INTRODUCTION Antiochus from the City of Ascalon, a Philosopher
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Augustine on Knowledge
Augustine on Knowledge Divine Illumination as an Argument Against Scepticism ANITA VAN DER BOS RMA: RELIGION & CULTURE Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Research Master Thesis s2217473, April 2017 FIRST SUPERVISOR: dr. M. Van Dijk SECOND SUPERVISOR: dr. dr. F.L. Roig Lanzillotta 1 2 Content Augustine on Knowledge ........................................................................................................................ 1 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ 4 Preface .................................................................................................................................................... 5 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 7 The life of Saint Augustine ................................................................................................................... 9 The influence of the Contra Academicos .......................................................................................... 13 Note on the quotations ........................................................................................................................ 14 1. Scepticism ........................................................................................................................................ -
3 Arcesilaus and Carneades
C:/ITOOLS/WMS/CUP/552750/WORKINGFOLDER/BCP/9780521874762C03.3D 58 [58–80] 24.9.2009 7:15AM harald thorsrud 3 Arcesilaus and Carneades Arcesilaus initiated a sceptical phase in the Academy after taking over in c. 268 BCE. He was motivated in part by an innovative reading of Plato’s dialogues. Where his predecessors found positive doctrines to be systematically developed, he found a dialectical method of arguing and the sceptical view that nothing can be known (akatalêpsia, De Or. 3.67,seeDL4.28, 4.32). He also advanced this conclusion in opposition to the ambitious system of the Stoics, claiming further that the appropriate response to the pervasive uncertainty generated by his method is the suspension of judgement (epochê). Arcesilaus’ dialectical method was practiced without significant modification in the Academy until Carneades, who became head sometime before 155 BCE.1 Carneades both continued and strength- ened Arcesilaus’ method (ND 1.11, Acad. 2.16, see also Acad. 1.46, and Eusebius, Praep. evang. 14.7.15). Sextus marks the change by referring to Plato’s Academy as Old, Arcesilaus’ as Middle, and Carneades’ as New (PH 1.220). Since the main interpretative issues regarding both Arcesilaus and Carneades depend on the concepts of akatalêpsia and epochê,we must try to determine what they mean, how they are related, and what attitude the Academics take towards them – i.e. in what sense, if any, are these their sceptical doctrines? iarcesilaus The view that Arcesilaus derived from Plato’s dialogues might have taken one of two very different forms. He might have discovered some arguments that show knowledge is not possible. -
Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy. Volume 31, Winter 2006
LIVING IN DOUBT: CARNEADES’ PITHANON RECONSIDERED SUZANNE OBDRZALEK I though the interpretation of ancient texts is inevitably di¶cult, Carneades presents what one might call a worst-case scenario. In the first place, he wrote nothing. To complicate matters, Carneades’ views were so obscure that his faithful disciple Clitomachus con- fessed that he could never figure out what Carneades actually be- lieved (Cic. Acad. 2. 139). Showing remarkable fortitude in the face of such an obstacle, Clitomachus, attempting to play Plato to Carneades’ Socrates, reportedly recorded Carneades’ teachings in 400 books (D.L. 4. 67). Not one remains. None the less, Clito- machus’ attempt to make a philosophy of Carneades’ anti-theoreti- cal stance was not a complete failure; Carneades had a tremendous influence on the later Academy as well as the Stoa, and his views (or lack thereof) have been handed down to us by both Sextus Em- piricus and Cicero. These sources are, however, problematic. As a Pyrrhonist, Sextus was critical of the Academy and may have ex- aggerated what he took to be Carneades’ dogmatism. Cicero, on the other hand, a student of Philo, was undoubtedly influenced in his interpretation of Carneades by his teacher’s dogmatic scepti- cism. Carneades is perhaps best known for proposing the pithan»e phantasia (probable impression) as a criterion for life. However, the status of his theory of the pithanon (probable) is completely unclear.1 Was it merely a dialectical move against the Stoic charge of apraxia (inaction)? Was it a theory that Carneades himself en- ã Suzanne Obdrzalek 2006 I would like to thank Alan Code, Tony Long, Julius Moravcsik, and David Sedley for their comments on this paper. -
B Philosophy (General) B
B PHILOSOPHY (GENERAL) B Philosophy (General) For general philosophical treatises and introductions to philosophy see BD10+ Periodicals. Serials 1.A1-.A3 Polyglot 1.A4-Z English and American 2 French and Belgian 3 German 4 Italian 5 Spanish and Portuguese 6 Russian and other Slavic 8.A-Z Other. By language, A-Z Societies 11 English and American 12 French and Belgian 13 German 14 Italian 15 Spanish and Portuguese 18.A-Z Other. By language, A-Z 20 Congresses Collected works (nonserial) 20.6 Several languages 20.8 Latin 21 English and American 22 French and Belgian 23 German 24 Italian 25 Spanish and Portuguese 26 Russian and other Slavic 28.A-Z Other. By language, A-Z 29 Addresses, essays, lectures Class here works by several authors or individual authors (31) Yearbooks see B1+ 35 Directories Dictionaries 40 International (Polyglot) 41 English and American 42 French and Belgian 43 German 44 Italian 45 Spanish and Portuguese 48.A-Z Other. By language, A-Z Terminology. Nomenclature 49 General works 50 Special topics, A-Z 51 Encyclopedias 1 B PHILOSOPHY (GENERAL) B Historiography 51.4 General works Biography of historians 51.6.A2 Collective 51.6.A3-Z Individual, A-Z 51.8 Pictorial works Study and teaching. Research Cf. BF77+ Psychology Cf. BJ66+ Ethics Cf. BJ66 Ethics 52 General works 52.3.A-Z By region or country, A-Z 52.5 Problems, exercises, examinations 52.65.A-Z By school, A-Z Communication of information 52.66 General works 52.67 Information services 52.68 Computer network resources Including the Internet 52.7 Authorship Philosophy. -
The Ineffectiveness of Hermeneutics. Another Augustine's Legacy In
The ineffectiveness of hermeneutics. Another Augustine’s legacy in Gadamer Alberto Romele To cite this version: Alberto Romele. The ineffectiveness of hermeneutics. Another Augustine’s legacy in Gadamer. International Journal of Philosophy and Theology, Taylor & Francis, 2015, 75 (5), pp.422-439. 10.1080/21692327.2015.1027789. hal-01303281 HAL Id: hal-01303281 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01303281 Submitted on 17 Apr 2016 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. The Ineffectiveness of Hermeneutics. Another Augustine’s Legacy in Gadamer Alberto Romele Institute of Philosophy, University of Porto COSTECH Laboratory, University of Technology of Compiègne This article builds on Gadamer’s rehabilitation of the Augustinian concept of inner word (ver- bum in corde). Unlike most interpretions, the thesis is that the Augustinian inner word does not show the potentialities, but rather the ineffectiveness of ontological hermeneutics. In the first section, it is argued that for the later Augustine the verbum in corde is the consequence of a Word- and Truth- event. In the second section, the author suggests that Gadamer has properly understood the verbum in corde as a matter of faith. -
CHAPTER 2.1 Augustine: Commentary
CHAPTER 2.1 Augustine: Commentary Augustine Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis (henceforth Augustine) was born in 354 A.D. in the municipium of Thagaste (modern day Souk Ahras, Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia). He died in 430, as the Arian1 Vandals besieged the city of Hippo where he was bishop, marking another stage in the demise of the Roman Empire. Rome had already been sacked in 410 by Alaric the Visigoth, but the slow decline of Roman grandeur took place over a period of about 320 years which culminated in 476 when Romulus Augustus, the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, was deposed by Odoacer, a Germanic chieftain. Augustine thus lived at a time which heralded the death knell of the ancient world and the beginnings of mediaeval western European Christendom.2 Augustine‘s great legacy to western civilization is that intellectually he united both worlds in drawing from the ancient thought of Greece and Rome and providing a Christian understanding of the intellectual achievements of the ancients. His new synthesis is a remarkable achievement even today and for those of us, who remain Christians in the West, our debates, agreements and disagreements are still pursued in Augustine‘s shadow.3 1 Arianism was a schismatic sect of Christianity that held the view that the Second Person of the Trinity, Christ, is created and thus does not exist eternally with the Father. 2 See J. M. Rist‘s magnificent Augustine: Ancient Thought Baptized, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003. Rist notes that, ‗Despite his lack of resources he managed to sit in judgment on ancient philosophy and ancient culture.‘ p. -
Augustine's Contribution to the Republican Tradition
Grand Valley State University ScholarWorks@GVSU Peer Reviewed Articles Political Science and International Relations 2010 Augustine’s Contribution to the Republican Tradition Paul J. Cornish Grand Valley State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/pls_articles Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Cornish, Paul J., "Augustine’s Contribution to the Republican Tradition" (2010). Peer Reviewed Articles. 10. https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/pls_articles/10 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Political Science and International Relations at ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Peer Reviewed Articles by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. article Augustine’s Contribution to the EJPT Republican Tradition European Journal of Political Theory 9(2) 133–148 © The Author(s), 2010 Reprints and permission: http://www. Paul J. Cornish Grand Valley State University sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav [DOI: 10.1177/1474885109338002] http://ejpt.sagepub.com abstract: The present argument focuses on part of Augustine’s defense of Christianity in The City of God. There Augustine argues that the Christian religion did not cause the sack of Rome by the Goths in 410 ce. Augustine revised the definitions of a ‘people’ and ‘republic’ found in Cicero’s De Republica in light of the impossibility of true justice in a world corrupted by sin. If one returns these definitions ot their original context, and accounts for Cicero’s own political teachings, one finds that Augustine follows Cicero’s republicanism on several key points. -
73 the Pupils of Philo of Larissa and Philodemus' Stay in Sicily (Pherc. 1021, Col. Xxxiv 6-19)
This article provides a new edition of a passage from Philodemus’ Index Academicorum THE PUPILS OF PHILO (PHerc. 1021, col. XXXIV 6-19), in which pupils of Philo of Larissa are listed. Several OF LARISSA AND new reading allow for a better understanding of the content and rendering of this list, PHILODEMUS’ STAY one of which might even corroborate the hypothesis that Philodemus sojourned in Sicily. IN SICILY (PHERC. 1021, Keywords: Philo of Larissa, Heraclitus of Tyre, Philodemus, Sicily, Historia Academi- COL. XXXIV 6-19) corum Shortly before the end of his Index Academicorum Philodemus informs us about the life of Philo of Larissa (PHerc. 1021, coll. XXXIII f.).1 Notwithstanding KILIAN FLEISCHER its fragmentary state, the passage is highly valuable, since it preserves much otherwise unattested information on Philo and allows us to reconstruct to a certain extent his personal and philosophical development. The passage dealing with Philo ends with a list of pupils that was long thought to include the pupils of Antiochus of Ascalon. Puglia was the first to argue convincingly that the names listed represent pupils of Philo, not of Antiochus.2 In this contribution I will present a new edition of this list (col. XXXIV 6-19), based on autopsy and for the first time exploiting the multispectral digital images, I would like to express my gratitude to Nigel retta da M. GIGANTE, vol. XII (Napoli 1991); 1902 = S. MEKLER, Academicorum philoso- Wilson, David Blank, Tobias Reinhardt, Tizia- FLEISCHER 2014 = K. FLEISCHER, Der Akademi- phorum index Herculanensis (Berlin 1902); no Dorandi and Holger Essler for their advice ker Charmadas in Apollodors Chronik (PHerc. -
The Academy of Antiochus. Paper
University of Athens ‘Plato’s Academy’ Conference 12-16 December 2012 Georgia Tsouni (Bern) [email protected] Re-inventing an old tradition: the ‘Old Academy’ of Antiochus of Ascalon 1. Antiochus at the Ruins of the Academy In one of the most evocative introductions to his dialogues, in the last book of De Finibus1, Cicero describes how he and his interlocutors, his brother Quintus, Marcus Piso, T. Pomponius Atticus and Cicero’s cousin Lucius visit the spot of Plato’s Academy, while on a grand educational tour to the Greek world in 79 BC; in stark contrast to the gloomy reality resulting from the Roman siege of the city, which had led to the closure of the philosophical schools (as a consequence of Athens’ involvement in the Mithridatic War), Athens appears there as an idealised space, the birthplace of the greatest politicians, poets, rhetoricians and philosophers, whose scenes of action (although deserted) offer a reminiscence of glory and inspiration for the Roman youth: Phalerum brings to mind the great rhetorician Demosthenes, whereas the, by that time, deserted Academy, makes one remember Cicero’s favourite, Carneades, and the legendary debates he held on that spot many decades before2. As Cicero puts it: Multa in omni parte Athenarum sunt in ipsis locis indicia summorum virorum Cicero, Fin. 5.5 In every quarter of Athens the mere sites contain many mementoes of the most illustrious men. Athens thus appears at the beginning of the first century BC to be on the map as an educational destination, but more as a ‘landscape of memory’, rather than of original intellectual production. -
84 John Dillon Can Look Back with Justifiable Pride on a Storied Career
84 book reviews J. Dillon, The Roots of Platonism: the Origins and Chief Features of a Philosophical Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. ISBN 9781108426916. £19.99. xi+107. John Dillon can look back with justifiable pride on a storied career as a spe- cialist in the history of Platonism. His pioneering 1977 monograph The Middle Platonists is a standard publication in the field.1 For decades it remained the single most useful and comprehensive volume in English for early Platonism, just recently joined by George Boys-Stones’ invaluable sourcebook with com- mentary.2 Alongside many subsequent studies of “Middle” Platonism, Dillon is also the author of a book on the Old Academy that may be recommended as a first port of call for readers interested in Plato’s immediate successors.3 The slim volume under review here does not have pretentions of being quite so fundamental. Based on a series of lectures delivered in 2016 in Beijing, it relates to Dillon’s formidable earlier body of work the way that an after dinner sorbet relates to a meal of numerous courses. He is here returning to themes he has often discussed before, dealing with central topics in the early reception of Plato with a deft and light touch. There are at least three pitfalls that should be avoided by interpreter of the Platonic tradition between Plato and Plotinus. First, one must avoid the temp- tation to read history backwards, seeing all Platonists from the Old Academy to Plutarch and Numenius as simply preparing the way for Plotinus. Second, one must steer between an interpretive Scylla and Charybdis with regard to the use these authors made of Plato: they were his followers, but not his slavish follow- ers. -
The Demise of Plato's Academy341
141 SKÉPSIS, ANO VII, Nº 10, 2014. MURDER OR NATURAL CAUSES? THE DEMISE OF PLATO'S ACADEMY341 RAMÓN ROMÁN-ALCALÁ (Universidad de Córdoba). E-mail: [email protected] Introduction. History, operating imperceptibly, tends to provide us with an overview of the rise and fall of philosophical movements, an overarching perspective to which we are blinded when studying the key figures within the limits of their time and space. It is fascinating to observe how philosophical doctrines mutate or change course over time, for reasons whose significance for the evolution of the system as a whole become apparent only when that evolution has ended, but which go unnoticed in the heat and clamour of the dialectical battles that shaped it. The moderate scepticism propounded by Arcesilaus342 and Carneades marked the heyday of the Academy; under their followers, the philosophical stance of the Academy shifted towards a striking dogmatism which eventually prompted its downfall. Little by little, scepticism began to fade, giving way first to a semi-dogmatic outlook and later to the most unyielding dogmatism. This shift in position was the reason for the demise, first of Academic scepticism – which was later to be restored with certain 341T his paper forms part of the Research Project I + D + I FFI2012-32989 on skepticism, funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. 342 Arcesilaus is the key figure in the academic skepticism, made an innovative reading of Plato's dialogues, and where others saw a positive and systematic doctrine, the dialectical method looked a skeptical argument (to the impossibilities of clear definitions of concepts), cf. -
Cicero's Philosophical Position in Academica and De Finibus
Cicero’s Philosophical Position in Academica and De Finibus Submitted by Hoyoung Yang to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Classics in November 2013 I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signature: ………………………………………………………….. 1 Hoyoung Yang University of Exeter Cicero’s Philosophical Position in Academica and De Finibus This thesis aims to examine the extent of consistency between Cicero’s epistemological position in Academica and his method of approaching ethics in De Finibus. I consider whether in both works he expresses a radically sceptical view or a more moderate one. I suggest that Cicero’s scepticism is best understood when we understand his dialectical inquiry as being, in both works, a positive procedure designed to find the most persuasive view by arguing for and against every opinion. In Chapter 1, I examine Cicero’s mode of writing in his later philosophical dialogues, distinguishing two levels of ‘Cicero’ (that is, Cicero the author and the persona in the dialogues). In Chapter 2, I examine how Cicero himself understands the key principles of scepticism (akatalēpsia and epochē) and whether his epistemological position in Academica is a consistent one. Chapters 3 and 4 form a bridge between the epistemological debate in Academica and the ethical debate in De Finibus by examining in detail two applications by Cicero of Carneades’ ethical division. In Chapter 3, I discuss the original philosophical context of Carneades’ division, and consider how Cicero applies it to the epistemological debate at Ac.