Peitho. Examina Antiqua, nr 1(2), 2011
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Item Ethical Dimension of Time in Plato’s Apology of Socrates(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Pacewicz, ArturThe aim of the present article is to analyse the Apology in its aspect of time. When defending himself against the charges, Socrates appeals to the past, the present and the future. Furthermore, the philosopher stresses the meaning of the duration of time. Thus, the seems to suggest that all really important activities demand a long time to benefit, since they are almost invariably connected with greater efforts. While the dialogue proves thereby to be an ethical one, the various time expressions also gain an ethical dimension.Item Defiance, Persuasion, or Conformity? The Argument in Plato's Apology and Crito(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Domaradzki, MikołajThe 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.Item Charisteria Livio Rossetti Oblata(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Ranzato, SofiaItem Zdekonstruować Metafizykę Arystotelesa(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Wesoły, MarianItem Z nowych badań nad dialogiem Sokratejskim(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Torbus, SławomirItem Ripensare Socrate: note su alcuni studi recenti(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) De Luise, FulviaItem Some Remarks on the Nineteenth Century Studies of the Euthyphro in Poland(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Mróz, TomaszThe present paper examined how Polish philosophers, historians and classicists understood and interpreted Plato’s Euthyphro in the 19th century. The article provides evidence for a twofold interest that Polish readers had for the dialogue in this period. Firstly, Catholic think¬ers focused on the ethical issues of the dialogue and supported the reviv¬al of the Scholasticism, confirming, at the same time, the vitality of Plato’s thought. Secondly, the text of Plato’s opusculum was a conveni¬ent didactic material for various teachers of the Greek language: while the Euthyphro gave them the opportunity to raise ethical and logical issues, they also taught philosophy on the basis of this dialogue.Item Socrates’ Philosophy as a Divine Service in Plato’s Apology(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Tymura, DorotaThe aim of the present paper is to discuss Socrates’ idea of philosophy as a service to the god. First the article investigates why Chaerephon went to Delphi and why he asked Pythia the famous question concerning Socrates. The investigation provides a basis for distinguishing two major periods in his activity. The one preceding the Delphic oracle consists in conducting inquiries in a group of closest friends. The one following the Delphic oracle consist in addressing a much larger audience. An analy¬sis of both periods suggests that the oracle from Delphi greatly affected Socrates’ relations with other Athenians. While the present article deals also with the issue of Socrates’ daimonion, it hypothesizes that the voice of daimonion and the voice of Pythia could be regarded as Apollo’s interventions.Item Why Not Escape? On the Hosiotes in Plato’s Crito(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Komorowska, JoannaWhile the article discusses the factors that motivated Socrates’ decision in the Crito, it emphasizes the possible cultural import of the choice undertaken in the aftermath of the political upheavals in the late fifth century. It is also argued here that as Plato’s dialogue were written in the period that followed the renewal of the Athenian politeia, it should be perceived as having its roots both in the historical reality of its narra¬tive focus (i.e. Socrates’ trial) and in the then reality of Plato’s Athens (i.e., its political stability dependent on the ephebic oath).Item Oskarżyciele Sokratesa(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Kelessidou, AnnaWe have unfortunately very little information on the three accusers of Socrates: Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon. Notwithstanding this, the present paper attempts to discuss the circumstances and motives that led to Socrates’ trial. Furthermore, the article deals with Socrates’ crucial stand after the verdict and considers the philosopher’s arguments as these have been presented in the first tetralogy.Item Platona Kriton. Wokół obywatelskiego nieposłuszeństwa i politycznego zobowiązania(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Kuniński, TomaszThe present paper focuses on the complex relation between ethics and politics in Plato’s Crito. While the issue is presented from a contem¬porary perspective, the problems of civil disobedience and political obligation are the present study’s primarily concern. The issue of civil disobedience concerns moral reasons for breaking the law, whereas the concept of political obligation refers to a moral duty to obey the law. When disagreeing with the view that Socrates in the dialogue argues for an unconditional obedience to the state, the article builds on the Apology. Subsequently, the similarities between the position of Socrates and that of H.D. Thoreau are investigated. Finally, the paper discusses the concept of political obligation so as to show that the argument in the Crito anticipates several modern theories. The modern controver¬sies that this article covers are shown to play an important role in Plato’s dialogue, as they are the basis of Socrates’ political obligation.Item Megiston agathon (Pl. Ap. 38 a) – Sedno życia i filozoficznego wyzwania Sokratesa(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Wesoły, MarianWe suggest a certain minimal approach to the historical Socrates on the basis of Plato’s Apology. This text makes it possible to reconstruct the authentic charge and the defense line of Socrates, as well as his motivation and the quintessence of his philosophical challenge. The most important thing is what the philosopher says in the face of his death sentence: that the greatest good for a man is to live an examined life focusing on virtues and ethical values. Unfortunately, the preponderance of studies, even the most recent ones, fail to recognize the philosopher’s provocative challenge, whilst it is not only a crucial motif in the Socratic examining (ἐξετάζειν), i.e. testing the interlocutors’ knowledge by means of irony, elenchos and aporia, but also an inspiration for his direct and indirect followers in seeking virtues and the greatest good.Item 'Plato Socraticus' – Apologia Sokratesa i Eutyfron(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Erler, MichaelThe present paper focuses on the two works of Plato’s first tetralogy so as to bring out and generally characterize the Socratic dimension of Plato’s philosophizing. It is common knowledge that Socrates’ trial and defense inspired Plato to engage in dialogical writing which culminated in the famous logoi Sokratikoi. The article deals with the following issues: 1. Philosophy as a ‘care for the soul’ in the Apology; 2. “The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being” (Ap. 38a); 3. Philosophy as a service to the god in the Euthyphro; 4. Socrates’ elenchos; 5. Plato’s logoi Sokratikoi. While the issues are lively debated in the subject literature, the present paper makes references to several important studies and to the broader account of Plato’s philosophy that is to be found in Erler 2006 and Erler 2007.Item Hosion, eu dzen und Dikaiosune in der Apologie des Sokrates und im Euthyphro(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Dottori, RicardoWhile linguistic and analytical interpretations of the Euthyphro are usually circumscribed to two passages of the dialogue (Euthphr. 10 a 2–11 b 1), there is a general tendency to disregard the distinc¬tion between the ὅσιον and the θεοφιλές. Consequently, one makes hardly any attempt to understand Plato’s criticism of religion. The concepts of θεραπεὶα τοῦ θεοῦ and ἀπεργασία provide us with the possibility of positively characterizing piety and distinguishing it from pure love affection. Contrary to the views of Schleiermacher and Gigon, but following Willamowitz, the present paper shows that the idea of service to the god consists in the doric harmony of Λόγος and Ἔργον, combined with various duties and services to the state. While this is precisely what justice is, the criticism of religion is not solely negative. Through justice, the ὅσιον becomes elevated to εὖ ζῆν and the highest ἀγαθόν in private as well as in public dimension. Without justice, one is left with the neccessity to flee to the other world and embrace the ὁμοούσια with the god, as shown in the Theaetus. If that is the meaning of Socrates’ death, then the idea resembles Kant’s postu¬late of the immortality of the soul, for in both cases one is faced with the neverending task of realizing the highest good. The question is whether it is possible to realize the δικαιοσύνη in a political life. Plato considers the issue in his the Republic, Sophist, Statesman and Laws. In the Statesman, justice is the primary goal of any political life that can only be attained through cultivting the divine relationship of harmoni¬ous elements in the ὅσιον. It is here that Plato’s doctrine of the ὅσιον becomes completed.Item Il metodo adatto per Eutifrone: una calma distanza(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Candiotto, LauraThe present paper aims to discuss how the Socratic method operates with Euthyphro inside the Euthyphro. The first part of the article focuses on the character’s description, upon which it moves to analyzing the very method itself not only in terms of its argumentative form but also in terms of its psychological and social aspects. Euthyphro is shown to have been a supporter of religion that was entirely incapable of living up to the religious ideals that he so confidently advocated for. Through his portrayal of Socrates’ refutation of Euthyphro, Plato seeks not only to redeem his teacher but also to criticize the then society. When describing the Socratic method, the present paper proposes to view it with a “calm distance” on the grounds of the fact that the distinctive feature of the method consists in creating an emotional distance between Socrates and Euthyphro. The purpose of such a strategy is to make Euthyphro realize the weakness of his position and embrace the purification through the socratic elenchos.Item Un Socrate che non ascolta: per esempio nell'Eutifrone(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Rosetti, LivioWalter Kohan has recently observed that Socrates does not seem particularly interested in the opinions of his interlocutors. Consequently, the philosopher is not really involved in a peer to peer relation with them, but rather embarks upon the task of annihilating their ideas. With the situation being as it is, the image of Socrates as a champion of dialogue begins to wobble. While the present paper aims to discuss these claims, a number of issues needs to be accounted for. First of all, the Socratic dialogue does begin in a characteristically symmetrical way, but it becomes more and more asymmetric as the elenchos begins to appear. This is due to the fact the elenchos makes the interlocutors defensive, whereas Socrates can attack freely. Given that, Kohan’s claims seem justified and enlightening, but they should not be regarded as conclusive, since one must neither forget nor undervalue how innovative it was to replace monologue speeches with one-to-one dialogues which offered the opportunity of being involved in unforeseeable conversations.Item Divine Command and Socratic Piety in the Euthyphro(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM, 2011) Koehn, GlenWhile Socrates was in his own way a deeply religious man, the Euthyphro is often thought to provide a refutation of the divine command theory of morality: the theory that what is morally good is good because it is divinely approved. Socrates seems to suggest that what is holy or pious (ὅσιος) is pleasing to the gods because it is holy, and not holy because it pleases them. Thus the dialogue is sometimes presented as showing that what is morally good and bad must be independent of the divine will. I argue that matters are not so simple, since there are several ways in which the gods could help determine which acts are good, for instance, by disposing certain human affairs which are relevant to moral decisions. Moreover, Socrates suggests that he has obligations to the gods themselves, and these obligations would have to depend in part on what pleases them. It follows that the dilemma which Socrates poses to Euthyphro (pious because loved by the gods, or loved by the gods because pious) does not offer two mutually exclusive alteratives. There are various ways for the preferences of such gods to help determine which acts are adequate for moral praise or blame. It could therefore hardly be the case that religious doctrines, if true, are irrelevant to the content of morality. Knowledge of the gods’ preferences, if such knowledge were available, would be of importance to moral theory. Socrates himself does not deny this, nor should we.