Greek Philosophy Research Articles

Did God Care? Providence, Dualism, and Will in Later Greek and Early Christian Philosophy, written by Dylan M. Burns

Did God Care? Providence, Dualism, and Will in Later Greek and Early Christian Philosophy, written by Dylan M. Burns

An Analysis of Hamlet from the Perspective of Aristotle's Tragedy Theories

With profound tragic significance, Hamlet is an enduringly popular tragedy by the famous British dramatist William Shakespeare. The complex characters, as well as the various artistic techniques for the creation of the tragic story in the play, especially its application of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle's tragedy theories, have received extensive attention from academia. This paper intends to conduct a study on the application of Aristotle's tragedy theories in Shakespeare's Hamlet. On the basis of the analysis of Aristotle's tragedy principles related to tragic plots and characters, "Error and Frailty", "Fear and Pity" and "Purification", the paper discusses the tragedy Hamlet and its application of Aristotle's guidance, in order to help readers untie the reasons of the design for some important parts of this tragedy.

Ибн Синаның логикалық ілімі және силлогизміндегі кейбір ерекшеліктер

It is well known that Greek philosophy was at the center of attention of medieval thinkers, including Muslims. The latter were particularly interested in the teachings of Plato and Aristotle. Science in the Caliphate from the very beginning of its emergence and development was associated with the translation of the scientific heritage of other peoples into Arabic. One of these sciences was logic. It satisfied the urgent need for a rationalistic methodology that organizes scientific thought, and was applied in a wide variety of areas of Arab culture. For the majority of Muslim scholars who have worked in various fields of science, logic has become one of the means of rational thinking: it was used by linguists, philosophers, theologians and even Islamic jurists. Some of them used it secretly and anonymously, because they feared criticism of the opponents of Greek logic from the Islamic apologists. The history of the development of Arab-Muslim logic can be subdivided in several stages. The first of them is the stage of translations of the ancient heritage. The second stage is associated with serious logical research. It starts with al-Farabi and ends with Ibn Sina. The logical research carried out during this period influenced the development of a number of other sciences, including linguistics, kalam and the foundations of legal theology (fiqh). At this stage, very large works combining various logical theories gleaned from antique era or from other sources were written. In an effort to bring logic closer to realities of Muslim life, Muslims have significantly updated logical science. Undoubtedly, with his works Ibn Sina gave a new impetus to the study of logic. This article considers the logical system, syllogistic of the scientist. That is, comparing some aspects of the logical systems of Ibn Sina and Aristotle, the differences of Sheikh ur Rice are emphasized. Ibn Sina also focused on the types of conditionally separating syllogisms in syllogistics. According to academic Dinorshoev, no one had studied this kind of syllogism so thoroughly before Ibn Sina

Parmenides and the problem of knowing

This article is based on same-named course work and appears as first part of upcoming research of Ancient Greek Philosophy. The research aim to be a reactivator of social ideas by the way of adopt antique mode of thinking. New method of working at material, trying to represent well-known text in an unusual perspective shows an urgency of this article. Metaphysical poem of Parmenides is taken as a material, so the author prevalently uses a text from the poem and looks at the structure, keywords such as The Truth, necessity, The Fate and Alethea, and a use of them. In the article a correlation between The Truth and necessity, Alethea and The Truth in Parmenides philosophy is explained for the first time. The author pays great attention to Parmenides, so the research has a primary focus on understanding the poem as a Parmenides’ creature. The article has a short biographical background of Parmenides. In this article, the author tries to motivate readers to reflect on it instead of obtruding any defined answers

Intertextual Strategy of the Narrator of the Second Epistle of Peter in the Catalogue of Virtues (1:5-7)

The Second Epistle of Peter is one of the least studied texts of the New Testament. It is usually compared with 1 Peter and/or Jude and indeed shows some similarities and some differences with these texts. But little attention is paid to the originality of 2 Peter both in its interpretation of texts from the Jewish tradition and in the application of intertextual strategies to elements of Greek philosophy. 2 Pet 1:5-7 is undoubtedly one of the most Hellenized passages of the epistle. Not only did the narrator use a hierarchical catalog of virtues popular in Greek literature, but also terms that are commonly associated with ethics, especially the stoic ethics (faith – πίστις; virtue – ἀρετή; knowledge – γνῶσις). This article aims to present the manner in which the narrator in 2 Pet 1:5-7 enters into dialogue with Greek ethical texts and how he transforms, innovates, and reinterprets these texts. In other words, what intertextual strategy he uses.

Aportes de la filosofía jurídica al concepto persona

The present study has the purpose of analyzing a concept widely approached by most scholars of the philosophy of law throughout the ages, we are referring without doubt to the term person. That is why we will review the most important and relevant ideas from ancient times to current thinking. The philosophical concept of person has a notorious role in the understanding of the human being and in modern debates both in politics, law and, of course, in ethics. The aforementioned problem has been studied from very different perspectives, however, many coincide in adopting a metaphysical attitude. Therefore, the ontological and legal implications of the concept of person will be analyzed, starting with greek philosophy, classical law and christianity.

Communicating science in the time of Coronavirus: What we have learned

One of the greatest and most famous Greek philosophers, Socrates, believed that “here is only one good, knowledge, and one evil: ignorance”, but nowadays we can tentatively add that knowledge without sharing is like sterile ground. Today, social media play a central role not only in connecting people worldwide, but overall to access news and information, and for decision making. [...]

The Food, Water, Air and Fire Doctrines in Ancient Indian and Greek Philosophies from a Comparative Perspective

The main aim of this article lies in the comparison of ancient cosmico-natural elements from the Vedic period with their counterparts in the Presocratics, with a focus on food, air, water and fire. By way of an introduction to the ancient elemental world, we first present the concept of food (anna) as an idiosyncratic Vedic teaching of the ancient elements. This is followed by our first comparison—of Raikva’s natural philosophy of Vāyu/prāṇa with Anaximenes’s pneûma/aér teaching in the broader context of both the Vedic and Presocratic teachings on the role of air/breath. Secondly, water as brought to us in pañcāgnividyā teaching from Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad and Chāndogya Upaniṣad is compared to the teaching of the Greek natural philosopher Thales. Finally, the teaching on fire as heat being present in all beings (agni vaiśvānara) and in relation to cosmic teachings on fire in the ancient Vedic world are compared to Heraclitus’ philosophy of fire as an element. Additionally, this article also presents a survey and analysis of some of the key representatives of comparative and intercultural philosophy dealing with the elemental and natural philosophy of ancient India and Greece.

Scriptural Exegesis or Speculative Philosophy

Summary Dogmatic debates in early Christianity shaped philosophical discourse just as Greek philosophy offered the conceptual tools to engage and, accordingly to crystalize early Christian practice, into a formal system of belief. Thus, in the recently-published The Rise of Christian Theology and the End of Ancient Metaphysics, Johannes Zachhuber notes that “Patristic thought as a whole can be identified as a Christian philosophy.” Following suit – though not without nuance – this paper suggests treating Patristic scriptural exegesis as an exercise of speculative philosophy, as evidenced in Augustine’s interpretation of the figure of the cross at Eph 3.18, where the cross progressively becomes a simple yet compelling paradigm of divine manifestation. This paradigm can be framed according to Augustine’s mature articulation of the ‘ontological principle’ of manifestation in s. 165: “From the depth which you cannot see rises everything that you can see.” By engaging in scriptural exegesis, within a gestalt where Wisdom, sacred and profane alike, merge in the incarnate God manifest in Christ, Augustine articulates unprecedented philosophical principles.

GREEK WRITERS AND PHILOSOPHERS IN PHILO AND JOSEPHUS: A STUDY OF THEIR SECULAR EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL IDEALS. By ErkkiKoskenniemi. Studies in Philo of Alexandria, 9. Leiden: Brill, 2019. Pp. x + 352. $166.00.

Religious Studies ReviewVolume 47, Issue 3 p. 386-387 Short Reviews of Recent Publications: Judaism: Hellenistic Through Late Antiquity GREEK WRITERS AND PHILOSOPHERS IN PHILO AND JOSEPHUS: A STUDY OF THEIR SECULAR EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL IDEALS. By Koskenniemi, Erkki. Studies in Philo of Alexandria, 9. Leiden: Brill, 2019. Pp. x + 352. $166.00. First published: 30 October 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/rsr.15405Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume47, Issue3September 2021Pages 386-387 RelatedInformation

The Missing God of Heidegger and Karl Jaspers: Too late for God; too Early for the Gods-with a vignette from Indian Philosophy.

The essay explores how God is conceived—if only just—in the works of two existentialist philosophers: Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers, one considers the mutual convergence and disarming divergence of their respective positions. In 1919, Martin Heidegger announced his distancing of himself from the Catholic faith, apparently liberating himself to pursue philosophical research unfettered by theological allegiances. Thereafter, the last of the Western metaphysicians (in the classical genre) takes his hammer to the ‘destruktion of onto-theology’—the piety of Greek philosophy and of Hellenized Judaeo-Christianity. The essay argues that Heidegger provided both the platform and challenges reins for his long-time friend Karl Jaspers’ thinking on the question of the absconditus—‘absconded into hiding; hence lost, or better, the missing condition’—of the transcendent. One might avail one's critical perspective by considering ideas from Indian philosophy (and mildly postcolonial doubt) to balance the respective positions of the two humanist-Germanic protagonists. We proceed so with a view to reconfiguring the predominant monotheistically conceived conception of the deity, the place and limits of belief and philosophical faith, and the future of postdivinism in the global axis.

Logoi and Muthoi: Further Essays in Greek Philosophy and Literature edited by William Wians

This volume of essays is the second devoted to exploring philosophical themes in Greek literature that William Wians has edited. The first, Logos and Muthos: Philosophical Essays in Greek Literature, was published in 2010. Both attempt to correct and clarify the old schema of Nestle’s Vom Mythos zum Logos [1940], a work tinged with the ideology that prevailed in Germany at the time. To this end, the volumes propose to avoid simplistic schemas, such as that of the “Greek miracle” or of the transformation of the irrational into the rational. Muthoi and logoi are realities that have much richer and more complex relationships with each other than the mere substitution proposed by Nestle. Reviewed by: Alberto Bernabé, Published Online (2021-08-31)Copyright © 2021 by Alberto BernabéThis open access publication is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (CC BY-NC-ND) Article PDF Link: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/aestimatio/article/view/37724/28726 Corresponding Author: Alberto Bernabé,Universidad Complutense de MadridE-Mail: albernab@ucm.es

From groundlessness—to freedom: The theme of ‘awakening’ in the thought of Lev Shestov

The philosopher Lev Shestov aimed to establish a new free way of thinking, which manifested itself as a struggle against the delusion that we have a rational grasp of the necessary truths on matters that are of the greatest importance to us, such as the questions of life and death. Philosophy, as the Russian philosopher understood it, is not pure thinking, but ‘some kind of inner doing, inner regeneration, or second birth’ (Shestov in Lektsii po Istorii Grecheskoi Filosofii [Lectures on the history of Greek philosophy], YMCA-PRESS, Moscow, 2001, p. 53). Having adopted the notion of the ‘regeneration of one’s convictions’ from Dostoevsky’s vocabulary in his earlier works, Shestov developed the idea of ‘awakening’ further in his mature thought, in which the motif of ‘awakening’ comprised one of the main ideas of his philosophy: the fight for the individual’s right to freedom and to creative transformation at a time when she is in despair or on the brink of death. In this article, I analyse Shestov’s idea of ‘awakening’ as one of the key tropes and developmental characteristics of his philosophical vision. In particular, I argue that, having stemmed from Shestov’s earlier interpretations of Dostoevsky, Shakespeare and Plotinus, in his later writings, the notion of ‘awakening’—the possibility of a fundamental, inner transformation of one’s worldview (probuzhdenie, pererozhdenie)—marked the beginning of a new salvific mode in his writing.

The Conception of Private in Thomas More's Utopia between Plato's and Cicero's Philosophy

Abstract This article investigates the concept of “private” in Thomas More's Utopia and its philosophical influences. More did not follow a particular philosophy but was an eclectic intellectual inclined to combine different philosophies useful to develop and express his thought. More's philosophical sources are therefore numerous and include, among others, Epicurus, Augustine, Aristotle, and Seneca. In this article, I focus on the presence of Cicero and Plato in Utopia and, through the analysis of the occurrences of the concept of “private,” demonstrate that when it comes to the themes of justice and property More takes into account Roman philosophy and in particular Cicero in order to describe his contemporary society. When, however, More refers to property and justice in Utopia, viz. the society that should serve as a model for the existing societies, he takes into account Greek philosophy, in particular Plato.

Persian theme in Plutarch’s works based on the episode from the treatise “On Isis and Osiris”

The object of this research is the cultural ties between Greeks and Persians, while the subject is the image of Persia and Persian in Plutarch's treatise “On Isis and Osiris”. The author carefully examines such aspects of the topic as the problem of barbarism, Zoroastrianism as the foundation of Persian worldview, Persians from the perspective of Plutarch, description of Persian religious rites and traditions. Special attention is turned to the problems of borrowing Persian words into the Ancient Greek language (Avestan lexemes are being modified in the Ancient Persian language, and then adapted in the Ancient Greek language). It is noted that Greek language has been influenced by the barbarian languages due to deepening ties of the Greeks with other peoples. The conclusion is made that Plutarch was sincerely fascinated with Persians and certain aspects of their worldview; he compares the sayings of the Greek philosophers and poets with Persian ontology — contrary to the stereotypical perception of the Persians as barbarians, standing below the Greeks in their development. The author’s special contribution consists in juxtaposition of the Zoroastrian doctrinal provisions with the rites and practices of the Persians described by Plutarch. The novelty of this research consists in the advanced hypothesis that explains the rich spirit in the lexeme Ὡρομάζης. The relevance this work lies in examination of interaction between the Greek and Persian worlds, which has not received due attention in the Russian philological science.

ANCIENT GREEK SCULPTURE IN THE 20TH CENTURY WESTERN ART

Ancient Greek art and culture had served as a significant guide for Western civilisation for centuries. Greek philosophy, literature and mythology as well as art and architecture had a major impact on artists especially in the periods of Renaissance and Neoclassicism. It is interesting to see that Ancient Greek sculpture has still been inspiring for the 20th century western painters, sculptors and performance artists. This article will focus on the visual representations of four statues -Apollo Belvedere, Venus of Milo, Nike of Samothrace and Sleeping Ariadne- in the imagination of artists working in various styles. Depictions of aforenamed statues and their novel and distinctive interpretations had been the subject of this descriptive research. 20th century creations have been scanned for traces of Ancient Greek sculpture. These timeless paragons of Classical and Hellenistic periods acquired a fresh life thanks to the 20th century art world’s admiration and respect for the Ancient Greek sculpture. It can be concluded that by juxtaposing classical and contemporary imagery, artists created memorable and engrossing works. Keywords: Ancient Greek Sculpture, 20th century, Western Art

Between Mysticism and Philosophical Rationality: Al-Ghazālī on the Reasons of the Heart

In his seminal Orientalism and Religion (1999), Richard King argues that Western scholars of religion have constructed a conceptual dichotomy between “mysticism” and “rationality” that has caused them to systematically distort the claims and arguments of Eastern thinkers. While King focuses primarily on Western scholarship on the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, this essay shows that his argument can also be extended to apply to Western scholarship on al-Ghazālī, whose sympathy for Sufism and apparent rejection of Greek philosophy has often earned him the reputation of being a champion of Islamic mysticism. I argue that al-Ghazālī transcends the dueling categories of ‘rationality’ and ‘mysticism’ that have been imposed on him by offering a conception of experiential knowledge that retains its roots in the ‘mystical’ Sufi tradition, even while also highlighting the rational merits of experientially-grounded modes of knowing. In particular, I argue that al-Ghazālī shows us how experiential knowledge is both important to providing motivation for rational action and also critical to underwriting persons’ genuine understanding of the evaluative properties of that which is known.

On Preconditions for Ibn Khaldun’s Philosophy of History

This article is devoted to the study of the preconditions for Ibn Khaldun’s philosophy of history. It is argued that his theory of history was both a result of his own intellectual development and previous theories. The author states that Ibn Khaldun was influenced by ancient thought, political culture of Western Asia and Islamic intellectual tradition. The first was Ancient Greek philosophy and medicine that he inherited from the great physicians and philosophers like Aristotle, Hippocrates and Galen. The second was cultural and political legacy of Sassanid Persia. The third prerequisite for formation of Ibn Khaldun’s theory of history was the adoption of the achievements of his predecessors, Islamic scientists, theologians and philosophers who had contributed to the rational critique of history.

PERAN PENTING PENDIDIKAN DALAM TRANSMISI FILSAFAT YUNANI KE DUNIA ISLAM

The encounter of Greek philosophy and the Islamic paradigm produce a glorious civilization in the Islamic world. Furthermore, Islamic civilization became the center of the science development and was visited by a number of Western scholars to enhance knowledge. In addition to the Qur'an and hadith, one aspect of science that is no less important in the Islamic advancement is philosophy. A few indicators supporting the entry of Greek philosophy into the Islamic world include the establishment of a magnificent library, baitul hikmah, and the association of Muslim scholars who founded the first institute. Which are the shoots of the most urgent education post the establishment of the Alexandria Museum.

The Myth of Faust, “Titanism”, and the Religious Topic of the Selling of the Soul in the Cultural Writings of Jan Patočka

The intensive and systematic scholarly interest in the relation of Patočka’s phenomenology to religion and Christianity is recent and has only intensified over the last ten years. Thus far, the topic has mainly been studied from philosophical and theological perspectives, and the extensive body of Patočka’s cultural writings has largely failed to attract the attention of scholars. Moreover, a culturological approach is virtually absent. Therefore, this article suggests focusing on the analysis of cultural archetypes in Patočka’s cultural writings related to the topic of religion and Christianity from this perspective. The cultural archetypes of the Faustian figures of Patočka’s cultural writings, whether Goethe’s Faust, Goethe’s Marguerite, or Mann’s Adrian Leverkühn, are all Socratic-Christic avatars that personify Patočka’s philosophical concept of “care for the soul” in the modern age. The legacy of Plato’s Greek philosophy and that of Western Christianity as presented by Patočka insist on the universally shared existential experience of finitude that should be grasped as a positive challenge in the strife for meaning. Patočka’s “titanism” and the archetypal titanic figures of his cultural writings are Patočkian manifestations of this universal effort. A culturological approach to Patočka’s thinking on religion and Christianity might thus prove most relevant.