Jonathan Beere
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199206704
- eISBN:
- 9780191709784
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199206704.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, Ancient Philosophy
Doing and Being confronts the problem of how to understand two central concepts of Aristotle's philosophy: energeia and dunamis. While these terms seem ambiguous between actuality/potentiality and ...
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Doing and Being confronts the problem of how to understand two central concepts of Aristotle's philosophy: energeia and dunamis. While these terms seem ambiguous between actuality/potentiality and activity/capacity, Aristotle did not intend them to be so. Through a careful and detailed reading of Metaphysics Theta, the author argues that we can solve the problem by rejecting both ‘actuality’ and ‘activity’ as translations of energeia, and by working out an analogical conception of energeia. This approach enables the author to discern a hitherto unnoticed connection between Plato's Sophist and Aristotle's Metaphysics Theta, and to give satisfying interpretations of the major claims that Aristotle makes in Metaphysics Theta, the claim that energeia is prior in being to capacity (Theta 8), and the claim that any eternal principle must be perfectly good (Theta 9).Less
Doing and Being confronts the problem of how to understand two central concepts of Aristotle's philosophy: energeia and dunamis. While these terms seem ambiguous between actuality/potentiality and activity/capacity, Aristotle did not intend them to be so. Through a careful and detailed reading of Metaphysics Theta, the author argues that we can solve the problem by rejecting both ‘actuality’ and ‘activity’ as translations of energeia, and by working out an analogical conception of energeia. This approach enables the author to discern a hitherto unnoticed connection between Plato's Sophist and Aristotle's Metaphysics Theta, and to give satisfying interpretations of the major claims that Aristotle makes in Metaphysics Theta, the claim that energeia is prior in being to capacity (Theta 8), and the claim that any eternal principle must be perfectly good (Theta 9).
Wallace Matson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199812691
- eISBN:
- 9780199919420
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199812691.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
The intensely human culture of newly literate Ionia spread into every field of intellectual endeavor. Though it was obviously anti-religious, serious opposition to it took nearly a century to ...
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The intensely human culture of newly literate Ionia spread into every field of intellectual endeavor. Though it was obviously anti-religious, serious opposition to it took nearly a century to develop. Ionian thought came to Athens later than to Italy. It was introduced by Anaxagoras of Clazomenae and by members of a new “profession,” the Sophists –itinerant lecturers and tutors. The most famous of these was Protagoras, the first Relativist and explicit agnostic. Socrates, a native Athenian, started out as a friend of the scientific side of Pythagoreanism. As such he was caricatured by the comic poet Aristophanes; and as such he was condemned and put to death for “impiety.” But by that time he had undergone a conversion from science to the moral and religious interests also associated with the Brotherhood.Less
The intensely human culture of newly literate Ionia spread into every field of intellectual endeavor. Though it was obviously anti-religious, serious opposition to it took nearly a century to develop. Ionian thought came to Athens later than to Italy. It was introduced by Anaxagoras of Clazomenae and by members of a new “profession,” the Sophists –itinerant lecturers and tutors. The most famous of these was Protagoras, the first Relativist and explicit agnostic. Socrates, a native Athenian, started out as a friend of the scientific side of Pythagoreanism. As such he was caricatured by the comic poet Aristophanes; and as such he was condemned and put to death for “impiety.” But by that time he had undergone a conversion from science to the moral and religious interests also associated with the Brotherhood.
Emily Baragwanath
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199231294
- eISBN:
- 9780191710797
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231294.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Herodotus sought to communicate not only what happened, but also the background of thoughts and perceptions that shaped those events and was also critical to their interpretation in retrospect. This ...
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Herodotus sought to communicate not only what happened, but also the background of thoughts and perceptions that shaped those events and was also critical to their interpretation in retrospect. This book examines the representation of human motivation in Herodotus' Histories, building on recent work that views the historian against the background of the sophists and exploring the implications of this for the Histories' narrative books. Working from the theoretical basis of reader response criticism, it uses Plutarch's insights to plot Herodotus' narrative strategies for guiding his readers' response to questions of motives. Its focus is the sophisticated narrative techniques with which Herodotus represents this elusive variety of historical knowledge; but through illustrating and analyzing a range of such techniques across a wide selection of narratives, it supplies a method for reading the Histories more generally. Herodotus is revealed as a master of both narrative and historiography, able tell a lucid story of the past while nonetheless exposing the methodological and epistemological challenges it presented. Subjects discussed include the influence of Homer as a narrative model; the account of Leonidas and Thermopylae—where the subtle interweaving of heroic and more pragmatic motivations contribute to the historian's self-characterization; the Samian and Persian stories, with their depiction of irrational motivation; the Athenian stories, which reveal Herodotus' polarizing technique of presentation; the complications of rhetoric, with its slogans of ‘freedom’ and ‘Greek unity’, in the Ionian Revolt narrative—which proves a touchstone for assessing the later campaign; motives and necessity in the Greek states' response to the Persian threat; and the characterization of the Histories' most prominent individuals, Xerxes and Themistocles.Less
Herodotus sought to communicate not only what happened, but also the background of thoughts and perceptions that shaped those events and was also critical to their interpretation in retrospect. This book examines the representation of human motivation in Herodotus' Histories, building on recent work that views the historian against the background of the sophists and exploring the implications of this for the Histories' narrative books. Working from the theoretical basis of reader response criticism, it uses Plutarch's insights to plot Herodotus' narrative strategies for guiding his readers' response to questions of motives. Its focus is the sophisticated narrative techniques with which Herodotus represents this elusive variety of historical knowledge; but through illustrating and analyzing a range of such techniques across a wide selection of narratives, it supplies a method for reading the Histories more generally. Herodotus is revealed as a master of both narrative and historiography, able tell a lucid story of the past while nonetheless exposing the methodological and epistemological challenges it presented. Subjects discussed include the influence of Homer as a narrative model; the account of Leonidas and Thermopylae—where the subtle interweaving of heroic and more pragmatic motivations contribute to the historian's self-characterization; the Samian and Persian stories, with their depiction of irrational motivation; the Athenian stories, which reveal Herodotus' polarizing technique of presentation; the complications of rhetoric, with its slogans of ‘freedom’ and ‘Greek unity’, in the Ionian Revolt narrative—which proves a touchstone for assessing the later campaign; motives and necessity in the Greek states' response to the Persian threat; and the characterization of the Histories' most prominent individuals, Xerxes and Themistocles.
Emily Baragwanath
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199231294
- eISBN:
- 9780191710797
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231294.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Taking Plutarch's criticisms in de Malignitate Herodoti as a point of entry into Herodotus' strategies for guiding his readers' response, this chapter argues that Herodotus' reader is motivated to ...
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Taking Plutarch's criticisms in de Malignitate Herodoti as a point of entry into Herodotus' strategies for guiding his readers' response, this chapter argues that Herodotus' reader is motivated to take a particular, active stance towards his text. Herodotus is set in the context of the sophists. The theoretical background of Iser's reader response criticism is introduced, with Herodotus' presentation of the question of the Alcmaeonids' possible medizing after Marathon serving as a test case for a reader-response approach.Less
Taking Plutarch's criticisms in de Malignitate Herodoti as a point of entry into Herodotus' strategies for guiding his readers' response, this chapter argues that Herodotus' reader is motivated to take a particular, active stance towards his text. Herodotus is set in the context of the sophists. The theoretical background of Iser's reader response criticism is introduced, with Herodotus' presentation of the question of the Alcmaeonids' possible medizing after Marathon serving as a test case for a reader-response approach.
Emily Baragwanath
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199231294
- eISBN:
- 9780191710797
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231294.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter addresses Herodotus' portrayal of characters in the Histories whose inquiries into questions of motivation parallel his own. In discussing the dual persona of the Herodotean narrator, it ...
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This chapter addresses Herodotus' portrayal of characters in the Histories whose inquiries into questions of motivation parallel his own. In discussing the dual persona of the Herodotean narrator, it reformulates Plutarch's charge that Herodotus slid too easily between the categories of ‘historian’ and ‘sophist’. It contends that Leonidas in the Thermopylae narrative (with its interweaving of heroic and more pragmatic motivations) is constructed in the Herodotean narrator's likeness, imitating the methods and purposes of the narrator in his approach to questions of motives, and displaying a polarized personality. The metatextual perspective furthers one's characterization of Herodotus at the same time as it reinforces the importance of questions of motivation.Less
This chapter addresses Herodotus' portrayal of characters in the Histories whose inquiries into questions of motivation parallel his own. In discussing the dual persona of the Herodotean narrator, it reformulates Plutarch's charge that Herodotus slid too easily between the categories of ‘historian’ and ‘sophist’. It contends that Leonidas in the Thermopylae narrative (with its interweaving of heroic and more pragmatic motivations) is constructed in the Herodotean narrator's likeness, imitating the methods and purposes of the narrator in his approach to questions of motives, and displaying a polarized personality. The metatextual perspective furthers one's characterization of Herodotus at the same time as it reinforces the importance of questions of motivation.
Ismene Lada‐Richards
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199232536
- eISBN:
- 9780191716003
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232536.003.0014
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter explores the cultural place held by the ‘idea’ of pantomime and looks at the respects in which pantomime proved itself ‘good to think with’ in the ancient world. The chapter is concerned ...
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This chapter explores the cultural place held by the ‘idea’ of pantomime and looks at the respects in which pantomime proved itself ‘good to think with’ in the ancient world. The chapter is concerned with the paradoxical attitudes of the elite towards this art form and examines the possible reasons for the elite polemic narratives about pantomime. This is explored with particular reference to the cultural discourses surrounding sophists, rhetoric and pantomime. The discussion reviews the place of pantomime in the entertainment hierarchies and reveals the genre's formidable relational value. The chapter ends with the suggestion that pantomime may in fact have been perceived as a serious rival by the intellectual elite and was therefore appropriated, and controlled through, the discourse written upon it.Less
This chapter explores the cultural place held by the ‘idea’ of pantomime and looks at the respects in which pantomime proved itself ‘good to think with’ in the ancient world. The chapter is concerned with the paradoxical attitudes of the elite towards this art form and examines the possible reasons for the elite polemic narratives about pantomime. This is explored with particular reference to the cultural discourses surrounding sophists, rhetoric and pantomime. The discussion reviews the place of pantomime in the entertainment hierarchies and reveals the genre's formidable relational value. The chapter ends with the suggestion that pantomime may in fact have been perceived as a serious rival by the intellectual elite and was therefore appropriated, and controlled through, the discourse written upon it.
Matthew Wright
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199274512
- eISBN:
- 9780191706554
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199274512.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter begins with the observation that Euripides is often called ‘the philosopher of the stage’, and explores what is meant by this description. It examines the relationship between tragedy ...
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This chapter begins with the observation that Euripides is often called ‘the philosopher of the stage’, and explores what is meant by this description. It examines the relationship between tragedy and philosophy. It argues that Euripides, far from being a merely ‘clever’ and superficial playwright, was in fact deeply and seriously engaged with philosophical ideas. It is shown that the escape-tragedies can be read as a complex exploration of epistemological and ontological ideas, in common with and parallel to the Sophists and Presocratics. Philosophical problems of knowledge, language, appearance, reality, and personal existence are seen as central to the meaning of the trilogy.Less
This chapter begins with the observation that Euripides is often called ‘the philosopher of the stage’, and explores what is meant by this description. It examines the relationship between tragedy and philosophy. It argues that Euripides, far from being a merely ‘clever’ and superficial playwright, was in fact deeply and seriously engaged with philosophical ideas. It is shown that the escape-tragedies can be read as a complex exploration of epistemological and ontological ideas, in common with and parallel to the Sophists and Presocratics. Philosophical problems of knowledge, language, appearance, reality, and personal existence are seen as central to the meaning of the trilogy.
C. C. W. Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199226399
- eISBN:
- 9780191710209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226399.003.0015
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This chapter reconsiders the question of whether Socrates is represented in the Protagoras as maintaining some version of hedonism in his own person, or merely arguing ad hominem that the sophists ...
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This chapter reconsiders the question of whether Socrates is represented in the Protagoras as maintaining some version of hedonism in his own person, or merely arguing ad hominem that the sophists and/or ordinary people are committed to hedonism. While the author had previously maintained the former, the present chapter argues — by close attention to the details of the text — that Plato deliberately leaves the question open. It is suggested that he does so because the cognitive theory of the early dialogues needs to be supplemented by an account of the good, and that he wished to explore the theory that pleasure is the good without explicitly endorsing it.Less
This chapter reconsiders the question of whether Socrates is represented in the Protagoras as maintaining some version of hedonism in his own person, or merely arguing ad hominem that the sophists and/or ordinary people are committed to hedonism. While the author had previously maintained the former, the present chapter argues — by close attention to the details of the text — that Plato deliberately leaves the question open. It is suggested that he does so because the cognitive theory of the early dialogues needs to be supplemented by an account of the good, and that he wished to explore the theory that pleasure is the good without explicitly endorsing it.
Noburu Notomi
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199289974
- eISBN:
- 9780191711008
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199289974.003.0013
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
Modern philosophers often assume that Plato treats what is not merely as the privation of being and that he dismisses the idea of absolute nothingness from the inquiry altogether. Citing the way in ...
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Modern philosophers often assume that Plato treats what is not merely as the privation of being and that he dismisses the idea of absolute nothingness from the inquiry altogether. Citing the way in which Plato in the Sophist describes what is not as ‘different from what is’, these philosophers fault him for reducing the problem of absolute nothingness to that of something lacking particular properties. This chapter argues against this interpretation and suggests that Plato tackles a more profound problem — what is not is no more trivial or easy to deal with than its counterpart, what is. It is perhaps a more perplexing concept, since it seems to prevent any discussion. This feature takes us to the heart of the problem that Plato faces in the Sophist, where he works out a new strategy to overcome the difficulty: what is not can only be clarified together with what is. The implications of this strategy are discussed.Less
Modern philosophers often assume that Plato treats what is not merely as the privation of being and that he dismisses the idea of absolute nothingness from the inquiry altogether. Citing the way in which Plato in the Sophist describes what is not as ‘different from what is’, these philosophers fault him for reducing the problem of absolute nothingness to that of something lacking particular properties. This chapter argues against this interpretation and suggests that Plato tackles a more profound problem — what is not is no more trivial or easy to deal with than its counterpart, what is. It is perhaps a more perplexing concept, since it seems to prevent any discussion. This feature takes us to the heart of the problem that Plato faces in the Sophist, where he works out a new strategy to overcome the difficulty: what is not can only be clarified together with what is. The implications of this strategy are discussed.
Himerius
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520250932
- eISBN:
- 9780520933712
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520250932.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This annotated book offers an English translation of the orations of Himerius of Athens, a prominent teacher of rhetoric in the fourth century A.D. It contains 79 surviving orations and fragments of ...
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This annotated book offers an English translation of the orations of Himerius of Athens, a prominent teacher of rhetoric in the fourth century A.D. It contains 79 surviving orations and fragments of orations in the grand tradition of imperial Greek rhetoric. The speeches, a rich source on the intellectual life of late antiquity, capture the flavor of student life in Athens, illuminate relations in the educated community, and illustrate the ongoing civic role of the sophist. The book includes speeches given by Himerius in various cities as he traveled east to join the emperor Julian, customary declamations on imaginary topics, and a monody on the death of his son. Extensive introductory notes and annotations place these translations in their literary and historical contexts.Less
This annotated book offers an English translation of the orations of Himerius of Athens, a prominent teacher of rhetoric in the fourth century A.D. It contains 79 surviving orations and fragments of orations in the grand tradition of imperial Greek rhetoric. The speeches, a rich source on the intellectual life of late antiquity, capture the flavor of student life in Athens, illuminate relations in the educated community, and illustrate the ongoing civic role of the sophist. The book includes speeches given by Himerius in various cities as he traveled east to join the emperor Julian, customary declamations on imaginary topics, and a monody on the death of his son. Extensive introductory notes and annotations place these translations in their literary and historical contexts.
J. L. Marr and P. J. Rhodes
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780856687761
- eISBN:
- 9781800342804
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9780856687761.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
'Old Oligarch' is a label often applied to the unknown author of the Athenian Constitution preserved with the works of Xenophon. Probably written in the mid-420s B.C., it is the earliest surviving ...
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'Old Oligarch' is a label often applied to the unknown author of the Athenian Constitution preserved with the works of Xenophon. Probably written in the mid-420s B.C., it is the earliest surviving Athenian prose text, and its author was probably a young pupil of the teachers known as sophists. It is an essay which replies to oligarchic criticisms of the Athenian democracy by agreeing with the critics that democracy is distasteful but arguing that it is appropriate for Athens as a city whose power depends on the poorer citizens who row the navy's ships, and that it is successful and could not easily be overthrown. This edition provides a Greek text and English translation, with Introduction, Commentary and Appendixes which discuss the date, authorship and character of the work, the historical background, the statements and arguments presented by the author and features of the author's style.Less
'Old Oligarch' is a label often applied to the unknown author of the Athenian Constitution preserved with the works of Xenophon. Probably written in the mid-420s B.C., it is the earliest surviving Athenian prose text, and its author was probably a young pupil of the teachers known as sophists. It is an essay which replies to oligarchic criticisms of the Athenian democracy by agreeing with the critics that democracy is distasteful but arguing that it is appropriate for Athens as a city whose power depends on the poorer citizens who row the navy's ships, and that it is successful and could not easily be overthrown. This edition provides a Greek text and English translation, with Introduction, Commentary and Appendixes which discuss the date, authorship and character of the work, the historical background, the statements and arguments presented by the author and features of the author's style.
Paul L. Gavrilyuk
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199269822
- eISBN:
- 9780191601569
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199269823.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Five major interpretations of Arianism are considered. According to the Hanson-Wiles interpretation, the Arians used psilanthropic argument to emphasize that God suffered in Christ. The author shows ...
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Five major interpretations of Arianism are considered. According to the Hanson-Wiles interpretation, the Arians used psilanthropic argument to emphasize that God suffered in Christ. The author shows that this interpretation is one sided, partly because other parties involved in the christological debates of the fourth and fifth centuries also used the psilanthropic argument. The Arians emphasized the impassibility of the High God in order to exclude him from any participation in human suffering. The pro-Nicene theologians succeeded in sustaining the vital tension between the transcendence of God and his involvement in suffering in the incarnation.Less
Five major interpretations of Arianism are considered. According to the Hanson-Wiles interpretation, the Arians used psilanthropic argument to emphasize that God suffered in Christ. The author shows that this interpretation is one sided, partly because other parties involved in the christological debates of the fourth and fifth centuries also used the psilanthropic argument. The Arians emphasized the impassibility of the High God in order to exclude him from any participation in human suffering. The pro-Nicene theologians succeeded in sustaining the vital tension between the transcendence of God and his involvement in suffering in the incarnation.
Malcolm Heath
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199259205
- eISBN:
- 9780191717932
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259205.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter introduces the late 3rd-century Greek rhetorician Menander of Laodicea (Menander Rhetor), and explains the questions about Menander and the nature of rhetoric in late antiquity. The ...
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This chapter introduces the late 3rd-century Greek rhetorician Menander of Laodicea (Menander Rhetor), and explains the questions about Menander and the nature of rhetoric in late antiquity. The contents of the succeeding chapters are briefly explained. A key theme of the book — the continuing practical relevance of rhetoric in this period — is highlighted. It is suggested that Philostratus’ influential but one-sided account of the teachers of rhetoric known as ‘sophists’ has produced a distorted image of the so-called ‘Second Sophistic’. An accurate picture must be based on a much wider range of evidence.Less
This chapter introduces the late 3rd-century Greek rhetorician Menander of Laodicea (Menander Rhetor), and explains the questions about Menander and the nature of rhetoric in late antiquity. The contents of the succeeding chapters are briefly explained. A key theme of the book — the continuing practical relevance of rhetoric in this period — is highlighted. It is suggested that Philostratus’ influential but one-sided account of the teachers of rhetoric known as ‘sophists’ has produced a distorted image of the so-called ‘Second Sophistic’. An accurate picture must be based on a much wider range of evidence.
Malcolm Heath
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199259205
- eISBN:
- 9780191717932
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259205.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter examines the evidence for the history of rhetoric after the completion of Philostratus’ Lives of the Sophists. It shows that the movement generally known as the ‘Second Sophistic’ ...
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This chapter examines the evidence for the history of rhetoric after the completion of Philostratus’ Lives of the Sophists. It shows that the movement generally known as the ‘Second Sophistic’ continued to flourish in this period, and that rhetoric was taught by many sophists and philosophers, including (for example) Apsines, Longinus, Porphyry, and Metrophanes, as well as Menander himself. This period also saw the beginning of commentaries on technical works of rhetorical theory; the subsequent history of this genre is briefly summarized. Along with evidence for continuing creativity in literary scholarship, philosophy, law and theology, this shows that the political and military crisis of the 3rd century did not lead to an eclipse of intellectual culture.Less
This chapter examines the evidence for the history of rhetoric after the completion of Philostratus’ Lives of the Sophists. It shows that the movement generally known as the ‘Second Sophistic’ continued to flourish in this period, and that rhetoric was taught by many sophists and philosophers, including (for example) Apsines, Longinus, Porphyry, and Metrophanes, as well as Menander himself. This period also saw the beginning of commentaries on technical works of rhetorical theory; the subsequent history of this genre is briefly summarized. Along with evidence for continuing creativity in literary scholarship, philosophy, law and theology, this shows that the political and military crisis of the 3rd century did not lead to an eclipse of intellectual culture.
Lesley Brown
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199564453
- eISBN:
- 9780191721618
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199564453.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, Ancient Philosophy
This chapter investigates the so-called method of division, purportedly used in the dialogue Sophist to give the essence of the sophist, i.e., of the sophistic art or expertise. The dialogue's enigma ...
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This chapter investigates the so-called method of division, purportedly used in the dialogue Sophist to give the essence of the sophist, i.e., of the sophistic art or expertise. The dialogue's enigma is that it offers not one but seven different definitions, all of them satirical or whimsical, and each purporting to be the account of what sophistry is. The chapter rejects readings on which each of these ‘definitions’, or just the final one — the sophist as a producer of images — is meant seriously as an account of what sophistry is. It argues that the initial assumption — that there is a definable expertise (technē) of sophistry — is one Plato can hardly have shared, given his criteria for what counts as a technē. The chapter concludes that in the Sophist Plato shows both how close sophistry and true philosophy are, and also how they differ — all this without intending the reader to assume that the method of division has revealed any essence of sophistry, since there can be no such thing.Less
This chapter investigates the so-called method of division, purportedly used in the dialogue Sophist to give the essence of the sophist, i.e., of the sophistic art or expertise. The dialogue's enigma is that it offers not one but seven different definitions, all of them satirical or whimsical, and each purporting to be the account of what sophistry is. The chapter rejects readings on which each of these ‘definitions’, or just the final one — the sophist as a producer of images — is meant seriously as an account of what sophistry is. It argues that the initial assumption — that there is a definable expertise (technē) of sophistry — is one Plato can hardly have shared, given his criteria for what counts as a technē. The chapter concludes that in the Sophist Plato shows both how close sophistry and true philosophy are, and also how they differ — all this without intending the reader to assume that the method of division has revealed any essence of sophistry, since there can be no such thing.
Brian Vickers
- Published in print:
- 1989
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198117919
- eISBN:
- 9780191671128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198117919.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This chapter shows that Plato's travesty of rhetoric influenced Kant, Croce, and continues to influence a majority of classicists and philosophers today. The chapter attempts to validate the ...
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This chapter shows that Plato's travesty of rhetoric influenced Kant, Croce, and continues to influence a majority of classicists and philosophers today. The chapter attempts to validate the Sophists, whose reputation has never recovered from the drubbing Plato gave it, drawing on Eric Havelock's sympathetic account of Protagoras, and making an evaluation of Isocrates. It appears that their school, with its conception of rhetoric as public debate in a society guaranteeing free speech — a debate in which both sides of the case are heard and those qualified to vote come to a decision binding on all parties — has much more to offer us than Plato's equation of it with cosmetics, cookery, and other more disreputable arts designed, according to him, to satisfy base pleasures rather than promote knowledge.Less
This chapter shows that Plato's travesty of rhetoric influenced Kant, Croce, and continues to influence a majority of classicists and philosophers today. The chapter attempts to validate the Sophists, whose reputation has never recovered from the drubbing Plato gave it, drawing on Eric Havelock's sympathetic account of Protagoras, and making an evaluation of Isocrates. It appears that their school, with its conception of rhetoric as public debate in a society guaranteeing free speech — a debate in which both sides of the case are heard and those qualified to vote come to a decision binding on all parties — has much more to offer us than Plato's equation of it with cosmetics, cookery, and other more disreputable arts designed, according to him, to satisfy base pleasures rather than promote knowledge.
Lloyd P. Gerson
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781501747250
- eISBN:
- 9781501747267
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501747250.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This chapter discusses Plato's critique of Naturalism. A metaphysics of the natural world as conceived of by Naturalists is quite different from a metaphysics of the natural world conceived of by ...
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This chapter discusses Plato's critique of Naturalism. A metaphysics of the natural world as conceived of by Naturalists is quite different from a metaphysics of the natural world conceived of by Platonists. For Naturalists, topics like identity, existence, cause, and time, all have to be approached as principles exclusively for knowledge of entities in a three or four-dimensional framework. By contrast, Plato assumes and Aristotle argues that identity is equivocally applied not just to artifacts and to things that exist in nature, but also to that which is immaterial. Plato's designation of the subject matter of philosophy as, roughly, “the intelligible world,” obviously excludes an extension of the term “philosophy” to that which is non-intelligible. But the sensible world, as Plato says in Republic, participates in the intelligible world in some way. Accordingly, insofar as it does, it belongs to the subject matter of philosophy. The difference between the natural scientist and the philosopher on this account is, as Plato says, that the former “hypothesizes” its foundations, while the latter grounds these in the “unhypothetical first principle.” The chapter then studies Socrates' “autobiography” in Phaedo, as well as the subject matter of philosophy in Republic, Theaetetus, and Sophist.Less
This chapter discusses Plato's critique of Naturalism. A metaphysics of the natural world as conceived of by Naturalists is quite different from a metaphysics of the natural world conceived of by Platonists. For Naturalists, topics like identity, existence, cause, and time, all have to be approached as principles exclusively for knowledge of entities in a three or four-dimensional framework. By contrast, Plato assumes and Aristotle argues that identity is equivocally applied not just to artifacts and to things that exist in nature, but also to that which is immaterial. Plato's designation of the subject matter of philosophy as, roughly, “the intelligible world,” obviously excludes an extension of the term “philosophy” to that which is non-intelligible. But the sensible world, as Plato says in Republic, participates in the intelligible world in some way. Accordingly, insofar as it does, it belongs to the subject matter of philosophy. The difference between the natural scientist and the philosopher on this account is, as Plato says, that the former “hypothesizes” its foundations, while the latter grounds these in the “unhypothetical first principle.” The chapter then studies Socrates' “autobiography” in Phaedo, as well as the subject matter of philosophy in Republic, Theaetetus, and Sophist.
Lloyd P. Gerson
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781501747250
- eISBN:
- 9781501747267
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501747250.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This chapter analyzes the Idea of the Good, the “unhypothetical first principle of all.” All Platonists have acknowledged the need for a first unifying metaphysical principle of all. That the need ...
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This chapter analyzes the Idea of the Good, the “unhypothetical first principle of all.” All Platonists have acknowledged the need for a first unifying metaphysical principle of all. That the need for such a principle is recognized in Plato's dialogues, in Aristotle's testimony, and in the indirect tradition was never doubted. Indeed, the Idea of the Good, in Republic, is held by Plato to be the focus of his philosophy. And because of its unique, superordinate, and comprehensive causal scope, it is the focus of his systematic philosophy. The chapter then explores the first principles in Parmenides, Sophist, Philebus, and Timaeus. It also considers Aristotle's account of the nature of the first principles and the evidence of the indirect tradition.Less
This chapter analyzes the Idea of the Good, the “unhypothetical first principle of all.” All Platonists have acknowledged the need for a first unifying metaphysical principle of all. That the need for such a principle is recognized in Plato's dialogues, in Aristotle's testimony, and in the indirect tradition was never doubted. Indeed, the Idea of the Good, in Republic, is held by Plato to be the focus of his philosophy. And because of its unique, superordinate, and comprehensive causal scope, it is the focus of his systematic philosophy. The chapter then explores the first principles in Parmenides, Sophist, Philebus, and Timaeus. It also considers Aristotle's account of the nature of the first principles and the evidence of the indirect tradition.
Robin Reames
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780226567013
- eISBN:
- 9780226567150
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226567150.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
The common view of language in the West is that it represents the world. Although it is widely recognized that this concept of language originates with Plato, until now, it has not been established ...
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The common view of language in the West is that it represents the world. Although it is widely recognized that this concept of language originates with Plato, until now, it has not been established how Plato invented this now ubiquitous understanding. Seeming and Being in Plato’s Rhetorical Theory illuminates how, over the course of several dialogues (Gorgias, Phaedrus, Protagoras, Theaetetus, Cratylus, Euthydemus, Republic, and Sophist), Plato creates the concept of language-as-statement in order to overpower the political influence of the sophists. This was the original determination that language could be either false or true, where the distinction between false and true rests on a deeper distinction between seeming and being, or appearance and reality—crucial determinations for Plato’s defeat of the sophists’ false speech. This innovation was made possible through common methods of rhetorical theory; namely, the analysis of written texts and the development of theoretical, meta-discursive vocabulary about discourse, or language about language. Through the linguistic analyses offered in the Republic, the Cratylus, and the Sophist, Plato develops his rhetorical taxonomy of mimêsis, onoma, rhêma, and logos—the terminological foundation for his rhetorical theory of the statement, and of statements being either true or false. In demonstrating how Plato invented what Michel Foucault famously called the “sovereignty of the signifier” this book overturns the common assumption that Plato was rhetoric’s most hostile critic. On the contrary, his rhetorical theory makes it possible for him to establish the sovereignty of the signifier over and against the sovereignty of the sophists.Less
The common view of language in the West is that it represents the world. Although it is widely recognized that this concept of language originates with Plato, until now, it has not been established how Plato invented this now ubiquitous understanding. Seeming and Being in Plato’s Rhetorical Theory illuminates how, over the course of several dialogues (Gorgias, Phaedrus, Protagoras, Theaetetus, Cratylus, Euthydemus, Republic, and Sophist), Plato creates the concept of language-as-statement in order to overpower the political influence of the sophists. This was the original determination that language could be either false or true, where the distinction between false and true rests on a deeper distinction between seeming and being, or appearance and reality—crucial determinations for Plato’s defeat of the sophists’ false speech. This innovation was made possible through common methods of rhetorical theory; namely, the analysis of written texts and the development of theoretical, meta-discursive vocabulary about discourse, or language about language. Through the linguistic analyses offered in the Republic, the Cratylus, and the Sophist, Plato develops his rhetorical taxonomy of mimêsis, onoma, rhêma, and logos—the terminological foundation for his rhetorical theory of the statement, and of statements being either true or false. In demonstrating how Plato invented what Michel Foucault famously called the “sovereignty of the signifier” this book overturns the common assumption that Plato was rhetoric’s most hostile critic. On the contrary, his rhetorical theory makes it possible for him to establish the sovereignty of the signifier over and against the sovereignty of the sophists.
David Bostock
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198239307
- eISBN:
- 9780191679889
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198239307.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the chronology of Plato' dialogues. It then goes on to compare the Theaetetus and the Sophist, followed by an analysis of the Meno. Finally, the ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the chronology of Plato' dialogues. It then goes on to compare the Theaetetus and the Sophist, followed by an analysis of the Meno. Finally, the chapter ponders on the question ‘What is Knowledge?’ which introduces the theme of Theaetetus.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the chronology of Plato' dialogues. It then goes on to compare the Theaetetus and the Sophist, followed by an analysis of the Meno. Finally, the chapter ponders on the question ‘What is Knowledge?’ which introduces the theme of Theaetetus.
