Lexicon Philosophicum: International Journal for the History of Texts and Ideas
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HELLENISTIC PYTHAGOREAN EPISTEMOLOGY
Full text linkThe paper offers a running commentary on ps-Archytas’ On Intellect and Sense Perception, with the aim to provide a clear description of Hellenistic/post-Hellenistic Pythagorean epistemology. Through an analysis of the process of knowledge and of the faculties that this involves, ps-Archytas presents an original epistemological theory which, although grounded in Aristotelian and Platonic theories, results in a peculiar Pythagorean criteriology that accounts for the acquisition and production of knowledge, as well as for the specific competences of each cognitive faculty
ANCORA SULLO STATUTO VERITATIVO DELLA SENSAZIONE IN EPICURO
Full text linkThe main goals of this article are, on the one hand, to show the peculiar features of the Epicurean view of sense-perception (aisthesis), the first criterion of truth of Epicurus’ canonic; and, on the other hand, to critically discuss a recent contribution by Alexander Bown (“Epicurus on Truth and Falsehood”, Phronesis, 61 (4), 2016, p. 463-503), which deals with Epicurus’ double notion of truth (i.e. the truth of sense-perceptions/aistheseis and the truth of opinions/hypolepseis). Besides Book 10 of Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of Eminent Philosophers and Epicurus’ Letter to Herodotus, columns LXXII-LXXIII of PHerc. 1012 (including a work by the Epicurean philosopher Demetrius Lacon) and a passage from Sextus Empiricus’ Against the Logicians (M, VIII, 9) will be examined in order to explain the meaning of truth linked by Epicurus to perceptible objects (aistheta)
L’EPISTEMOLOGIA DELLA MEDICINA ELLENISTICA
Full text linkErophilus’ contribution to medical epistemology chiefly lies in his refusal to pursue the philosophy of nature, a refusal intended to ensure the autonomy of medicine. Medical theory must be limited to the field of observable phenomena, especially via anatomical dissection, and must avoid any discussion on the primary elements of matter. This approach was ultimately to pave the way to empiricism, which rejected anatomy itself, and was developed within the Erophilean school despite the rationalism of its founder. Erasistratus carried the rationalistic program further, starting with the drawing of a distinction between two levels of medicine, namely the scientific (aetiology and physiology) and the stochastic (diagnosis and therapy). Erasistratus’ main effort consisted in the systematic fine-tuning of the theory of physiology: it required the introduction of structures (triplokia, anastomosis) empirically unobservable but whose assumption was imposed by theory, making them “rationally observable” (logoi theoreta). In this way, Erasistratus was also able to make diagnosis and therapy somehow deducible from aetiology and physiology, thus completing the rationalist project. The models according to which Erasistratus conceived of structures and somatic processes were largely derived from contemporary Hellenistic technology, both mechanical, and hydraulic and pneumatic
THEORIES OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE OLD ACADEMY
Full text linkThe task of identifying the particular epistemological theories of the members of the old Academy is not an easy one, by reason of the general lack of evidence, but, at least in the case of Speusippus and Xenocrates, some insights are derivable. In both cases what we can observe is – while doubtless acknowledging the inferior status of sense-perception – a concern, in the case of Speusippus, to arrive at a criterion of accuracy in the perception of sense objects, namely by applying logos to raw sense-data, thus achieving epistemonike aisthesis; and in the case of Xenocrates, the application of his theory of minimal parts to the elucidation of the process of aisthesi
LA MUSICA IN ETÀ ELLENISTICA
Full text linkThis paper focuses on two authors, who respectively represent music as a specific discipline and philosophical reflection on music in the Hellenistic Age. The first part of this article is devoted to the Sectio canonis deriving from the 4th and 3rd century BC Pythagorean or Academic tradition, although it is erroneously attributed to Euclid; the second part is about Diogenes of Babylon, a well-known spokesperson of Late Stoicism who was the maxima auctoritas in the musical field in his school. Diogenes’ position cannot be explained without taking into account the harsh criticism by Philodemus of Gadara, the 1st-century Epicurean philosopher who was one of the most important proponents of the theoretical interests and argumentative methods of the philosophical tradition against music
EPICUREAN THEORIES OF KNOWLEDGE FROM HERMARCHUS TO LUCRETIUS AND PHILODEMUS
Full text linkThe aim of this paper is to trace the development of Epicurean epistemology from the death of Epicurus in 270 BCE to the latter part of the first century BCE. The story gains interest from the fact that these Epicureans were, as would be expected, scrupulously loyal to the doctrines of their founder as they interpreted these, but at the same time found themselves obliged to elaborate and strengthen the inferential methodology he had bequeathed, initially in order to resist the sceptical critiques of the New Academy, and later in order to justify their school’s empiricism in opposition to the rationalistic Stoic theory of inferential validity. The protagonists are Colotes, Polystratus, Timasagoras, Zeno of Sidon, Philodemus and Lucretius, with Cicero an important witness
ARCESILAUS: SOCRATIC SKEPTICISM IN PLATO’S ACADEMY
Full text linkThe fundamental issue regarding Arcesilaus’ skepticism is whether it should be understood as a philosophical position or as a strictly dialectical practice with no doctrinal content. In this paper I argue that it is both by providing an account of the epistemic principles informing his practice along with a positive doxastic attitude that he may consistently take towards those principles. I further show how Arcesilaus may have reasonably derived his Socratic project, including the epistemic principles and his distinctive cognitive attitude, from his reading of Plato’s dialogues, and that this approach enables us to better understand the function of his practical criterion, the reasonable (to eulogon). And finally, I note that since Arcesilaus’ great successor Carneades confronts the same problem regarding the coherence of his Socratic project, a similar interpretative approach may be taken to his practical criterion, the persuasive (to pithanon)
PERIPATETIC EPISTEMOLOGY AFTER ARISTOTLE: THEORISING KNOWLEDGE FROM THEOPHRASTUS TO ARISTOCLES
Full text linkThis paper assesses the evidence for Peripatetic epistemology after Aristotle, in particular how the Peripatetics dealt with their Aristotelian heritage. It examines the fragmentary remains of Peripatetic works between the death of Aristotle and the first century BCE. The account attempts to reconstruct some of the views in logical works and those sources which were inspired in part by Aristotle’s wide-ranging views on knowledge acquisition and justification. Apart from Theophrastus, the main figures discussed (including some of their interactions with other thinkers) are Strato of Lampsacus, Hieronymus of Rhodes, Aristo of Ceos, Critolaus, Boethus of Sidon and Aristocles of Messene
LA RAPPRESENTAZIONE CATALETTICA NELLA STOA POST-CRISIPPEA
Full text linkThe article aims to evaluate some appreciable contributions by post-Chrysippean Stoics to the theory of cognitive (kataleptic) impression and its role as a criterion of truth. The inquiry focuses on two testimonies: Sextus Empiricus, M, VII, 253-257, where we find a significant variation – introduced by some ‘recent Stoics’ – of the ancient Stoic theory of the clauses that an impression is supposed to satisfy in order to be considered not only kataleptic, i.e. worthy of assent, but also a criterion of truth; and PBerol. inv. 16545 containing the version of the theory of clauses of the cognitive impression developed by Antipater of Tarsus