In celebration of Newton da Costa’s place in the history of paraconsistency, this paper considers the use and abuse of deliberate self-contradiction. Beginning with Parmenides, developed by Plato, and continued by Cicero, an ancient philosophical tradition used deliberately paraconsistent discourses to reveal the truth. In modern times, decisionism has used deliberate self-contradiction against Judeo-Christian revelation. • DOI:10.5007/1808-1711.2010v14n1p1.

In cod. 212 of his Bibliotheca, Photius provides some information of great importance for our scanty knowledge of Pyrrhonian scepticism between Timon and Sextus.

In cod. 212 of his Bibliotheca, Photius provides some information of great importance for our scanty knowledge of Pyrrhonian scepticism between Timon and Sextus.

Celebrando o papel de Newton da Costa na história da paraconsistência, este trabalho examina o uso e abuso da deliberada auto-contradição. Iniciado por Parmênides, desenvolvido por Platão, e continuado por Cícero, uma antiga tradição filosófica usava deliberadamente discursos paraconsistentes para revelar a verdade. Nos tempos modernos, o decisionismo tem usado uma deliberada auto-contradição contra a revelação Judaico-Cristã. DOI:10.5007/1808-1711.2010v14n1p1.

This short paper is a critical note of the recent volume on the pseudo-Platonic dialogue Axiochus edited by A. Beghini ([Platone], Assioco. Saggio introduttivo, edizione critica, traduzione e commento, Baden-Baden: Academia Verlag, 2020). This scholar assumes the possibility of attributing the dialogue to Philo of Larissa or his circle. This hypothesis, although well argued in the book, faces some exegetical difficulties concerning the content of the dialogue and the hardly reconstructible philosophy of Philo himself. In this note I will critically (...) discuss the conclusions reached by Beghini in his prestigious book starting from the (alleged) sceptical vein which would be present in the pseudo-Platonic work, whose dating likely presupposes (also) the Epicurean conception of death. (shrink)

Around 87b.c.during the turmoil of the first Mithridatic war, Philo of Larissa, head of the so-called Fourth Academy, fled from Athens to Rome. There he gave lectures on philosophical topics and taught rhetoric. His classes were attended by a young man called Cicero, who was inspired by him to include in a work on rhetorical theory, somewhat inappropriately, a fervent confession of scepticism to which he stuck for the rest of his life. Later Cicero claimed to be—as an orator—not a (...) product of the workshops of the teachers of rhetoric, but of the spacious walks of the Academy. And he developed the ideal of the philosopher-orator. Scholars disagree whether the idea to bring philosophy and rhetoric together is Cicero's own invention or an adaptation from someone else, for instance Philo. (shrink)

This paper analyzes the apraxia argument in Cicero’s Academica. It proposes that the argument assumes two modes: the evidential mode maintains that skepticism is false, while the pragmatic claims that it is disadvantageous. The paper then develops a tension between the two modes, and concludes by exploring some differences between ancient and contemporary skepticism.

The present paper focuses on some aspects of the Neoplatonist literary-metaphysical theory, which has clearly been expressed in the anony­mous Prolegomena to Plato’s philosophy and further confirmed in Proclus’ exegesis of the Timaeus. Thus, this contribution, examines and compares several passages from the Prolegomena and from Proclus’ Commentary on the Timaeus with a view to showing that it is legiti­mate to speak of a certain cosmogony of the Platonic dialogue that is analogous to that of the macrocosm. Moreover, the analogy (...) between macrocosm and microcosm makes it possible to further investigate the similarity between the λόγος-ζῷον of the Demiurge and that of Timaeus, on the one hand, and the reality which the λόγος expresses, on the other. This similarity turns out to be both structural/morphological and content-related/semantic. Thus, by combining the natural and theo­logical science, the analysis of the “generation” of the macrocosm and microcosm brings out the strongly analogical nature of Plato’s dialogues, which is particularly visible in the Timaeus. (shrink)

This article shows how the public inscriptions of Hellenistic poleis, especially decrees in honor of leading citizens, illuminate Greek ethical thinking, including wider debates about questions of central importance for Greek ethical philosophers. It does so by comparing decrees' rhetoric with the ethical language and doctrines of different ancient philosophical schools. Whereas some scholars identify ethical views comparable to Stoic ideas in Hellenistic decrees, this article argues that there are more significant overlaps, especially in decrees from Asia Minor dating to (...) after 150 BC, with fourth-century BC ethical philosophy, especially Aristotle's, and its Hellenistic continuators. The overlaps between decrees and philosophers' approaches had complex, diverse causes, probably sometimes including philosophical education and influence. Comparison of philosophy and epigraphy shows that, in the same way as the polis continued to flourish after Chaironeia, critical reflection about the ethical foundations of civic life also remained vibrant, among both philosophers and citizens. (shrink)

In this paper, I explore the origins of the ‘problem of universals’. I argue that the problem has come to be badly formulated and that consideration of it has been impeded by falsely supposing that Platonic Forms were ever intended as an alternative to Aristotelian universals. In fact, the role that Forms are supposed by Plato to fulfill is independent of the function of a universal. I briefly consider the gradual mutation of the problem in the Academy, in Alexander of (...) Aphrodisias, and among some of the major Neoplatonic commentators on Aristotle, including Porphyry and Boethius. (shrink)

’χεδημα ἢ νν ’ακαδημα καλομνη. Latte's obelization is unnecessary. The form finds confirmation in a text from which I this one may itself derive, a fragment of Dicaearchus' βος ϳελλδος preserved by Plutarch: δ Δικααχος ’μοε φησ κα ναρθο σστρατεσντων ττε τς τνδαρδαις ξ ’ αρκαδας, φ’ ο μν ’χεδημαν προσαγορεθναι τν νν ’ακαδμειαν, φ’ ο δ ναραθνα τν Δμομ, πιδιδντοντος πιδιδντν κτσως κατ τι λγιον σφαγιον σφαγισασθαι πρ τς παατξως.

’χεδημα ἢ νν ’ακαδημα καλομνη. Latte's obelization is unnecessary. The form finds confirmation in a text from which I this one may itself derive, a fragment of Dicaearchus' βος ϳελλδος preserved by Plutarch: δ Δικααχος ’μοε φησ κα ναρθο σστρατεσντων ττε τς τνδαρδαις ξ ’ αρκαδας, φ’ ο μν ’χεδημαν προσαγορεθναι τν νν ’ακαδμειαν, φ’ ο δ ναραθνα τν Δμομ, πιδιδντοντος πιδιδντν κτσως κατ τι λγιον σφαγιον σφαγισασθαι πρ τς παατξως.

El objetivo de este artículo es reconstruir el contenido y los métodos de enseñanza del platonismo en el siglo II. Para tal propósito, el Didaskalikós de Alcínoo será el instrumento principal del que nos sirvamos para delimitar el origen, influencias y convergencias del platonismo medio, junto a otros textos paralelos en cronología y contenido. La supervivencia de esta obra completa nos ofrece una excelente oportunidad de reconstruir de manera precisa el carácter general del platonismo medio como una de las épocas (...) más cruciales – y a la vez más desconocidas- en el desarrollo y expansión del platonismo. Las obras de Apuleyo, Ario Didimo, Numenio de Apamea, el Comentario anónimo del Teeteto y Antíoco de Ascalón serán las fuentes que nos ayuden a completar el contenido del Didaskalikós como manual fundamental de enseñanza del platonismo en el siglo II. (shrink)