In his Encomium of Helen, Gorgias provides us with a variety of arguments in order to show that Helen was not to be held accountable for having eloped with Paris. The main thesis advanced in this article is that these arguments, despite their apparent diversity, are given a unitary structure by the concept of force, and by the analogy that Gorgias estalishes between persuasion, the emotions, and sense-perception on the one hand, and this concept on the other. If this argument (...) is successful, it shows that practically none of our actions are such that we are morally responsible for them. I discuss the cogency of this argument in connection with Aristotle’s objections to it. (shrink)

The Helen of Gorgias is designed to provoke the aspiring speaker to consider his relationship with society as a whole. The speech's extreme claims regarding the power of logos reflect simplistic ideas about speaker-audience relations current among Gorgias' target audience, ideas reflected in an interpretive stance towards model speeches that privileges method over truth. The Helen pretends to encourage this conception of logos and interpretive stance in order to expose the intense desire and naïve credulity that drive a coolly technical (...) appraisal of model speeches. The Helen thus manifests, with a playfulness suited to its liminal position, a concern for the ethical and social formation of those who might accept the invitation to study logos. (shrink)

Contemporary moral philosophy is split between an inherently a-historical moral philosophy/theory on the one hand and a growing interest in moral history and the historicity of morality on the other. In between these, the very moments of moral change are often left insufficiently attended to and under-theorized. Yet moral change is, arguably, one of the defining features of present day moral frameworks, and thus one of the main things we need to make sense of in moral philosophy. In this paper, (...) I present an account of moral change through the use of three metaphors: the tipping point, the bargaining table and the strong rope. I suggest these as coordinates for the development of a full-blown, historically sensitive conception of morality. (shrink)

First and foremost, this contribution offers a structural and rhetorical reading of the debates on the third day between Clement and Appion in the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies and shows that there is a well-considered rhetorical ring structure in their disputes. Connected with this first point, the suggested reading will unravel how Clement and Appion use and manipulate their sophisticated rhetoric, linked to this particular structure. This is well worth considering since these debates deal with Greek paideia, which means culture and above (...) all education, of which rhetorical education forms part. The rhetorical features will be displayed as a fine product of the rhetorical and even sophistic background in Late Antiquity. Clement, moreover, will present himself as a master in rhetoric against Appion, who is presented as a sophist and grammarian in the novel. Finally, the focus on the narrative structure of and the rhetorical dynamics in Hom. 6. will contribute to a better understanding of these disputes between Appion and Clement and their function in the novel generally. (shrink)

En el ensayo se propone una reflexión crítica sobre los presupuestos lógicos de la categoría de igualdad y sus ambivalencias. A una premisa teórica, que enmarca los términos de lo que se configura como un problema conceptual, seguirá una breve reconstrucción histórico-filosófica, que tiene el objetivo de arrojar luz sobre cómo podemos, leyendo a un clásico, repensar críticamente las premisas teóricas de la igualdad normativa a través de una recuperación de la valorización aristotélica de la dimensión cognitiva y moral de (...) emociones como la cólera y la indignación. (shrink)

The aim of the present article is to analyse the Apology in its aspect of time. When defending himself against the charges, Socrates appeals to the past, the present and the future. Furthermore, the philosopher stresses the meaning of the duration of time. Thus, the seems to suggest that all really important activities demand a long time to benefit, since they are almost invariably connected with greater efforts. While the dialogue proves thereby to be an ethical one, the various time (...) expressions also gain an ethical dimension. (shrink)

Los últimos cursos de M. Foucault en el Collège de France prestaron especial atención a la noción de parrhesía y su papel en la tragedia y la filosofía griega para revisar los tratamientos sobre el poder y la verdad. Dichos desarrollos pueden ser teóricamente enriquecidos con el estudio de la figura de Alcibíades y su tematización en el entorno del círculo socrático. Este horizonte mostrará la potencia de sugerencias de Foucault poco atendidas que señalan el camino de investigaciones pendientes e (...) iluminan a la vez la antigüedad y la filosofía contemporánea. (shrink)

This paper aims to reconsider the so-called ‘comic heroism’ in Aristophanes’ extant plays. The comic hero does not always express the collective self-image, like Dicaeopolis in Acharnians and Trygaios in Peace; Knights, as early as 424 bc, is a telling instance of Aristophanes’ will to introduce a much more nuanced picture of both the imaginary and the real Athens. Clouds and Wasps also provide further variations. But the real turning point comes in 414 with Birds, whose much disputed political meaning (...) deserves the closest attention. After the ambiguous, disquieting Peisetaerus, comic heroes will not entirely disappear from Aristophanic comedy, yet their nature will never be the same again. Good ideas may come from a clever woman, a cowardly god, or even Apollo’s shrine, no longer from the Attic ‘common man’ of the earlier plays. The political evolution of Athens during the Peloponnesian War appears to have altered Aristophanes’ trust in some kind of ‘saviour’ emerging from the erratic mass of Athenian male citizens. (shrink)

This article offers a speculative analysis of emerging modalities and methods of creating within contemporary political performance made by British millennial artists that I argue have arisen in response to specific socio-economic, political and philosophical crises affecting us. By locating the term ‘millennial’ as a structure of feeling, as per Raymond Williams, I argue that, despite the inherent hypocrisy of generational research, the impact of these crises upon members of the generation has led particular artists to create empathetic dialogues between (...) audience and performer. This article also argues that the emerging concept of metamodernism, popularised by Timotheus Vermeulen and Robin van den Akker, is inherent in understanding this reading of the millennial, and descriptive of particular ethical and aesthetic developments within millennial, political theatre. This article argues that these developments are in a direct response to the metamodern shift towards the essence of progress and truth as acts and ideas that also necessitate and propel constant crisis, oscillation and dialogue. (shrink)

The Republic presents the sophist in three ways: through an example, an abstract description in Book Six, and an image. Thrasymachus presents a coherent understanding of justice and is not inconsistent, as some commentators have argued. Both the philosopher and the sophist are intellectuals who value wisdom, but on Socrates’ account, the sophist equates the necessary with the good. The philosopher separates the necessary and the good, and orients himself to a truth outside of himself. However, the Republic suggests that (...) there is no meta-philosophical position by which the philosopher and the sophist can be judged. The separation of the philosopher from the sophist makes sense only from the viewpoint of the philosopher. Socrates’ emphasis on the incompleteness of wisdom also suggests that the philosopher’s understanding of his own activity must remain open to change. (shrink)