy of Plato and Aristotle at the Present Time

Author(s): Pavol Dancák / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2015

The current debate on family is subject to rapid social changes which have had colossal negative impact on economy itself and on the economy of entire countries. The purpose of social and family life is not to bound, but to develop the human being. Thoughts about the future of the family are associated with education in the very sense that is pointed out by human experience. It can be said that Aristotle’s legacy is as follows: for subject, it is necessary to reflect pro futuro basic demand of how to be “together with others,” to act “with others” and, on which depends realization and completion of the subject’s being.

SOKRAT O ŠEŠELJU

Author(s): Milica B. Mojsilović / Language(s): Bosnian,Croatian,Serbian Issue: 2/2016

Eros in the first century’s Christian theology

Author(s): Adrian Mircea Marica / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2015

For among most contemporaries, the concept of Eros seems to have nothing to do with Christianity. Sifting through the psychoanalysis of sexual fantasy, theologically it says nothing. Our study gives reasons showing that for theologians since the dawn of the Christian era, Eros-love plays a fundamental role.. The connotations of this concept, however, are different from those of today, when its sensory meaning is more restricted to sexuality. Greek theologians of the first centuries after Christ, taught the concept of Plato enshrined as a unifying enthusiasm, the attraction of inferior to superior states, as “hungry and thirsty” for something continuously higher, developing, and enriching the connotation. The work of Dionysius ((Pseudo) Areopagite, the Idea of Good, leads us step by step up the ascent of the erotically chaste, and is identified with the One-God, who is the very source of love. Consequently, Eros-love originates from God, Eros- love being not only an ascending but firstly a descending love, which calls for a reciprocal communion.

NeoNeoplatonism: Can Theology be studied With the Scientific Attitude

Author(s): Bruno Marchal / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2015

In this short paper I will argue that theology, or at least Platonist theology can be done with the scientific method, but that, perhaps paradoxically at first sight, this does not prevent the role of religion, nor the necessity of a dialog between science and theology (making it in part into a dialog internal to science) or between science and religion, seen as possible applied theology. It is important to keep in mind that science, well understood, has at the start something common with (some) religion, which is a humility and modesty attitude. Science is born from the doubt, lives with the doubt, and never abandon the doubting attitude in any of its possible conclusion. We just don’t know, in science, and can only make our beliefs/ assumptions/theories as much precise as possible so that we make higher the possibility of refuting them, so that we can abandon them or improve them. Theology, once made with the scientific attitude is no exception, and (re)making theology into a science, consists in reintroducing genuine doubts in the heart. Only bad faith can fear reasons. Only bad reasons can fear faith. When fundamental science forget this, it becomes a kind of pseudo-religion.

Rancièreov strukturni opis demokracije: »nepravda« i neubrojeni

Author(s): Oliver Davis / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 04+06/2015

Sada je jasno da je za Rancièrea »policija« ono što se najčešće shvaća kao politika, ali vrlo malo znamo kako on konkretno shvaća politiku, osim da sadržava »aktivnu« jednakost. Za Rancièrea, sve političke borbe imaju zajedničku strukturu, ili formu. Za njega demokracija nije samo jedan od oblika političkog režima, ona je suština politike kao suprotnosti policiji. Rancière je porijeklo tog shvaćanja suštine politike potražio na izvorištu demokracije, u antičkoj Ateni. Atenska demokracija pojavila se 594. g. pr. Kr. kad je Solonovim reformama ukinuto dužničko ropstvo. Nakon toga pojavila se klasa građana nazvanih demos, narod, a njeni pripadnici nisu imali tradicionalna svojstva za koja se smatralo da su nužna za aktivno sudjelovanje u političkom procesu (imutak, »izvrsnost« po rođenju ili moralu), a ipak su tvrdili da su ne samo ravnopravno sudjeluju u politici s bogatima, plemenitima i moralno nadmoćnima, nego da su jedino oni temelj suvereniteta grada.

Emergencija mentalnog/racionalnog i potiskivanje/marginaliziranje tjelesnog

Author(s): Vanja Borš / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 03/139/2015

In this paper the attention is focused on the emergence of mental/rational thinking (level of consciousness), particularly in phylogenetic context, which is largely characterized by a deviation manifested in suppression and marginalization of the bodily. Namely, it is the emergence of the mental/rational which presents the beginning of the mentioned deviation (in mythic discourse presented and celebrated as the victory of the Hero over the Great Mother), that is, the suppression and marginalization of all that which has been or still is associated with the bodily: sexual, feminine, unconscious, nature, etc. Lastly, the starting point of this paper is that, through the deconstruction of the mind–body dichotomy, we need to awake the fundamentality of the bodily and thus, instead of suppressing and dissociating it as mentioned (which marks a considerable part of the Occidental history), transcend and integrate it healthily (which is characteristic of the integral thinking, that is, the integral level of consciousness).

Mediteranski toponimi u Nietzscheovim spisima

Author(s): Vladimir Jelkić / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 01/137/2015

The paper starts from Nietzsche’s stance that the cultural concept of Europe does not include the whole of Europe in the geographic sense, but only those nations and minorities which share the common past in ancient Greece, Rome, Judaism, and Christianity. Among numerous toponyms representing such a concept, all of which belong to the Mediterranean civilization and cultural circle, I have chosen Athens and Rome as subjects of my analysis. My goal is to show that in Europe which, according to Nietzsche, aspires to become united, those cities represent both the classical ideals Europe is trying to reach and the contradictions lying in its foundation. According to Nietzsche, there are two Athens’ and two Romes. The classical Athens is symbolized by Pericles, and its decline by Plato. Analogous to this, the classical Rome is symbolized by Julius Caesar, and its decadence by the apostle Paul as the founder of Christianity which destroyed the Imperium Romanum. The apostle Paul is, for Nietzsche, the embodiment of everything bad in Christianity and of those things which fatefully determined our civilization from the ancient times to modernism. Therefore, it is he, even more than Socrates, who started the decadence of the magnificent Greek culture and of all the virtues embodied in the Roman Empire, the enemy of wisdom and the fanatic priest equipped with ressentiment for all the values that elevate life. So, the decadence of modernism, for Nietzsche, begins with St. Paul. Although I have limited this paper to two cities and few historical figures, I believe that it is an appropriate way of comprehensive consideration of Nietzsche’s philosophical positioning of Mediterranean as the starting place of European history.

On the unity of theory and practice in Heidegger’s thought

Author(s): Nerijus Stasiulis / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2016

The article presents the unity of theory and practice as the clue to Heidegger’s thought. Hence, Heideggerian notions are explicated with respect to the living situation of their occurrence. The Seynsgeschichtlich aspect is considered crucial for comprehending the gist of the notion of the ontological difference. In the light of the historicity of Heidegger’s thought, its relations to the philosophy of ancient Greeks, especially to that of Aristotle and Plato, are explained. The Heideggerian reading of Greek concepts as well as the Aristotelian Platonic character of Heideggerian musings is taken into account. Precise links between Heideggerian and Greek conceptions are indicated. A tentative outline of the ontological difference is suggested.

Filozofijski ulomci i zapamćenja

Author(s): Zdravko Kordić / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 91/2016

Ovi tekstovi su predviđeni kao zapisi, zapamćenja i ulomci koji su predavani još 1979./80. godine, kao i tekstovi prisjećanja i elemenata koje sam zapamtio predajući niz godina filozofiju u srednjim školama te na sveučilištu Hercegovina (Fakultetu društvenih znanosti). Naravno, nije riječ o povijesti filozofije, već o tekstovima koji su zapisani, zacrtani u mnogim udžbenicima i hrestomatijama, pa je tako ovaj tekst – čitateljski, koji može poslužiti u pojedinim slučajevima kao podsjećanje na izvođenje nekih nastavnih jedinica.

Právnofilozofické názory Františka Deáka

Author(s): István Stipta,Károli Gáspár / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 3/2015

The essay reviews the general theories of one of the most remarkable reform politicians of Hungary, Ferenc Deák on law. A part of the professional literature debates whether the famous politician had any coherent and reasoned philosophical concepts are based on his essays. This paper attempts to justify that the pragmatic politics and legislative activity of Deák was led by conscious principles of natural law. In his system of ideas, not only progressive antique and humanistic elements but also the modern philosophical trends of the 18th century are present. Deák considered law and morality to be in an organic unity. As a politician and legislator, his main idea was the respect of law, the attachment to acts and the strong belief in moral fortitude.

RECEPCIA ARCHETYPU ANTIGONA V ŽENSKOM ZOSKUPENÍ LES ANTIGONES

Author(s): Jana Hlodakova / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 02/2014

All new receptions of ancient theme, whether in the arts or social action, provide a new perspective of understanding of relation between an ancient Greek and a man of today. The paper examines the interpretation of the character of Antigone from Sophocles‘s tragedy by contemporary French female troupe Les Antigones, which uses her as a a symbol of their activities and thus gives her new – current meaning. The paper is based on the assumption that tradition and reality are the main factors influencing dramatic interpretation of the text and interpretation itself – the aspects of time have impact directly on content as well as formal analysis. As a result, the paper brings more transparency into the traditions of interpretation that directly or indirectly determine the reception of Antigone’s character. It also focuses on the nonartistic context, which determined the formation of the troupe Les Antigones.

ANCIENT DRAMA TODAY. ORESTEIA AND ITS STAGE FORMS

Author(s): Martina Borodovčakova / Language(s): English Issue: Special/2015

This study focuses on the most important stage productions of Aeschylus’ Oresteia of the 20th century. A special emphasis is given to the possibilities of reading the tragedy, in relation to politics and social climate. Based on selected productions the study also follows the evolution of various modern directing concepts and diverse approaches to staging ancient drama. Productions of Aeschylus’ Oresteia were often an integral part of significant changes in modern history and went beyond established ideas of how to read ancient drama.

Dialectical approaches of temperance in the Platonic dialogue “Charmides” (157c-158e)

Author(s): Christos Terezis / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

The purpose of this article is to investigate how the discussion in Plato’s Charmides is formed with respect to a) the ontological and epistemological approaches of the virtue of temperance and b) how the transition from a general definition of a virtue to its presence to a person is accomplished. We rely on Plato’s Charmides. After a concise presentation of those discussed in the passage 156d-157c, where we follow Plato’s views on the soul to that time, we focus on how dialectics between Socrates and Charmides develops in the passage 157c-158e. Our article includes, apart from an introduction and an epilogue, two chapters. The first one is mostly analytical and the second is mainly formed by synthetic judgements. They are both crucial mostly for methodological reasons, since through them we can follow how temperance turns gradually into a question to be investigated and how the Athenian philosopher attempts to set the foundations of a discussion based on rational reason with the main reference focusing on the criteria which someone can use to prove that he possesses temperance.

Původ dělení věcí na hmotné a nehmotné

Author(s): Sylvie Grulichová / Language(s): Czech Issue: 2/2024

The article concerns the origins of the well-known classification of corporeal and incorporeal things in Roman law, which follows from the development visible in the legal sources from Institutes of Gaius to the codification of the emperor Justinian. The wide range of non-legal sources dealing with the classification, mostly the philosophical works, from authors as Cicero, Seneca, Gellius, or Lactantius, is taken also into account. Two types of the classification based on the corporeality of things arise from all the analyzed texts. The first one uses the terms corporeal and incorporeal thing, but the legal sources, except the Institutes of Gaius and apart the non-legal ones, almost avoid it. The second one divides things with corpus and the ones consisting of rights and it is represented in the text of Ulpianus or Hermogenianus as well as in several post-classical legal sources. Nevertheless, the codification of the emperor Justinian adopts the formulation according to Gaius, whose proximity to the philosophy categories can be observed so the classification of the corporeal and incorporeal things.

Parmenide și gândirea ființei

Author(s): Ivan Ivlampie / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 11/2021

Ancient Greek philosophy revolved around the problem of being and the beginnings of this world. The solutions offered in this regard are multiple, demonstrating the insight of the human mind and its power to amaze. Among the ancient thinkers, Parmenides stands out through his metaphysical meditations and cannot be framed in the currents foreshadowed by the Greek tradition. Through the phenomenology of the twentieth century we can acquire an ingenious tool for reading the intentions of the philosopher from Elea.

Prefigurări ale concepţiei creştine asupra sufletului în filosofia lui Platon

Author(s): Diana-Carmen Bălan / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 10/2020

The present work compares two conceptions of the soul: Plato’s conception and the Christian conception. Even if temporally distant and of a different nature, for one is founded on profane wisdom and the other on divine revelation, they have many common elements and mutual influences. Both value the soul and stress on the importance of virtue, both consider the soul to be immortal, both agree on the three parts of the soul: the rational part, the passionate part and the appetizing part (in the Platonic vision), the thinking part, the inviting part and the feeling part (in Christian concepts). Nevertheless, they differ in some aspects, such as Plato’s conceptions on the nature of virtue, on the body as a prison for the soul, on reincarnation and on the existence of souls not only in humans but also in gods and even animals. All these conceptions are not shared by Christianity. Moreover, Plato’s conception lacks a clearly stated transcendent foundation, which is a major element of Christianity. At the same time, the value of Plato’s philosophy of the soul is undeniable, even from a Christian point of view. Somehow, Plato’s philosophy represents, in many aspects, a foreshadowing of Christian theology.

Fârâbî’nin Çokdilliliği ve Kopula

Author(s): Fatma Dore / Language(s): Turkish Issue: 54/2024

The copula is a linguistic unit that means bond, conjunction, relation, connector of the predicate to the subject in a proposition, and in logic expresssing judgement. In most Indo-European languages the main copula is a verb meaning to be such as to be in English or être in French. In ancient Greek, the language of Aristotle, the word είναι (einai), is the infinitive of the verb εἰμί (eimi), which has the third person singular ἐστί (esti) and is -dir in Turkish. Originally from what is now Kazakhstan, al-Fārābī drew on the work of Aristotle in his own work on logic, which he wrote in Arabic in accordance with the scientific understanding of the period. Although the Arabic, which belongs to the Semitic family of languages, is perfectly capable of combining words, it lacks an explicit copula. However, it was necessary to create one in order to translate Aristotle accurately, so earlier Arabic translators of his work had already proposed the terms هو (huwa) or الموجود (mawjūd) which were used in the form of يوجَد (yūjad), both derived from الوجود (wujūd), meaning “being, existing”, for an explicit copula. Similarly influenced by Aristotle to feel that to use of copula is necessary for the exposition of logic, there is a need for a use of a copula, al-Fārābī is clearly drawn to yūjad. What brings him to this position is his mutliligualism and his ethnicity. For in addition to his native Turkish language and the Arabic, his knowledge of the Indo-European languages of Sogdian and Fārsī gives him with an understanding of a verb meaning to be that is بودن (būdan) in Fārsī and which is cognate with Aristotle’s είναι (einai). The same sense is carried in Turkic languages, not through a verb as such, but rather through a predicate adjective, which in modern Turkish is var, but which also carries a meaning of to be present. With al-Fārābī’s ethnic Turkic background, as it is the similarities between “yujad” and the Turkic term “var” that make it so attractive to him.

BAUMGARTEN ALEXANDER, RESTUL CA PROBLEMĂ A FILOSOFIEI

Author(s): David Mândrut / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2022

Review of: Baumgarten, Alexander (2021), Restul ca problemă a filosofiei, Iași, Editura Polirom, 184 p., ISBN: 9789734686919.

Wojny w myśli filozoficznej starożytnych Greków i Rzymian. Zarys wybranych zagadnień

Author(s): Tomasz Homa / Language(s): Polish Issue: 52/2024

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: This article aims to explore selected ancient Greek and Roman perspectives on war, with an effort to identify elements of these views that continue to hold cognitive and/or normative relevance in contem‑porary discourse.THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The central research problem concerns the conceptualization of war by Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero, focusing on its origins, nature, types, objectives, and the philo‑sophical justifications for or against it. The article employs a philosophical ap‑proach, supplemented by cultural and theological analyses where appropriate. The hermeneutic‑heuristic and comparative methods are utilized to examine the research problem.THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: Based on an examination of source texts, the article presents a synthesis of the major Greek and Roman philosophical views on war, highlighting both the similarities and differences between them.RESEARCH RESULTS: The analyses reveal the crucial role of philosophi‑cal interpretations of reality, particularly in the context of human coexistence. It identifies a persistent duality in thought: some traditions regard war as the fundamental principle of all existence, while others assign this primacy to peace. Despite their mutual critiques, these views endure, forming a lasting component of European reflections on war.CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS:The examined perspectives on war have profoundly influenced European thought. Given their inherent logical structures and the enduring nature of the issues they address, these views remain relevant and worthy of consideration in contemporary discussions.