Early Greek Philosophy Research Articles

Pochwała człowieka poszukującego w monografii D. Kuboka pt. "Krytycyzm, sceptycyzm i zetetycyzm we wczesnej filozofii greckiej", Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, Katowice 2021.

D. Kubok’s monograph entitled Krytycyzm, sceptycyzm i zetetycyzm we wczesnej filozofii greckiej (Criticism, Skepticism and Zeteticism in Early Greek Philosophy) addresses the issue of critical themes in early Greek thought. The work aims not to discuss skeptical antecedents but to find critical attitudes and motives in Greek literature (from Homer to the Sophists) using the author’s understanding and typology of criticism, skepticism and zeteticism.

In Defence of Critical Rationalism

The early Greek philosophers invented the tradition of adopting critical attitude towards explanations that were robed in mythic garbs. They not only challenged the explanations of the ancients, they also criticized and falsified long standing traditions with empirical observations and tests. This attitude to knowledge is what Karl Popper described as critical rationalism. Critical rationalists believe that scientific theory or any other claim to knowledge can and should be rationally criticized and if they have empirical content can and should be subjected to tests which may falsify them. Claims to knowledge that are potentially falsifiable can be admitted to the body of empirical science while not foreclosing further falsification. But this kind of rationalism was faulted by some philosophers including Paul Feyerabend who argued that it may not be easy for science to grow by the rules of critical rationalism but that scientific knowledge will be better off with the method of ‘anything goes’. The objective of this paper was to critically evaluate some of the criticisms against critical rationalism to ascertain their validity or otherwise. The analytic method was used. The paper is of the view that the rejection of critical rationalism and the recommendation of anarchism for the growth of science is misplaced because lawlessness breeds neither growth nor knowledge. Keywords: Critical rationalism, Falsification, Anything-goes, Conjectures, Knowledge

Patrizi, panpsychism, and the Presocratics

ABSTRACT The main aim of the article is to show how panpsychism, that is, the idea the everything in the world is endowed with a soul, was varied even during the periods in the history of philosophy when it flourished. In the Renaissance, I focus on Francesco Patrizi: he coined the term, which originally meant that everything is ensouled. The article starts by an investigation of Patrizi’s attempt to trace panpsychism back to the most ancient thinkers. His conclusions are, in general, in agreement with current scholarly assessment of early Greek philosophers, whose views I attempt to reconstruct in a kind of survey. A closer comparison, however, shows significant differences between Patrizi’s and today’s account of the most ancient conception of panpsychism. While Patrizi uses the concept to state that the world as a whole is ensouled, early Greek philosophers understood it to mean that every thing in the world possesses a particular soul. From a broader perspective, it is clear that, while Patrizi builds on the notion of all-embracing ancient philosophy, modern scholarship assumes a more historical account of ancient thought characterised by a gradual progress from simple, more empirically based concepts, to more complex and metaphysical ones.

Практическая составляющая ранней греческой философии

Introduction. The relevance of «practical philosophy» is contrasted with «traditional philosophy», detached from life. The final perspective sees the harmonization of theoretical-practical and practical-theoretical activity of philosophers, based on the appropriate historical and logical rethinking of the history of philosophy. The classical beginning is to emphasize the practical component of early Greek philosophy. Theoretical analysis. The direct connection to life unites Thales as a sage with Thales as a philosopher (the widespread idea of the remoteness of Thales' philosophy from practice is criticized as being engaged by the dominant theoretical-practical paradigm of philosophy). The expert model of the practical component of Thales' philosophy generally characterizes the Milesian school and the Eleates. The absence of effective philosophical practice contributes to the skepticism of Xenophanes and the tragic nature of Heraclitus' work. Political activity of Pythagoreans is the objective maximum of the practical component of philosophy (political model of the practical component of philosophy). The problematic nature of philosophers' political activity, the growth and complication of theoretical research lead the ancient atomists towards the formation of a theoretical-practical model of philosophical activity. Conclusion. The problem of connection with life was positively solved in the work of Thales and was significant for all early Greek philosophy. This should be taken into account in the further study of the history of philosophy; the latter is in essence the school of thought that contributes to the harmonization of theoretical and practical activities of modern philosophy.

From Zeno ad infinitum: Iterative Reasonings in Early Greek Philosophy

Abstract This paper considers some aspects of the early conception and use of the infinite in ancient Greece, in the spirit of recent results in the history of ancient mathematics. It follows aspects of the practice of reasoning ad infinitum from the extant corpus of and about Zeno of Elea up to early Hellenistic examples in Aristotle and Euclid. Starting with the idea of ‘reasoning from indefinite iteration’, based on the metalogical recognition of the unachievability of an inference process, it identifies several different classes of more or less sophisticated arguments that make use of this idea, and examines the logical devices and notions required for their acceptance in the philosophical practice. Those include ‘Infinite regress’ properly speaking, where Non-Contradiction is used in the formation of indirect infinitary arguments.

Bodies as machines. Machines as bodies

ABSTRACT From early Greek philosophers to Descartes’ machinic metaphors of humans-as-machines, to the emergence of physical machine-like humans, the intersections of the human body with machines circle back through hundreds of years of debates on human-technology relationships. We live in an age when robots are becoming increasingly human-like with artificial intelligence that mimics and sometimes exceeds our own. At the same time, we humans are adopting cyborg-like modifications to improve ourselves through biological, mechanical, and computer technologies. This conceptual paper presents a historical overview of the human-machine merger as both a metaphor and material reality. We show that the body has no intrinsic meaning for its distinct social constructions in technophilic and bioconservativist perspectives. This leads to a critical need for discussions about the issues related to dehumanization and personhood. These two topics must inform future research efforts to explore a future when current concepts of humanness may not hold anymore.

Normativity and Ontology of Law in Early Greek Philosophy

The paper is devoted to the issues of the emergence of European science and philosophy, founded by the ancient Greeks. In the period known as the First Enlightenment, there was, on the one hand, a gradual departure from the mythological explanations of the reality, and, on the other, the construction of a new way of looking at the world, known as the study of nature. The inquiries of the ancient Greeks had an ontological dimension; they consisted in searching for the arche of the world and they were looking for the ultimate structure of reality, and, what is important, the human being was situated in these studies as an integral, but not the most important part of the Cosmos, subject to its laws. Presocratics did not put the human being above nature, because they did not strictly distinguish between the laws of nature and the laws of community. This was one of the reasons why the science of law did not arise at that time. Besides, the Greeks never reduced their right to the system, because too often gods or demos ‘interfered’ with the laws of the polis. It was a typical example of “law without jurisprudence”, because it was flexible and had vaguely formulated rules and institutions. Another significant factor here was the lack of the trained group of professional lawyers. This period ended with the advent of Socrates’ philosophy. Up to his time, philosophy had studied numbers and movements, and had dealt with the question of where all things have their origin and where they disappear; it also had observed the stars, the distances between them, their circuits, as well as had studied phenomena which appear in the sky. The early sages believed that they could gain knowledge by conducting research into natural phenomena themselves. Socrates rejected the ontology and study of nature initiated by the Milesians and other early Greek thinkers in favour of searching for the meaning of words and concepts found in the Athenian polis language. He believed that finding the meaning of words translated into revealing the reality which could not be reached otherwise.

О «теологии» раннегреческих философов

This article examines W. Jaeger’s work The theology of the early Greek philosophers: The Gifford Lectures, 1936. We believe that in addition to an extensive introductory article by V. V. Prokopenko, several points should be clarified. The first point is to reveal the ideological context within which this work was created and which it belonged to. The second point is to understand how W. Jaeger views the early Greek philosophers and what picture of early ancient intellectualism he paints. The disclosure of these two moments in unity lets us both to take a fresh look at the early ancient tradition of philosophizing and, to some extent, extrapolate this view by shifting the emphasis from the myth and logos plane to the area where mythopoetics (mythical theology) turns into theopoetics (philosophical theology).

The feminine in early Greek philosophy (Part one: Homer, Homeric tradition, Hesiod, Derveni Papyrus)

This paper forms the first part of broader research dealing with the possibilities for a feminine ????, i.e., the starting point or source for a change, in early Greek thinking. Thus, it involves comparative analyses of the material provided by Homer, The Homeric hymn to Apollo, Hesiod?s Theogony and the Derveni Papyrus, the latter text being ?the only one that can, without the shadow of a doubt, be described as ?Orphic?? (Brisson, 2019). The work on the sources resulted in endorsing the following interpretative hypothesis: In the analysed cosmogonies, the concept of ???? is linked and - as I would argue - dependant upon the phenomenon of parthenogenesis, i.e., reproduction without fertilisation, implying a kind of a biological ?self-sufficiency?. Consequently, the employed research strategy throughout the paper consisted of the two following tasks: 1) to assess the feminine emergence as the ???? in light of parthenogenesis; 2) employing the same criterion, to assess the relationship between the feminine and the masculine. The main results thus obtained show that: 1) apart from the fact that none of the analysed cosmogonies posited the feminine and the masculine in the relationship of equality, 2) the role of the feminine otherwise resists putting into ?patterns?, including its position in the so-called paternalistic Homeric tradition. Whether these results will change with the further inclusion of sources or remain as nuanced as they now are, remains to be seen in future research.

Plants and Vegetal Respiration in Early Greek Philosophy

This essay pursues the question of vegetal respiration in Presocratics’ doctrines in contrast to Aristotle’s categorical circumscription of this vital process to the blooded animals. It finds that epithelial respiration in DK31 B100 is central to Empedocles’ conception of plants’ breathing, linked to their fructification, deciduousness, and overall life preservation. It also discusses plants’ respiration in relation to their body temperature in Menestor, then, concludes by analyzing Democritus’ psychological doctrine, arguing that the intake of fiery atoms pertained to all living beings, plants included.

Filolaos z Krotony, O naturze (Περὶ φύσεως) doksografia i fragmenty

The present article consists of two parts. First, we provide some general information on the life and views of Philolaus. This serves as an intro­duction to the second part which offers a new Polish translation of the most important ancient testimonies on Philolaus and the preserved fragments from his book On Nature (the latter are quoted along with the Greek original). According to the most recent research, these fragments are authentic and give an important insight into the Pythagorean and early Greek philosophy. The present selection of Philolaus’ testimonies and fragments has been arranged in a novel and accessible manner.

Ранняя греческая философия и традиционные религиозные представления

The article discusses the factors that influenced the formation of criticism of traditional religious beliefs in early Greek philosophy. It is established that the first factor is the internal development of Greek philosophy associated with the solution of the problem of the arche. In the philosophy of Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Pythagoras, Parmenides, Melissus, Empedocles, there has been a departure from religious beliefs. Xenophanes and Heraclitus have already criticized mythology, anthropomorphism, and mantic in full force. Hippo and Anaxagoras were accused of godlessness. The second factor is the socio–political instability in Greece of the VI–V centuries BC. This circumstance contributed to the strengthening of distrust among Greek philosophers towards socio-political, moral and religious institutions.

Philosophical Theories of Colour in Ancient Greek Thought – and Their Relevance Today

Our modern scientific explanation of colour as a subjective impression has replaced a ‘pre-theoretical’ notion of colour as an intrinsic property of objects, which was mainstream in ancient thought. Why have we lost such pre-theoretical notion, and what have we lost by losing it? I argue that most ancient Greek philosophers exploited this pre-theoretical assumption – one that was obvious to them – in terms and ways that are still worthy of attention in the context of contemporary philosophy of colour. I offer an in-depth analysis of the theories of a number of early Greek philosophers, as well as of Plato in the Timaeus, showing that they tend to share the idea that colour is an essential property of external bodies and therefore plays a causal role in perception. Then I focus on a comparison between Democritus’ stance and Aristotle’s in order to highlight a significant contrast between the two. Democritus' theory is an exception in ancient thought because it traces the colour phenomenon back to a refraction of atmospheric light through atomic aggregates. Aristotle, instead, posits the presence of colour and light in the bodies themselves. Finally, I interpret Aristotle's account as the most complex attempt in ancient thought to weld together what we call the ‘manifest image’ of colour and its ‘scientific image’.

Philosophy

The eleventh volume of the Studia Praesocratica series presents a welcome challenge to scholars of early Greek philosophy to get to grips with the exciting and valuable material found in the Herculanean testimonia. These texts provide a resource that has often been overlooked even by those seeking relatively recently to present comprehensive collections of texts and evidence on the Presocratics, and Christian Vassallo has done a great service in producing this extensive collection of textual evidence, along with English translations and commentary. As Vassallo makes clear in his introduction and individual commentary sections, a close study of the reception of early Greek philosophy in the Epicurean tradition throws up exciting new perspectives that may well provide a basis to challenge standard narratives, particularly with respect to early epistemology and theology. The work is explicitly designed to be of value not just to papyrologists but to scholars of early Greek philosophy too. With this in mind, Vassallo presents the evidence separately for each individual Presocratic, with separate commentary sections aiming to put the evidence into its Epicurean context. He extends the coverage of his already monumental work by including a useful appendix on ‘Diogenes of Oinoanda's Criticism of Presocratic Philosophy’ (595–645). Any scholar of early Greek philosophy seeking to undertake a comprehensive survey of the textual evidence will be grateful to Vassallo for the work he has done and for how accessible he has rendered these texts.

Нове видання досократичних фрагментів: матеріали Геркуланумських папірусів. Vassallo, C. (2021). The Presocratics at Herculaneum. A Study of Early Greek Philosophy in the Epicurean Tradition. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Review of Vassallo, C. (2021). The Presocratics at Herculaneum. A Study of Early Greek Philosophy in the Epicurean Tradition. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Early Greek Philosophy on the Question of Life: Plants’ Physiology and Life from the Presocratics to Aristotle

Aristotle excluded plants from kinship with animals, but included them in the great chain of life. Provided with bare living functions, plants began to constitute a different and separated kind, holding a position that through Theophrastus would be appropriated by Linnaeus and would define modern botany and more. The aim of this essay is twofold: to discuss the conception of plants’ physiology and life in ancient philosophical doctrines while accounting for Aristotle’s exclusion. Rather than following a chronological line, I will start with Aristotle on the belief that he responded to the doctrines of the Presocratics. He assigned to plants a φύσις (nature) of their own, incompatible with that of animals, and thus broke the continuity among forms of life that held together the living world for the early Greek philosophers, students of nature (φυσιόλογοι). Prior to Aristotle, I will argue, plants were seen as full-fledged living beings (ζῷα) sharing many characteristics with animals, including a similar physiology and capacities.

Классическая и неклассическая эпистемология пещер (часть 2)

In the second part of the article, the authors “collect” the non-classical model of epistemology of caves, determining its paradigmatic specificity and characterizing the analytical approach that is fundamental to it. It is argued that the origins of this type of epistemology of caves can be found in antiquity as well, namely, in book 13 of Homer’s Odyssey and in the exegesis On the Cave of the Nymphs by Porphyry of Tyre, dedicated to a fragment in this book. In contrast to the classical, the non-classical model is defined as a glance-into-the-Beyond. From the authors’ point of view, the sensual Homeric cave turns the “darkness of the mystery” into the basic symbol of the non-classical epistemology of caves. Mystery is understood as the unrevealed or the unresolved, that is, something that transforms darkness into the “charming darkness”, i.e. into the synergy of the visible and the intelligible. As a result of the cognizer’s transitions into the depths of the “dark zone” of the cave, the latter loses its status as the Beyond, since darkness ceases to be the limit of cognition. Thus, the apophatic approach inevitably becomes the fundamental approach of the non-classical model. It is associated with the cognitive sciences, such as glaciospeleology and astrobiology. The authors step-by-step reveal the anthropological and spelestological dimensions of the non-classical epistemology of caves, focusing on the dominant – speleological and (more broadly) geological – dimension, which expands to the cosmic dimension. Caves and other cavities inside the Earth’s crust, primarily under the ocean floor and glacial layers, are considered not just as keepers of the mystery of the origin of life on Earth, but as models of such keepers on other planets of the Solar System and analogues of molecular clouds. It is emphasized that, due to the fixation on the search for the first principle of the nature of all matter, the non-classical model is rather close to early Greek philosophy, e.g. to the theories of Heraclitus of Ephesus. A conclusion for the two parts of the article is formulated: the anthropological dimension, which is key to both the classical and non-classical epistemology of caves, indicates the dynamics of redefining the role of the cave in human life.

The Rise of Veterinary Ethics

Abstract Bernard Rollin taught the first class in veterinary ethics in modern veterinary history at Colorado State University in the late 1970’s as a result of his outrage at the behavior of a CSU surgeon who gave him only one option for his dog, when others were less invasive. The course, which became part of the veterinary curriculum at CSU, began with a history of the evolution of thought and attitudes toward animals from early Greek philosophy and Oriental religion, and followed it to modern times. He used the concept of telos, or nature of an animal, to develop his theory of why animals should be treated as moral objects with rights, and over the period of 40 years taught, wrote books and articles, lectured all over the world, and influenced legislation protecting animals.

Knowledge management activities: Conceptual foundations and research issues

Knowledge is a broad concept whose epistemological construct has been debated since the days of the early Greek philosophers. Knowledge was discussed extensively during the Renaissance, became a central area of study during the Scientific Revolution and was applied extensively within organisations throughout the Industrial Revolution. Knowledge became an organisational resource of significant interest, emerging over the past 25 years as a unique field of study called knowledge management (KM). Much of the KM literature addresses matters of practice and application; what is missing is a deep and conceptual analysis of the activities that drive KM processes. This article provides a conceptualisation of KM activities focusing on the underlying foundations of these activities. The result is a rich framework of KM activities that can be used to pursue important research areas involved in studying KM processes, including theory development, areas of overlap and where further research is needed.

Empedocles on the Inheritance of Parental Traits by Offspring

The paper deals with the embryological teaching of Empedocles, the ancient Greek philosopher from Acragas, who lived in the 5th century BC. The article is focused on the mechanisms by which children inherit their parents’ features in the doctrine of Empedocles. The available fragments and evidence on the teachings of early Greek philosophers often provide distorted and sometimes contradictory information. This paper attempts to carefully analyze all the evidence regarding inheritance mechanisms and bring it into an agreement with each other without resorting to abandoning some of the fragments. The most extensive information is provided to us by Censorinus, the 3rd century Roman writer, who in 238 AD wrote the treatise De die natali to congratulate his patron Caerelius on his 49th birthday. The article comments in detail on the testimony of Censorinus (De die natali, 6. 6 = 31 A 81 DK) concerning Empedocles’ views on the inheritance of parental traits by children, as well as the contradictory messages by Aetius (Aët. 5. 11. 1 = A 81) and Aristotle (De gen. an. I, 18, 723a23; IV, 1, 764a1f.; 765a 8 = 31 A 81 DK). The analysis conducted by Erna Lesky in her famous monograph of 1950 was expanded and supplemented in this article. In addition, the study takes into accountthe evidence of cases where children do not resemble their parents. Empedocles justifies these cases by popular superstitions, which were widespread in Europe up to the 20th century.