In this paper, a selection of arguments encountered in a pair of canonical classical Greek and Chinese literary and philosophical works are analyzed and compared. The works in which the passages selected for analysis occur are the... more
In this paper, a selection of arguments encountered in a pair of canonical classical Greek and Chinese literary and philosophical works are analyzed and compared. The works in which the passages selected for analysis occur are the Histories of Herodotus and the Fei Gong section in the Mozi. The present research focuses on three respective passages in these canonical classical Greek and Chinese works containing early examples of normative argumentation of an internally critical kind ('internal critique'). So-called deontic logic is then applied in order to formally analyze the argumentative content of the selected sections. It is shown that each of the Herodotean and Mohist examples of internal critique may be assigned a formally equivalent Chinese vis-à-vis Greek partner. Based on these similarities, the question of the origins of internal critique in the ancient Greek and Chinese cultural spheres is reconsidered.
La filosofia di Diogene è un eudemonismo, che non esclude, ma anzi implica, il riconoscimento di un moderato edonismo, sorvegliato dalla ragione e consono con gli ideali di autosufficienza propri del saggio cinico. La felicità consiste in... more
La filosofia di Diogene è un eudemonismo, che non esclude, ma anzi implica, il riconoscimento di un moderato edonismo, sorvegliato dalla ragione e consono con gli ideali di autosufficienza propri del saggio cinico. La felicità consiste in uno stato di beatitudine a un tempo intellettuale ed emotivo cui si accompagna uno stato edonico, che non ha nulla a che vedere con il «piacere» (ἡδονή) comunemente inteso, ma designa il vivere sereno, piacevole e dolce che caratterizza l'atteggiamento di Diogene nei confronti della realtà e della φύσις. Né v'è contrapposizione tra momento ascetico e mo-mento edonico, ma anzi stretta connessione e compenetrazione: essi restituiscano due motivi co-originari del cinismo di Diogene. Quanto all'ἄσκησις, essa va intesa come un concetto dinamico, designante una attività realmente capace di operare una trasforma-zione dell'uomo atta a condurlo alla felicità.
The Mohists develop the concept of yi 義 to denote what is morally right in a normative sense. We argue that this concept has, as one of its necessary conditions, a requirement to not harm others. Additionally, we will show that the... more
The Mohists develop the concept of yi 義 to denote what is morally right in a normative sense. We argue that this concept has, as one of its necessary conditions, a requirement to not harm others. Additionally, we will show that the motivation of developing this concept is that it can be both universalized and publicly agreed upon, thus serving the Mohists' endeavor to overcome human conflicts that make the world chaotic and unlivable. We argue therefore that the Mohist notion of gongyi 公義 is best captured by the requirement of "not harming." Moreover, we shall show that the Mohists themselves committed to this requirement as the first principle of all their core doctrines. Finally, we argue that due to the justifiability and universalizability of the requirement of "not harming," the Mohists' commitment to it as a prerequisite normatively justifies their other values in a way that was unprecedented at the time.
D’une part les riches propriétés des citoyens romains étaient remplies des images se référant dans la majorité de cas au sens non philosophique. D’autre part les hommes bien formés s’entouraient des images remplies des allusions... more
D’une part les riches propriétés des citoyens romains étaient remplies des images se référant dans la majorité de cas au sens non philosophique. D’autre part les hommes bien formés s’entouraient des images remplies des allusions philosophiques. Certains parmi eux considèrent certaines vérités philosophiques comme le plus justes et qui correspondaient les mieux avec leur manière de vie. A la manière de Trimalcion, par snobisme, les hommes aisés achetaient ou faisaient exécuter des objets ou des images au sens profondément philosophique. Dans l'imagerie romaine on retrouve plusieurs éléments se référant aux écoles philosophiques. Des images des philosophes sont bien connues, comme par exemple l’image de l’Académie de Platon sur deux mosaïques, l’une de Torre Annunziata, près de Pompéi et une autre de Sarsina en Ombrie. Une autre série des représentations illustre les Sept Sages avec des maximes inscrites soit en grec soit en latin. Cette source iconographique constitue également un témoignage non négligeable pour comprendre des prédilections des Romains concernant quelques aspects de la philosophie présocratique. L'image de Socrate est choisie pour évoquer le rôle exceptionnel de sa philosophie chez quelques citoyens romains. La philosophie d’Epicure et de ses élèves est présente et bien appréciés par des Romains. Ici, on peut rappeler la mosaïque des philosophes d'Autun, exceptionnelle et très importante, car les effigies d’Epicure, de Métrodore et d’Anacréon sont accompagnes des quelques pensées écrites en grec. Des représentations des squelettes et des crânes de morts se réfèrent à la philosophie de l’épicurisme. Un gobelet de Boscoreale confirme certaines allusions de l’épicurisme à la vie et à la mort dans l’art romain. Les opinions de cette école sont bien visibles et lisibles dans l’imagerie et les inscriptions funéraires. La philosophie de Plotin influence certains programmes iconographiques, surtout au IVe siècle. Une image de l’univers réglé et ordonné selon la philosophie païenne est perceptible sur les mosaïques de Schahba Philippopolis, en Syrie. Elle exprime son méprit par rapport à la philosophie chrétienne. Un siècle plus tard, dans la mosaïque de la Maison d’Aiôn à Paphos, la philosophie et la religion païenne proclamées par les adeptes de l’école néoplatonicienne sont utilisées pour s’opposer avec une série des images mythologiques se servant de l’allégorie narrative contre le christianisme. Il sera intéressant et utile de rassembler ces témoignages des échos de la pensée philosophique chez les Romains non philosophes.
It is well known that monasticism was crucial to the development of repentance in early Christianity. With monasticism followed a renewal of the earlier practice with great importance for later Christian traditions. But were these changes... more
It is well known that monasticism was crucial to the development of repentance in early Christianity. With monasticism followed a renewal of the earlier practice with great importance for later Christian traditions. But were these changes just an internal development of earlier Christian teaching adjusted to new circumstances? Or were there also new impulses from external sources? In this paper, the teaching on repentance and confession in the Institutes and the Conferences by John Cassian (d. 435) and the Apophthegmata Patrum (from 5th/6th century), is compared with teachings related to the tendency towards the “care of the self” in late antique philosophy. In contrast to scholars who often have underscored the difference between the two traditions, this essay argues that the new monastic contribution to the earlier Christian practice of repentance can to a large extent be explained as adaptions of well-known practices or “technologies of the self” within late antique philosophy. Clement of Alexandria and Origen seems to have been crucial pioneers in this adaption, but traditions of philosophy were also filtered directly into the monastic tradition independently from these earlier Christian authors.
