Le but de cet article est de démontrer que l’étymologie faisait intégralement partie de la théologie stoïcienne. Suivant leur conception panthéiste et hylozoiste du cosmos, les stoïciens utilisaient l’étymologie pour découvir diverses manifestations de Dieu dans l’univers. Ainsi, la thèse principale de cet article est de montrer que, dans le stoïcisme, l’étymologie était moins une étude sur l’histoire des mots que l’étude de la façon dont Dieu se développe et se manifeste à travers divers phénomènes de notre monde. Attendu que (...) pour les stoïciens le fait d’étudier les noms des dieux équivalait à rechercher Dieu, l’étymologie jouait un triple rôle : premièrement, elle était un moyen de rendre un culte à Dieu; deuxièmement, elle était une manière d’interpréter la poésie; et, enfin, elle était un outil de transformation de sa propre existence. Par conséquent, cet article se veut une recherche sur la dimension théologique, allégorique et existentielle de l’étymologie stoïcienne. (shrink)

The purpose of the paper is to discuss Aristotle’s account of homonymy. The major thesis advocated here is that Aristotle considers both entities and words to be homonymous, depending on the object of his criticism. Thus, when he takes issue with Plato, he tends to view homonymy more ontologically, upon which it is entities that become homonymous. When, on the other hand, he gainsays the exegetes or the sophists, he is inclined to perceive homonymy more semantically, upon which it is (...) words that become homonymous. Subsequently, this article shows that Aristotle values homonymy negatively in dialectical discussions, but positively in rhetorical and poetic arts. Finally, the present paper demonstrates that Aristotle regards systematic homonymy as a very useful theoretical tool that makes it possible to critically examine the basic terminological assumptions of any philosophical inquiry. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to reconstruct Aristotle’s distinction between primary substances and their homonyms. It is shown that the Stagirite regards both body parts and artefacts as mere homonyms of primary substances when they are no longer capable of performing their function (ergon) and actualizing their end (telos). In the course of the present discussion, Aristotle’s approach is confronted with his famous doctrine of the four causes, whilst an analysis of the examples given by the Stagirite serves the (...) purpose of determining the ontic status of homonyms. Subsequently, this paper argues that Aristotle’s hylomorphism not only defies the functionalist assumption of the irrelevance of matter but also precludes the possibility of equating artefacts with living organisms. The discussion concludes with an observation that primary substances which are truly (alēthōs) and things which are only homonymously (plēn homōnymōs) require different definitions. (shrink)

Author: Domaradzki Mikołaj Title: HUMANISTIC INTERPRETATION AND THE PROBLEM OF ANCIENT ALLEGORESIS (Interpretacja humanistyczna a problem starożytnej alegorezy) Source: Filo-Sofija year: 2011, vol:.12, number: 2011/1, pages: 361-372 Keywords: ANCIENT ALLEGORESIS, HERMENEUTICS, METRODORUS OF LAMPSACUS, HUMANISTIC INTERPRETATION, JERZY KMITA Discipline: PHILOSOPHY Language: POLISH Document type: ARTICLE Publication order reference (Primary author’s office address): E-mail: www:The purpose of the article is to present the phenomenon of allegorical interpretation as one of most important cultural events that has ultimately resulted in the (...) emergence of modern hermeneutics. More specifically, the paper argues that the hermeneutical activity of Metrodorus of Lampsacus embodies the practice that is nowadays commonly referred to as ‘humanistic interpretation’. Having established that the exegesis of Metrodorus can be characterized as a type of humanistic interpretation, the article proceeds to demonstrate that the allegoresis in question was in fact adaptive in its nature. While Metrodorus’ ideas are suggested to have possibly contributed to the philosophical overcoming of the so called syncretic-magical thinking, the allegorical support of the transformation of mythos into logos is analyzed within the framework of Jerzy Kmita’s theory of culture. (shrink)

Author: Domaradzki Mikołaj Title: SYMBOL AND ALLEGORY IN THE PHILOSOPHICAL EXEGESIS OF THE STOICS (Symbol i alegoria w filozoficznej egzegezie stoików) Source: Filo-Sofija year: 2011, vol:.13/14, number: 2011/2-3, pages: 719-736 Keywords: STOIC EXEGESIS, SYMBOL, ALLEGORY, CHRYSIPPUS, CORNUTUS, HERACLITUS THE ALLEGORIST Discipline: PHILOSOPHY Language: POLISH Document type: ARTICLE Publication order reference (Primary author’s office address): E-mail: www:The present paper aims to ascertain whether, and if so, to what extent the modern distinction between the concepts of ‘symbol’ and ‘allegory’ can (...) be applied to Stoic hermeneutical activity. The philosophy of the Stoics invites such a discussion, since the philosophers were the first thinkers in antiquity to actually have used the terms with reference to the process of retrieving the hidden meaning of various literary constructions. Thus, Chrysippus’ interpretation of the myth of Athena’s birth provides the point of departure for our considerations, since it is in the philosopher’s exegesis that we find the very first use of the word ‘symbol’ understood as a theoretical tool for interpreting texts. Subsequently, the article proceeds to discuss the interpretations of the same myth that were presented by Cornutus and Heraclitus who use the words ‘symbol’ and ‘allegory’ interchangeably. While the paper argues that in none of the cases analyzed do we find an understanding of the terms ‘symbol’ or ‘allegory’ that would entirely correspond to modern definitions of the terms, it also stresses that the impossibility of classifying Stoic interpretations as either solely ‘symbolical’ or solely ‘allegorical’ does not diminish the cultural import of Stoic hermeneutical activity. (shrink)

The present article is concerned with Proclus’ highly original and profoundly influential account of the symbolic function of poetry, the pedagogic as well as the hieratic value of myths and the soteriological power of allegorical interpretation. Thus, the paper begins with a brief discussion of Plato’s dismissal of poetry as μέγιστον ψεῦδος. Subsequently, Proclus’ theory of three kinds of poetry is examined, upon which attention is paid to his revolutionary idea that σύμβολα rather than μιμήματα are the tools of the (...) highest kind of poetry. Then, Proclus’ views on the difference between Plato’s and Homer’s μυθοποιΐα are considered. While the article concludes with an analysis of Proclus’ conviction about the functional similarity of symbols in myths and those in magic rites, allegoresis is shown to have the same salvational role that Proclus ascribes to theurgy. (shrink)

The purpose of the present paper is to discuss several metaphorical conceptualizations of the phenomenon of communication from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. Apart from the purely linguistic and philosophical issues, the article touches upon the questions that concern the process of teaching and learning a foreign language (especially the so called "radically different one"). The thesis about our essentially metaphorical understanding of the phenomenon of communication, widely acknowledged in cognitive linguistics, is supported by empirical data drawn from Arabic and (...) several Indo-European languages. Subsequently, the thesis is taken as a point of departure for discussing such issues as the problem of cross-linguistic variation of metaphors and their biological motivation. The paper consists of three sections: the first one examines the metaphor of communication as transfer, the second considers the metaphor of communication as enlightening, whereas the third presents some philosophical observations. The most important conclusion that is drawn here has it that the potential universality of various metaphorical conceptualizations is a very useful heuristic and didactic tool, for the existence of a common ground between languages that are genetically unrelated makes it possible not only to account for the ease with which certain elements of the target language can be translated into the source language, but also to hypothesize about the general mechanisms that are responsible for understanding and acquiring the (radically) different target language. Needless to say, such hypotheses are of paramount importance for the process of teaching and learning a foreign (especially radically different) language. (shrink)

The aim of the article is to confront normative pre-assumptions of Marx’s and Freud’s emancipatory projects. Considerations on axiological presuppositions of the projects under discussion come to the conclusion that an argument between psychoanalysis and Marxism has its source in the two mutually exclusive systems of values whereas the psychoanalytical critique of Marxism remains the legacy of a conflict dating back to the beginnings of the Enlightenment. The article claims that a confrontation of Freud’s emancipatory project with that of Marx’s (...) means a confrontation of two traditions: according to the first one — pessimistic and referring to Hobbes — man is bad by nature, whereas the other — optimistic and deriving from Locke — man is good by nature. The final conclusion, thus, is a statement that though both Marx and Freud were certain that their emancipatory projects were devoid of not only metaphysical presuppositions, but also metaphysical conclusions, a Freudian critique of Marxism refers to an axiological argument between Locke and Hobbes. Because both in psychoanalysis and Marxism a descriptive order is intricately intertwined with a normative one. The conflict between the two emancipatory projects must remain ilsolluble owing to the antagonistic axiological presuppositions. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to analyze Chrysippus’ claim about natural ambiguity of words. The present account assumes that the concept formation mechanisms that were outlined by the Stoics throw some light on the notorious contradiction between the claim about natural relationship between words and things, on the one hand, and the claim about natural ambiguity of words, on the other. We know neither the context of Chrysippus’ postulate nor the examples with which he illustrated it. Thus the following (...) analyses are obviously speculative.However, the interpretations of myths and poetry that were put forward by Chrysippus sit very well with his conviction that ambiguity and figurativeness are common and natural in language. (shrink)

This paper discusses the problem of Democritus’ allegoresis. The question whether Democritus practised allegoresis is usually answered affirmatively. Thus, for example, Jean Pépin, in his classic work on the development of allegorical interpretation, forcefully asserts that ‘Démocrite pratiqua d'abord une allégorie physique’ and that ‘il poursuivit aussi l'allégorie psychologique’. In one way or another, this view has been embraced by Luc Brisson, Ilaria Ramelli, Ilaria Ramelli and Giulio Lucchetta, Gerard Naddaf, to name just a few scholars who have recently examined (...) the issue. However, those who find allegoresis in Democritus are often somewhat perplexed at what they discover. For instance Naddaf, in his otherwise excellent study, assumes that ‘Democritus believed that Homer was indeed a visionary sage with a privileged utterance that he intentionally transmitted allegorically’, upon which he concludes that Democritus’ position is ‘inconsistent and disconcerting given his place in the pantheon of Ionian rationalism’. This shows that the claim that Democritus practised allegoresis stumbles upon the following problem: if Democritus was a rationalist, then the question arises how his rationalism can be reconciled with his alleged belief that Homer deliberately disguised his poems as allegorical prefigurations of various Democritean views. Indeed, one may legitimately ask how rational it would be on Democritus’ part to ascribe to Homer the intention of being interpreted as a precursor of atomist philosophy. The purpose of the present paper is to shed some light on this conundrum and to offer a reconsideration of certain accounts that have been suggested so far. (shrink)

The present paper attempts to throw some light on the conundrum of Socrates’ political views in the Apology and Crito. The problem resides in that the Socrates of the Apology evidently undermines the authority of Athenian democracy, whereas the Socrates of the Crito argues that his escape from prison would be tantamount to disrespecting the state, which would in turn threaten the prosperity of the entire πόλις. The article suggests that in the two dialogues, the young Plato examines the possibility (...) of steering a middle course between embracing relativism, on the one hand, and encouraging civil disobedience, on the other. Thus, the philosopher focuses primarily on investigating the two options, without either totally subordinating the citizen to the state, or unreflexively accepting any crude pragmatism. (shrink)

The purpose of the present article is to show that there is a clear line of continuity between the early Stoics’ and Cornutus’ works, as all of them assumed that the ancient mythmakers had transformed their original cosmological conceptions into anthropomorphic deities. Hence, the Stoics from Zeno to Cornutus believed that the names of the gods reflected the mode of perceiving the world that was characteristic of the people who named the gods in this way. Accordingly, the major thesis advanced (...) in the paper proposes that the Stoics conducted their etymological analyses so as to gather ethnographical information about the origin and development of the existing religion. When doing so, they treated the conventional mythological narratives as sources of information about the early conceptions of the cosmos. Th us, the Stoics from Zeno to Cornutus employed etymology as a certain research strategy: they analyzed the names of traditional deities so as to extract the physical and moral beliefs that constituted the ancients’ world picture. Treated as ethnologists, the Stoics seem to equate piety with retrieving philosophical truths obscured under the guise of primitive mythical formulations. Furthermore, when unravelling the original worldview inadvertently transmitted by the poets in their poems, the Stoics reconstruct the history of religion and contribute to the development of ancient anthropology. (shrink)

The aim of the present article is to demonstrate that the hermeneutical activity of Lucius Annaeus Cornutus is best characterized as ‘ethnographical’ rather than merely ‘allegorical.’ Without denying the presence of allegorical interpretation in the philosopher’s work, the paper establishes that Cornutus’ etymological interpretations aimed first and foremost to extract the archaic vision of the world that motivated every theogony. Thus, the philosopher regarded conventional mythology and traditional religion as sources of information about the primeval accounts of the cosmos: his (...) analyses of various etymologies discovered not merely the origin of the word in question but, first of all, the origin of the ancient world picture that underlay the particular system of beliefs. As a result of this, interpreting myths was for Cornutus tantamount to gaining profound insights into the mind of primordial man and his world. Key words CORNUTUS, ALLEGORY, MYTH. (shrink)

This paper discusses Aristotle’s account of multivocity as expounded in Topics 1.15. This article argues that an inquiry into how many ways something is said becomes for Aristotle a tool of dialectical examination that he employs throughout his entire philosophical career: investigating the many/multiple ways something is said allows one to recognize the ambiguity of the term in question and, consequently, to construct an adequate definition of its referent. The present study reconstructs the various strategies for detecting ambiguity and discusses (...) its different types. Subsequently, the paper accounts for why Aristotle moves so easily from words and their meanings to things and their essences. Finally, the article presents an analysis of the connection between the many ways something is said and the various categories it is predicated in. The considerations are supported by a new translation of Topics 1.15. (shrink)

The present paper argues that the early Pythagoreans contributed significantly to the development of ancient hermeneutics. The article builds on the assumption that even if the thinkers did not deal with allegoresis directly, the very manner of articulating their thought was, nevertheless, quite conducive to the growth of allegorical interpretation. Thus, at least indirectly, Pythagoreanism must have played an important role in the development of allegoresis. The paper identifies two crucial aspects of Pythagorean influence on the allegorical tradition. Firstly, the (...) Pythagoreans made a very specific use of the poetry of Homer and Hesiod as well as of the traditional mythology in general. Secondly, the teachings of Pythagoras were expressed in terms of various ambiguous symbols that required special exegesis. Both these factors must have contributed considerably to the development of allegoresis: the idiosyncratic use of conventional mythology, on the one hand, and the enigmatic nature of the Pythagorean symbols, on the other, must have provoked extensive search for the latent meaning of the “messages” in question. (shrink)

Lista publikacji Mariana Andrzeja Wesołego.

[…] Głównym wnioskiem płynącym z niniejszej próby syntetycznego zestawienia wybranych analogii pomiędzy sceptyczną a Nietzscheańską krytyką poznania jest, iż rzeczonych krytyk nie należy traktować jako rozważań jałowych, nieproduktywnych czy wręcz czysto destruktywnych. Podnosząc problem konstruowania świata, obie krytyki zwiększyły bowiem naszą samoświadomość interpretacji. Jeżeli zaś sceptycy i Nietzsche zgadzają się w tym, iż dostępne nam są jedynie perspektywiczne przekłamania rzeczywistości, a nie „prawdziwa rzeczywistość”, to oba projekty łączy gruntowna krytyka naiwnego realizmu. […] pragniemy podkreślić – wbrew wielokrotnie wygłaszanym sądom, podług (...) których sceptycyzm był przejawem upadku greckiej myśli – iż naszym zdaniem sceptycyzm jest jednym z najważniejszych wydarzeń nie tylko w historii filozofii starożytnej, ale w dziejach historii filozofii w ogóle. Jest on bowiem pierwszą na taką skalę przeprowadzoną, systematyczną próbą zakwestionowania wszelkich roszczeń do posiadania prawdy absolutnej. Co sofistyka rozpoczęła, w sceptycyzmie osiągnęło swą akme, a wedle perspektywy proponowanej w niniejszym artykule otwiera się możliwość spojrzenia na sceptyków jako na myślicieli, którzy występując przeciwko absolutnej prawdzie dogmatyków, przygotowali grunt pod myślenie pluralistyczne. (shrink)

The article aims to confront the skeptical critique of cognition with Nietzsche’s refutation of classical epistemology. Irrespective of some striking analogies, it does not purport that skepticism exerted direct impact on Nietzsche’s philosophy. Nevertheless, both critiques reject such a type of philosophy that endeavors to discover the very nature of things and both repudiate the dogmatic dichotomy of the ‘apparent’ and the ‘true’ world that since Plato has become an integral part of nearly every metaphysical project. The ancient skeptics and (...) Nietzsche demonstrate that every cognition is determined by various physiological, social and cultural contexts and, consequently, the Greek thinkers seem to agree with the German philosopher that concepts such as ‘reality’ or ‘world’ are but interpretations conditioned by the very structure of the human sense organs and basic human needs. In the light of the contingent and situational character of our knowledge, the skeptics and Nietzsche dethrone the discourse of science and philosophy by showing not only the genesis of our propositions but also the possibility of opposite, yet equally justified, propositions. Thus, ‘world’ transpires to be a necessary illusion and every attempt at explaining it is relegated to the position of just one of the manifold perspectives attainable. In the final analysis, the article offers a reevaluation of the skeptical project, as it advances a thesis that the ancient and Nietzschean skepticisms show the insurmountable limitations of every cognition, protest against any endeavor to establish an absolute account of reality and, thereby, opt for a continuous striving for new interpretations and perspectives. (shrink)

The present article offers the first Polish translation of Theodore Metochites’ important essay on the philosophers’ use and abuse of irony. The translation is preceded by an introduction which briefly presents the author of the Miscellanea philosophica et historica, upon which it reconstructs the argument of essay 8 and provides an assessment of Metochites’ account of irony.

The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the metaphor system for conceptualizing the Self in Arabic. A comparison of structural means for conceptualizing inner life in Arabic and English leads to the conclusion that although on the structural (‘grammatical’) level the differences between the two languages are indeed considerable, they become far less radical on the conceptual (‘semantic’) level. More specifically, it is argued here that in Arabic, as in English, inner experiences are for the most part conceptualized (...) metaphorically and that Arabs seem to conceptualize their inner lives in a way similar, or at least comparable, to the speakers of English. While the article shows that on the conceptual level there are several important correspondences between Arabic and English, it hypothesizes that they reflect some fundamental and presumably universal human experiences and cognitive abilities. Finally, the linguistic material analyzed here provides a point of departure for touching upon the relativism-universalism debate. The paper argues that the controversy depends, at least to some extent, on whether one chooses to focus on potentially universal conceptualizations (and their underlying cognitive mechanisms) or more culture-specific structural relations (the contingent and historical conventions). Thus, while it seems to be a matter of one's personal decision whether to place the potentially universal in the foreground and the more idiosyncratic in the background, or the other way round, the article emphasizes the usefulness of explaining certain striking conceptual similarities in terms of their bodily basis. (shrink)

In theCommentary on the Cratylus, Proclus puts forward an original but largely ignored interpretation of Circe as weaving life inτῷ τετραστοίχῳ. This paper argues thatτὸ τετράστοιχονrefers not to the four genera but to the four elements. Thus what the enchantress weaves are the elemental garments that weigh the soul down to the earthly realm of mortals.

Problem duša–um–tijelo, drevno je pitanje koje je mučilo mnoge filozofe. Još od Platona i predstoika mnogi su filozofi pokušavali odgovoriti na pitanja odnosa između tih “dijelova”. Ovaj rad je pregled teorije o holonima koju je predložio Arthur Koestler i njezinih implikacija u modernoj kinematografiji, posebno na primjeru anime filma Ghost in the Shell. Postoje mnoga pitanja koja su aktualna i povezana s problemom duha i tijela, a koja proizlaze iz moderne kinematografije i TV emisija, no obično su zanemarena ili previđena. (...) U tim serijama i filmovima nalazimo suvremene ideje o kiborzima i transhumanizmu koje je spomenuti anime film popularizirao. Većina suvremenih serija bliža je transhumanizmu i postmodernizmu, no zbog opsega članka, biti će spomenute samo imenom.Drugi problem koji se nameće u modernoj kinematografiji je individualizam i egocentrizam koji nije usmjeren na transcendentalno ili čak transcendentno. Namjera ovog rada je pokazati da kroz Koestlerove ideje o holonima moramo uzeti u obzir širi pristup transhumanizmu, te da taj pristup ne smije biti fokusiran samo i isključivo na pojedinca. (shrink)

We argue that while it is a valuable contribution, Carruthers' model may be too restrictive to elaborate our understanding of the development of mindreading and metacognition, or to enrich our knowledge of individual differences and psychopathology. To illustrate, we describe pertinent examples where there may be a critical interplay between primitive social-cognitive processes and emerging self-attributions.

Osiurak and Reynaud's account of human tool cognition misses key element: human capacity for functional representations and teleological inferences. I argue that the teleofunctional approach accounts better for some features of human tool cognition and points to a viable candidate for the cognitive “difference-maker” behind human technological success.

SUBJECT AS AN EFFECT OF LANGUAGE The article presents a detailed analysis of language as a dispositive. Drawing a general idea from the writings of Foucault, Deleuze, Agamben and Virno, the project of the linguistic constitution of the subject is developed in distinguishing three levels of the analysis, these levels being also the three modes of the existence of languagedispositive: the sentence, the enunciation and the utterance. According to the idea presented in the article, the analysis of the languagedispositive consists (...) in showing the basic oppositions, on which each level of the existence of the language operates, and how each of these oppositions enables the linguistic constitution of the subject – with these oppositions being: sense/reference, signiefié/signifiant and meaning/showing. The article concludes with the analysis of negation and negativity as the phenomenon introduced into the life of the human animal through language-dispositive. The distinction of the three modes in which language as a dispositive operates enables a complete presentation of how negation can be understood as a function of the process of subjectivization. (shrink)

Many psychological studies have shown that human‐generated sequences are hardly ever random in the strict mathematical sense. However, what remains an open question is the degree to which this (in)ability varies between people and is affected by contextual factors. Herein, we investigated this problem. In two studies, we used a modern, robust measure of randomness based on algorithmic information theory to assess human‐generated series. In Study 1 (), in a factorial design with task description as a between‐subjects variable, we tested (...) the effects of context and mental fatigue on human‐generated randomness. In Study 2 (), in online research, in experimental design, we further investigated the effect of mental fatigue on the randomness of human‐generated series and the relationship between the need for cognition (NFC) and the ability to produce random‐like series. Results of Study 1 show that the activation of the ability to produce random‐like series depends on the relevance of the contextual cues (), whether they activate known representations of a random series generator and consequently help to avoid the production of trivial sequences. Our findings from both studies on the effect of mental fatigue (Study 1 – ; Study 2 – ) and cognitive motivation () demonstrate that regardless of the context or task's novelty people quickly lose interest in the random series generation. Therefore, their performance decreases over time. However, people high in the NFC can maintain the cognitive motivation for a longer period and consequently on average generate more random series. In general, our results suggest that when contextual cues and intrinsic constraints are in optimal interaction people can temporarily escape the structured and trivial patterns and produce more random‐like sequences. (shrink)

Artykuł jest recenzją i krótkim komentarzem do tekstów dotyczących normatywności i zebranych w dziale nazwanym „Normatywność. ‘Update’” i opublikowanych w jednym z numerów czasopisma „Avant”. Autor stara się wykazać, że często rozróżniane porządki myślenia o normatywności – moralny i pozamoralny, na poziomie ludzkich praktyk są ze sobą ściśle powiązane. Głównym celem artykułu jest wyraźne wyłuszczenie i skomentowanie aktualizacji podejścia do normatywności proponowanych przez publikujących w „Avancie” badaczy.