Agora, Academy, and the Conduct of Philosophy offers extremely careful and detailed criticisms of some of the most important assumptions scholars have brought to bear in beginning the process of (Platonic) interpretation. It goes on to offer a new way to group the dialogues, based on important facts in the lives and philosophical practices of Socrates - the main speaker in most of Plato's dialogues - and of Plato himself. Both sides of Debra Nails's arguments deserve close attention: the negative (...) side, which exposes a great deal of diversity in a field that often claims to have achieved a consensus; and the positive side, which insists that we must attend to what we know of these philosophers' lives and practices, if we are to make a serious attempt to understand why Plato wrote the way he did, and why his writings seem to depict different philosophies and even different approaches to philosophizing. From the Preface by Nicholas D. Smith. (shrink)

English summary: This text presents a collection of papers, drawn from a colloquium held in Aix-en-Provence, that question the revival of interest in practical philosophy and strive to appreciate its meaning and ambition, based off the exemplary figure of Socrates. This text hopes to present a better understanding of both the Socratic dialogues and our present day and age. French description: Les annees 80 ont vu emerger un art de philosopher, plus soucieux de pratique de vie que de construction speculative. (...) Ce regain d'interet pour la philosophie pratique, et notamment pour la discussion et la deliberation philosophiques, renouant avec le dialegesthai socratique, conduit a une reflexion fondamentale sur la fonction de la parole philosophique, une parole qui est aujourd'hui amenee a se produire en des lieux nouveaux et sur des questions qui sont d'abord de nature ethique et politique. Le present collectif, issu d'un colloque qui s'est tenu a Aix-en-Provence, recueille diverses contributions qui toutes s'interrogent sur ce renouveau et s'efforcent d'en apprecier le sens et l'ambition, en le rapportant a la figure exemplaire de Socrate philosophant sur l'agora. Cette rencontre d'une philosophie de nature academique et d'une pratique philosophique ouverte a chacun contribue a une meilleure comprehension des dialogues socratiques et a une meilleure intelligence du temps present. (shrink)

Many theorists of the ‘political turn’ in animal rights theory emphasize the need for animals’ interests to be considered in political decision-making processes, but deny that this requires self-representation and participation by animals themselves. I argue that participation by domesticated animals in co-authoring our shared world is indeed required, and explore two ways to proceed: 1) by enabling animal voice within the existing geography of human-animal roles and relationships; and 2) by freeing animals into a revitalized public commons where citizens (...) encounter one another in spontaneous, unpredictable encounters in spaces that they can re-shape together. (shrink)

Partindo do confronto entre as reflexões presentes em um texto publicado em meados dos anos 1990 e as de hoje, discute-se aspectos da democracia da informação. No texto anterior, a base das análises é a concepção de democracia na Grécia antiga, em que a ideia de cidadão excluía muitos dos segmentos da sociedade. Hoje, apesar das mudanças e transformações sociais, o acesso à informação ainda está reservada para grupos exclusivos e restritos que podem fazer uso de ferramentas tecnológicas mais atualizadas. (...) O fosso entre os que possuem e os que não possuem informações continua o mesmo. O texto está estruturado e desenvolvido em pontos discutidos mais aprofundadamente ou apenas indicados para que sejam focos de preocupação e interesses posteriormente. Conclui-se que pouco ou nada se alterou entre as conclusões do texto primeiro e a situação de agora. (shrink)

For more than a quarter of a century, academics at Hawkesbury Agricultural College have been committed to the development of a public discourse about the nature and scope of the development of rural Australia, and of the sustainability of the role of agriculture within that. In their work they have explicitly privileged systems theories and practices and experiential pedagogies, while embracing the notion of development through participation within an ethos of deliberative democracy. There are lessons to be learned from the (...) Hawkesbury experience with respect to the role of the agora in global transformation writ large. (shrink)

Este artículo detalla la labor realizada dentro del proyecto de innovación docente El Ágora que se desarrolla en la Facultad de Comunicación de la Universidad de Castilla-la Mancha con la colaboración del Ente Publico Radiotelevisión de Castilla-La Mancha. Semanalmente, los estudiantes elaboran un programa de radio de 30 minutos que se emite en la radio pública. Además, generan contenidos audiovisuales para otros canales y plataformas. A lo largo de tres años (2019-), 168 estudiantes han participado en el proyecto. Sus (...) valoraciones son positivas tanto sobre la adquisición de conocimientos como a nivel experiencial. (shrink)

L’article expose les premiers résultats du programme scientifique « SIG du centre monumental de Thasos. Topographie et architecture » qui, depuis 2015, vise à reprendre les études sur l’agora de Thasos par le biais d’une approche conjointe des inscriptions, de la sculpture et de l’architecture. L’un des objectifs était dans un premier temps la réalisation d’un plan géoréférencé de l’agora et de ses abords, qui puisse également servir d’appui à la construction d’un Système d’Information Géographique (SIG). L’article expose le cadre (...) méthodologique de leur mise en place ainsi que les diverses applications que vise le WebSIG de Thasos. Cette première étape étant désormais achevée, ces outils de recherche ont permis la reconfiguration d’un nouveau programme de recherche intitulé « Archépolis : Archéologie et histoire de l’espace public à Thasos ». (shrink)

Student Learning Outcomes are increasingly de rigueur in US higher education. Usually defined as statements of what students will be able to measurably demonstrate upon completing a course or program, proponents argue that they are essential to objective assessment and quality assurance. Critics contend that Student Learning Outcomes are a misguided attempt to apply corporate quality enhancement schemes to higher education. It is not clear whether faculty should embrace or reject Student Learning Outcomes. With sincere apologies to Plato, this dialogue (...) explores arguments for and against their use. (shrink)

As far as we know, the 5th-century B.C. Greek philosopher Socrates himself wrote nothing. We discover his thoughts and deeds entirely through the writings of his followers, disciples who accompanied him on his walks through the Athenian Agora and engaged in dialogue with him in the Stoa Basileios. Rather than examining his ideas in abstract, this stimulating little book aims to place Socrates in his physical setting, using textual references to follow his progress through the material remains that have been (...) uncovered by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens since 1931. The author not only sheds new light on the great philosopher's life, but also provides a vivid reconstruction, through following the career of one of its most famous citizens, of daily life at the center of classical Athens. (shrink)

A proposta desse artigo é analisar as diferentes apropriações e entendimentos das Trovas de Bandarra no século XVII, a partir das tópicas do "sonhar" e "ver", que estruturam o poema profético. Identificando algumas estrofes recorrentes nos comentários seiscentistas, pretende-se discutir as polêmicas surgidas em torno dos "Sonhos" do sapateiro de Trancoso e como estas permitem identificar posições frente ao problema do sonho profético e de seu uso nas leituras do destino e futuro português. A estrutura do texto é dada pelo (...) passo das polêmicas em torno dos comentários às passagens selecionadas, com especial destaque para a figura do jesuíta Antonio Vieira e as disputas envolvendo seus textos na segunda metade do século XVII. (shrink)

In "The Clown in the Agora," William Kluback and Michael Finkenthal have put together a book of imagined conversations, encounters, and interviews based on the poetical and philosophical ideas of playwright Eugene Ionesco.".

Why do the United States reserve the right to be called “America” by conferring the “Americas” to the whole continent?, is that a clear sign of discrimination or supremacy or both? Ideologically, America refers to the United States of “America” excluding other regions such as Latin America, central or South America. This leads some scholars to explain convincingly that, beyond this subtle grammatical difference, the Anglo-ethnocentrism in the United States has been drawn to make their citizens believe they are unique, (...) outstanding, and special. Basically, this belief allowed not only to fight against the political enemies in Europe or in any other geographical point, but also to control the incipient worker union leaderships. What merits further attention, anyway, is the sentiment of exemplarity instilled by the founding parents of this nation. Fear was historically a mechanism of control employed by US governments at different stages in several ways. Our intention is not only to review how the fear disciplined by the claims of work-force, but also explain why the sentiment of exemplarity and fear are inextricably intertwined. (shrink)

The author attends to pedagogical dilemmas educators face in introductory philosophy courses in large universities. Large bureaucratic structures often produce poor student attendance and produce large classroom settings with brief classes, which blocks instructors from cultivating productive class room experience and philosophical engagement. Students are unable to engage in courses either because of lack of interest or because they are unable to speak due to the short duration of the class. The author suggests an online community structured after the Socratic (...) agora to allow students to engage with philosophical issues outside the classroom setting and enable them to initiate dialogue amongst other students. (shrink)

The author attends to pedagogical dilemmas educators face in introductory philosophy courses in large universities. Large bureaucratic structures often produce poor student attendance and produce large classroom settings with brief classes, which blocks instructors from cultivating productive class room experience and philosophical engagement. Students are unable to engage in courses either because of lack of interest or because they are unable to speak due to the short duration of the class. The author suggests an online community structured after the Socratic (...) agora to allow students to engage with philosophical issues outside the classroom setting and enable them to initiate dialogue amongst other students. (shrink)

What is the sense of saying “now”? We are used to the established temporal relations by their points of reference (like “yesterday”), distinguished one from the other by measurement and the counting of time (which uses yardsticks, like “day”). So, is the now only another one of these points? Husserl tells us that is not only looking at the constituted time and already shared in common by the world that we will comprehend what is the sense of the now. In (...) this article, I try to follow Husserl’s theory of time with the intent to defend how the phenomenological perspective can clarify the relevant distinctions between “point” and “now”, especially when we comprehend “now” as an origin that closes in itself problems categorically distinct from those referred to the measurement in objective time. (shrink)

Rather than having been designed to function as a slave market, the Agora of the Italians appears to hâve functioned as a multifaceted recreational facility for the members of the Roman collegia of the island. That is, it functioned as a combined palaestra, bath, banquet hall, and gladiatorial arena, such as thèse probably existed at the turn of the second-first centuries B.C. Architecture lly, the building enjoys distinct similarities with the ludii gladiato- rii at Pompeii and at Rome.