The philosophy of Bernard Williams, recognised as a prominent expression of ethical thought, presents an intense dialogue with ancient Greek tragic culture. Combining erudition and elegance, Williams evokes Greek tragedies to discuss modern ethical ideas and conceptions. Our article intends to consider Williams’ thought from a cultural point of view: we propose analysing Williams’ cultural methodology, which may be described as a way of thinking beyond the traditional dichotomies between the ancient and the modern, especially concerning the notion of the (...) tragic. Accordingly, we shall examine the affinities between ancient and modern tragic cultures by identifying common narrative and poetical elements. To do so, we shall consider the interpretation of Hamlet, developed by the classicist scholar H.D.F. Kitto. In Form and Meaning in Drama: A Study of Six Greek Plays and of “Hamlet” (1956), Kitto proposes reading Hamlet in close alliance with Oedipus Tyrannus. Kitto maintains that both tragedies are poetical expressions of a shared tragic element: miasma, or “pollution”, a concept thoroughly treated by Williams in the third chapter of Shame and Necessity. Our article aims to combine Williams’ cultural methodology—we may call it the deconstruction of the repeated theoretical frameworks regarding the differences between the ancient and the modern—and Kitto’s reading of Hamlet in line with Oedipus Tyrannus, which may be understood as an illustration of the persistence of common tragic elements beyond time and the historical separation of cultural periods. Our perspective shall be both cultural and aesthetical. (shrink)

O presente ensaio pretende estudar a influência da filosofia de Kant no âmbito dos escritos poetológicos de Hölderlin sobre as tragédias de Sófocles _Rei Édipo_ e _Antígona_, _Anmerkungen zum Oedipus _e _Anmerkungen zur Antigone_. O tratamento dos conceitos centrais elaborados por Hölderlin, tais como _Gottes Fehl_ e _kategorische Umkehr_ – que forma o núcleo deste ensaio – apresenta-se desenvolvido segundo o quadro filosófico kantiano. É nosso propósito interpretar a especificidade da leitura hölderliniana de Kant, especialmente do seu carácter não-reconciliatório e (...) não-monista, e diferenciá-la da filosofia posterior do Idealismo Alemão (principalmente de Hegel e de Schelling). A análise de “Hölderlin et Sophocle” de Jean Beaufret e de “Métaphrasis” de Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe constitui o nosso ponto de partida teórico. (shrink)