Lexicon Philosophicum: International Journal for the History of Texts and Ideas
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L’ATOMO DI LUCREZIO
Full text linkLucretius never uses the word atomus. There are no serious prosodic obstacles in inserting it into the hexameter; but, except for a senarius of Lucilius, atomus is testified only in seven late evidences of the whole Latin poetry. Perhaps Lucretius considers the mechanical character of indivisibility not a priority: atoms are indivisible because of their ‘continuous solidity’ (their ontological simplicitas/soliditas), and not vice vers
TRA TEOLOGIA NATURALE ED EVOLUZIONISMO. A PROPOSITO DI BADEN POWELL A PARTIRE DA UNA RECENTE MONOGRAFIA
Full text linkIn the following note I address the figure of the British theologian and mathematician Baden Powell (1796-1860), by drawing on an important monograph by Prof. Pietro Corsi recently published in Italian. Powell’s work responded to a cultural strategy of assimilation of philosophical and scientific novelties within a fundamentally conservative view of society. Here, I provide a brief sketch of Powell’s attempt to rethink natural theology in the light of the latest scientific hypotheses, including those regarding the evolution of living being
“LE ANIME SONO SANGUE” (REF. I 22,5 = 340 USENER). UNA TESTIMONIANZA 'IPPOLITEA' SULLA PSICOLOGIA DI EPICURO
Full text linkIn this paper I aim at analysing one passage of the Refutatio omnium haeresium (I 22, 5 = 340 Usener) to understand whether it is consistent with the Epicurean doctrine of soul. First, I provide an account of the historical context of the Refutatio. Secondly, I provide a comparison between the content of the passage and the Epicurean psychology. As a result, the theory according to which “souls are blood”, which occurs in the passage, appears to be inconsistent with the main Epicurean theories about the soul. Nevertheless, some doctrines which the author refers to are consistent with the Epicurean psychology. It is likely that the meaning of the theory of the soul-blood has to be understood in a metaphorical sense. Through this analogy the author probably aimed at showing the main features of Epicurus’ materialistic psychology, even if he diverges from it, consciously or not, in some essential elements
L’ORDITO DELLA VITA: ESPERIENZA DEL DIVINO NELLA POETICA DI ARISTOTELE
Full text linkThis paper articulates a comparison between the theory of athenian tragedy developed by Aristotle in the Poetics and the experience of athenian tragedy that this theory presupposes and preserves, despite its high level of abstraction. The purpose is to show that the katharsis refers to a peculiar experience (made by the spectator or by the reader of tragedy) based on the relationship between human and divine order, which is possible only under certain conditions and out of certain assumptions. The katharsis is not the result of a mechanical and physiological process of hydraulics of emotions. It should be understood and interpreted as the consequence of a specific type of understanding, pre-theoretical and experiential
GIUSTIZIA E POLITICA IN LEIBNIZ
Full text linkIn Leibniz’ writings the notion of justice (justitia, justice, Gerechtigkeit) performs a central function within the most varied spheres, from jurisprudence and politics, in the strict sense, to metaphysics. The fundamental categories of politics are conceived as the search for a common element among individuals belonging to a certain scenario. Light is shed on the relevance of the reference to Greek philosophy (in particular Plato). At the basis of Leibniz’ reasoning is an endeavour to recognize as far as possible the multiplicity of the social and political dimensions without reducing them to a single scheme. The aim, albeit with some internal difficulties, consists in understanding the individual-community relationship within the European context of the epoch, according to a partially different standpoint from that of contractualism (in particular Hobbes). In this sense justice is connected with the search for composite political bodies open to change
L’ordito della vita: esperienza del divino nella Poetica di Aristotele
No full textIn this paper is articulated a comparison between the theory of athenian tragedy developed by Aristotle in the Poetics and the experience of athenian tragedy that this theory presupposes and preserves, despite its high level of abstraction. The purpose is to show that the katharsis refers to an experience (made by the spectator or by the reader) of the peculiar relationship between a human and divine order, possible only under certain conditions and from certain assumptions. The katharsis is not the result of a mechanical and physiological process of hydraulics of emotions. It is rather to be understood and interpreted as the consequence of a specific type of understanding, pre-theoretical and experiential
PROGRESSO DELLA CIVILTA' E INVENTIO DELLA VERITA' IN LUCREZIO (DE RERUM NATURA I, 635-920)
Full text linkIn this paper I try to show the various needs and aims that lead Lucretius in DRN I, 635-920 to elaborate a critical reconstruction of the research on nature’s principles of Heraclitus, Empedocles and Anaxagoras. It is likely that the original source for DRN I, 635-920 included a discussion of Democritus’s thought, which, however, Lucretius excludes from his text. In order to understand the reasons for this exclusion it is necessary to recall first the progress of civilization we find in Book V; this allows us to emphasize how ancient research on nature developed with time, more and more approximating truth. Secondly, it is important to show that the emphasis on the progress of ideas imposed a decisive weight to pre-Epicurean doctrines in the discovery of truth. As unacceptable consequence the novelty of the Epicurus’ true philosophy it was obfuscated
FRA STORIA CIVILE E STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA. CONVERSANDO CON MICHELE CILIBERTO
Full text linkIn this interview Michele Ciliberto reflects on some important turning points of the Italian historiography. The focus is on the major interpretations of the Renaissance, but he also takes the opportunity to offer a larger view on modern Italian philosophy and culture in the second half of the 20th centur
RECENTI PUBBLICAZIONI DELL'EDIZIONE SAEMTLICHE SCHRIFTEN UND BRIEFE DI GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNIZ
Full text linkThis note briefly describes the critical edition of Leibniz’s works and presents the recent volumes published in several series dedicated to Leibniz’s correspondence and writings. The progressive publication provides opportunities for discoveries and intellectual interpretations of the complex personality of the German thinker
THE WORLD DIGITAL LIBRARY
Full text linkThe World Digital Library is a partnership project, led by the Library of Congress and supported by UNESCO, in which libraries, archives, and museums contribute high resolution digital versions of their most important cultural and historical documents. The main purpose of the project is of preserving copies and information contained in documents at risk of destruction. Here is reported on the 2014 Annual Partner Meeting held in Rome focused on the educational aspects of the World Digital Librar