Il est apparu que le dernier mot n'avait pas ete dit sur ce texte de Porphyre, capital pour notre connaissance de la personne et de l'ecole de Plotin, et plus largement de la vie philosophique au IIIe siecle de notre ere. Car on est en presence d'un document dont la simplicite est illusoire: la traduction meme en est herissee de difficultes, qui, dans nombre de cas, semblent avoir jusqu'ici echappe a l'attention; d'autre part, la valeur historique de cette biographie, indubitable (...) en apparence, ne cesse en verite de faire probleme par suite de l'application de Porphyre a se donner en toute circonstance le beau role. De telles considerations, et d'autres encore, ont donne a penser que l'on ne perdrait pas son temps en reprenant l'etude de ce vieux texte sur des bases entierement nouvelles. (shrink)

ABSTRACTStudies examining the interpretation that is given to if–then statementstypically use what are referred to as basic conditionals, which give contextless relations between two unrelated concrete terms. However, there is some evidence that basic conditionals require a more abstract form of representation. In order to examine this, we presented participants with truth-table tasks involving either basic conditionals or conditionals referring to imaginary categories, and standard conditional inference tasks with abstract and familiar premises. As expected, fewer typical defective conditional interpretations were (...) given to basic conditionals. In addition, partial correlations showed a unique relationship between the interpretation of basic conditionals and abstract inferential reasoning. Results suggest that people process basic conditionals as a form of abstract reasoning, and that the interpretation of conditionals... (shrink)

This study explains how the myths of Greece and Rome were transmitted from antiquity to the Renaissance. Luc Brisson argues that philosophy was ironically responsible for saving myth from historical annihilation. Although philosophy was initially critical of myth because it could not be declared true or false and because it was inferior to argumentation, mythology was progressively reincorporated into philosophy through allegorical exegesis. Brisson shows to what degree allegory was employed among philosophers and how it enabled myth to (...) take on a number of different interpretive systems throughout the centuries: moral, physical, psychological, political, and even metaphysical. How Philosophers Saved Myths also describes how, during the first years of the modern era, allegory followed a more religious path, which was to assume a larger role in Neoplatonism. Ultimately, Brisson explains how this embrace of myth was carried forward by Byzantine thinkers and artists throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance after the triumph of Chistianity, Brisson argues, myths no longer had to agree with just history and philosophy but the dogmas of the Church as well. (shrink)

Les etudes ici reunies rendent compte de ce que furent le contexte historique et litteraire de la redaction des dialogues platoniciens, puis de la maniere dont leur auteur a choisi de confronter sa philosophie a la mythologie, afin de mener une enquete sur le monde, l'ame et la cite. Ces lectures veulent prendre ainsi la mesure de ce qui nous eloigne aujourd'hui de Platon, mais suggerer encore qu'une histoire de la philosophie qui cherche a s'affranchir de l'anachronisme trace un chemin (...) vers la philosophie. (shrink)

The word myth is commonly thought to mean a fictional story, but few know that Plato was the first to use the term muthos in that sense. He also used muthos to describe the practice of making and telling stories, the oral transmission of all that a community keeps in its collective memory. In the first part of Plato the Myth Maker , Luc Brisson reconstructs Plato's multifaceted description of muthos in light of the latter's Atlantis story. The second (...) part of the book contrasts this sense of myth with another form of speech that Plato believed was far superior: the logos of philosophy. Gerard Naddaf's substantial introduction shows the originality and importance both of Brisson's method and of Plato's analysis and places it in the context of contemporary debates over the origin and evolution of the oral tradition. "[Brisson] contrasts muthos with the logos found at the heart of the philosophical reading. [He] does an excellent job of analyzing Plato's use of the two speech forms, and the translator's introduction does considerable service in setting the tone."-- Library Journal. (shrink)

Edition de l'ensemble des quarante-cinq dialogues de Platon et de seize dialogues attribués ou apocryphes. Avec une introduction générale.

Neoplatonic Demons and Angels is a collection of studies which examine the place reserved for angels and demons not only by the main Neoplatonic philosophers, but also in Gnosticism, the Chaldaean Oracles and Christian Neoplatonism.

Platon, comme tout philosophe, a tenté de résoudre des problèmes en forgeant des concepts. Plutôt qu'à des termes, dont bon nombre n'ont pas de stricts et uniques équivalents en français, ce sont à ces concepts (la connaissance, les formes intelligibles, l'âme) que nous avons consacré les notices qui suivent, en privilégiant ceux dont l'élaboration puis l'usage occupent l'ensemble ou la majeure partie de l'œuvre. Les commentateurs anciens qui enseignaient Platon comme on ravive un ensemble de vérités incontestables s'intéressaient plus que (...) tout à la manière dont celui qu'ils tenaient pour le Philosophe avait exposé ces vérités. Ils cherchaient dans les dialogues une méthodologie du vrai. Notre platonisme, bien qu'invétéré, a pris une forme plus moderne : nous avons tenté de montrer comment Platon travaillait un discours de manière à satisfaire ce désir de savoir dont il voulait faire le sujet de la vie bonne. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Journal of the History of Philosophy 41.3 (2003) 410-411 [Access article in PDF] S. P. Ward. Penology and Eschatology in Plato's Myths. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2002. Pp. v + 295. Cloth, $99.95.In this work the author begins by asking himself the following question: What is an eschatological myth? The adjective "eschatological" indicates that the discourse it qualifies is concerned with the last things; that is, death and (...) the judgment of souls that follows it. Hence, the relation that may be established between eschatology understood in this sense and penology, which refers to the punishments the soul undergoes at the end of its earthly existence. As far as the meaning of 'myth' is concerned, the author, influenced by G. S. Kirk (The Nature of Greek Myths [Penguin, 1974]), adopts a relativist position. He does not think it possible to give a general definition; therefore, he limits himself to pointing out some of the characteristics of this type of discourse, on the basis of passages from the Platonic corpus which are usually considered as myths.Having set his analytical tools in place, the author proposes a commentary on the eschatological myths at the end of the Gorgias (523a-527e), at the end of the Phaedo (107c-115a), at the end of Republic X (614b-621d), in the Phaedrus (246a-249d), in some parts of the Timaeus (42b-d, 91a-92c), and in the Laws (903a-905d). He then examines the relations between penology and eschatology in the dialogues of the first period, the intermediary period, and old age.Although Plato takes his inspiration from traditional myths, those that appear in the dialogues are distinguished from traditional myths by two features: a scientific background, which indicates an influence from the Presocratics; and the role played by elements proper [End Page 410] to the Platonic doctrine. The insertion of considerations of a scientific nature into myths makes them more credible, but is not enough to make them into true discourses. Thus, the question of the relation in Plato between these myths and his philosophical doctrine remains open. Nevertheless, and although it is sometimes difficult to justify particular points in the myths, it is still true that we can note a great deal of coherence between what they recount and the ethical questions developed in the dialogues in which they appear.In spite of this consistency, one observes an evolution in the way these myths are presented. In the Gorgias, the punishments inflicted on the soul by the gods are presented as intended to make the soul better. The idea of reincarnation plays no role here, but it is present in the Phaedo. In this dialogue, however, the question arises of how to harmonize reincarnation with post-mortem punishments which, because of it, no longer seem to be necessary. In the Republic, emphasis is placed instead on the role of individual responsibility in the process of reincarnation. The Phaedrus continues in this direction, but is characterized by its allusions to the theory of intelligible forms. In the Timaeus, by contrast, Plato abandons the theme of a way of life and that of the judgment of souls, for a vision of the process of reincarnation that is integrated, not without difficulty, within a cosmological vision. The Laws continue along this path.This analysis shows that Plato evolved on questions of eschatology and penology, even if he did not radically change his mind. Yet there is one point on which he never varied: even if he did not establish precise frontiers between science and religion, Plato never thought his myths to be true discourses, but he always considered their capacity for ethical edification and their pedagogical value.This work is clear and well structured. It is completed by a bibliography and a general index, is easy to read, and presents a genuine usefulness. One also notes, on the part of the author, a good overall knowledge of the whole of Greek literature, from the origins to the end of Antiquity. Nevertheless, three criticisms may be made: (1) This publication merely reproduces the format... (shrink)

Looks at Plato's theory of the cosmos, as well as what earlier Greeks thought of the makeup of the universe. Original.

This chapter contains sections titled: Going Beyond Nature in Order to Explain it Technē, epistēmē and alēthēs doxa Mathematics, pure and applied Observation and Experimental Verification Bibliography.

When, in Plato’s Parmenides 155e4–157b5, Parmenides refers to the instant (ἐξαίφνης), he is alluding to a paradox of Zeno, and not to an argument of Plato. Thus, in the second part of the Parmenides, the speaker is a fair representation of the historical Parmenides, and not a figment of Plato’s imagination.

Les lettres présentent, par rapport au reste de l'œuvre de Platon, un double intérêt : là seulement le philosophe parle à la première personne, là seulement il se décrit en action. Les Lettres nous présentent un autre Platon que celui des dialogues, celui qui, tout jeune homme, veut jouer un rôle politique à Athènes et qui, plus tard, cherche à réaliser à Syracuse les projets politiques qu'on trouve exposés d'abord dans la République, puis dans le Politique et dans les Lois. (...) Par là, Platon ouvre une tradition qui se maintiendra après lui, comme en font foi, entre autres, les exemples de Descartes auprès de Christine de Suède, de Voltaire auprès de Frédéric II de Prusse ou de Diderot auprès de Catherine II de Russie : celui du philosophe conseiller du chef d'Etat. (shrink)

Les Eléments de théologie de Proclus constituent un monument philosophique radicalement singulier tant par son architecture propre que par la façon dont la tradition l'a revisité. Ordonnant, sous une forme géométrique, les principes de la métaphysique néoplatonicienne, ils ont à la fois constitué celle-ci en système et opéré comme le principal relais de sa transmission aux pensées byzantine, arabe et occidentale. Ce sont ces effets d'héritage et d'adaptation que les textes ici réunis visent à évaluer. Du Liber de causis à (...) Hegel en passant par Thomas d'Aquin, Dietrich de Freiberg, Giordano Bruno, les Platoniciens de Cambridge et Leibniz, se reconstitue ainsi une a grande chaîne des "êtres", réarticulée par la chaîne des raisons, et à chaque fois revivifiée par celle de la transmission. (shrink)

These are inventions of the human mind. The scientific knowledge of the universe is entirely composed in a series of axioms and rules of inference underlying a formalized system.

“Teleology,” a word invented in 1728 by Christian Wolff, has become a magic formula among those who are interested in Plato, Aristotle, and even the Stoics. Among our contemporaries, “teleology” in fact enables modern physical theories based on mechanical necessity to be opposed to ancient explanations that try to master chance by means of a good and benevolent intellect. The question in this paper will be to determine whether this explanation, which refers above all to Aristotle’s doctrine of causes and (...) more precisely to the final cause, can be found in Plato’s Timaeus. (shrink)

In the Corpus Hippocraticum and in tragedy, γκος is difficult to translate, for it corresponds to a very primitive notion, intuitively implying a confusion between two aspects that were gradually distinguished: 1) a thing's bulk or extension, and 2) an appreciation, as a function of its bulk and its extension, of the load represented by this thing, or its weight. This explains why the term usually designates something that has a certain mass. As an indefinite quantity of formless matter, this (...) is probably a notion which was used by medio-Platonists, strongly influenced by Stoicism, to understand matter the Timaeus . In Plotinus' polemic against the Stoics, γκος, which refers to a magnitude with resistance bereft of qualities, is thus situated at a level intermediate between matter (λη), bereft of all determination, and the body (σμα), which is endowed with magnitude and qualities. In the Sentences , Porphyry uses the term γκος 30 times in its technical sense, almost as often as Plotinus in the whole of the Enneads . This is probably because he felt uncomfortable with Plotinus' notion of matter bereft of all determination, including magnitude. (shrink)

Comme Yvon Lafrance l'indique dans les deux premières lignes de son introduction: « Il n'existe aucune étude en français sur la théorie platonicienne de la doxa ». En ce domaine, la recherche a été Presque exclusivement le fait de platonisants allemands. D'où l'importance du livre de Yvon Lafrance, qui renouvelle la problématique sur la doxa en la situant dans un contexte intellectuel tout à fait original, celui d'un Français d'Amérique du Nord qui, dans ses recherches sur Platon, tient compte à (...) la fois du courant analytique anglo-saxon, dont l'importance quantitative et qualitative n'a cessé de croître depuis les années cinquante, et du courant historique « continental », allemand et français surtout. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Plotinus as Head of a School Plotinus' Treatises in the Enneads A Platonic Commentator in a Stoic World Some Doctrinal Elements The Organization of the Universe The Goals of the Human Soul Bibliography.

Thomas More’s 1516 Utopia describes a ‘fictitious’ republic on an imaginary island, and draws heavily on ancient political ideas. This paper explores the difficulties of applying the term ‘utopia’ to Plato’s political thinking, given that More’s term is anachronistically applied to ancient texts. The projects of the Republic and Laws should not be interpreted as ‘utopian’, but as blueprints for a foundation such as a new city, rather than as imagined ideal cities after More’s model. Support for Plato’s practical involvement (...) in matters of political foundation is drawn from the Seventh Letter. The Republic and the Laws are discussed not as utopias, but political manifestos. The political context in which Plato lived, and his objectives, gives his political writings a wholly different dimension. The goal of the Republic and the Laws is not to describe unrealizable constitutions, but to exchange the Athenian constitution of Plato’s time for another. (shrink)

Es necesario enfocar escépticamente las pocas referencias a Pitágoras y los pitagóricos contenidas en los diálogos de Platón, pues resulta difícil tomar la medida efectiva de una influencia pitagórica sobre el ateniense. De hecho, las únicas referencias explícitas a Pitágoras (Rep. X 600a-b) y a los pitagóricos (Rep. VII 530c-531a) no nos dicen mucho y, respecto a los personajes tradicionalmente considerados pitagóricos, nuestra información es poco fiable, incierta y a veces contradictoria. Tal prudencia es particularmente útil en el caso de (...) Timeo y del personaje homónimo de este diálogo, cuyo pitagorismo, aunque ampliamente aceptado por los comentaristas, parece muy discutible. Así sólo la aplicación de un método histórico prudente y lúcido puede evitar esta deriva que identifica como pitagórico toda referencia a la transmigración del alma y las matemáticas en sentido amplio. (shrink)

The anecdote recounted by Aristoxenus, who claims to be reporting Aristotle’s words, has been used by several interpreters to maintain the existence of a doctrine of the Good reserved for the members of the Academy, and transmitted orally, after the model of Pythagorean teaching. Yet a close analysis of these few lines shows that this interpretation has no basis : instead, what is at issue is a reading, for a broad audience, of a text corresponding to a doctrine of the (...) good that can be found in the Republic and the Laws. (shrink)

Plato was the first author to use the term mûthos (myth) in our modern sense.1 He described the role of myth in Athens, in order to contrast it with an argumentative philosophical discourse aimed at the truth. Even so, he had recourse to this unverifiable story not only in a practical role, in order to persuade the citizen to obey moral norms and political laws, but also in a theoretical context, evoking premises from which philosophical discourse could develop, and picturing (...) realities such as the soul, that could not be grasped by either the senses or the intellect. With the disappearance of the city-state and the constitution of Kingdoms and Empires, the social and political aspects of myth tended to disappear in the Mediterranean world, allowing the soul to take “centre-stage.” While theogony, cosmogony, and anthropogony persisted, they did so only to provide a framework for a vast drama—that of the salvation of the human soul—as described in the Chaldaean Oracles and the treatises of the Sethian Gnostics. (shrink)