Abstract
In this paper, I introduce a prominent classical scholar, József Balogh, whose work can be read as a significant contribution to the historiography of ancient, and in some sense modern, philosophy. Following a summary biography, I sketch the relevance of Balogh's interpretation of Augustine. I draw some analogies between his and Eric Havelock's treatment of the problems in ancient philosophy, and argue that the obvious similarities between them have a common origin, namely the perspective of the orality/literacy chasm which both treated, in connection with their research into Augustine and Plato, as crucial. Subsequently, I show how the problem of reading aloud, which Balogh was the first to treat systematically, has acquired significance in some current debates in philosophy.
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Demeter, T. From Classical Studies towards Epistemology: The Work of József Balogh. Studies in East European Thought 51, 287–305 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008765318353
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008765318353