One can see often in explanations of encyclopedia or lexicons of philosophy that Plato manifested primarily the absolute Idealism, whereas Aristotle verified antagonistically the relevance of realism. It is easy to pi...One can see often in explanations of encyclopedia or lexicons of philosophy that Plato manifested primarily the absolute Idealism, whereas Aristotle verified antagonistically the relevance of realism. It is easy to pick up several parts of their representative works and prove that this thesis is corresponded to the original of Plato and Aristotle. But, in reflections of philosophy, we should not ignore a cautious view, focused just on this starting point： If the above mentioned thesis is used like a slogan, ＂Plato for idealism, Aristotle for realism,＂ as it often is, in the meantime there arises a dogmatic position which fixes our mental and intellectual activity only within the frame, so that everyone begins to reflect on Plato or Aristotle from that starting point in a certain framework. A critical and self-critical view of philosophy may bring this position for a query.展开更多
Breaking with Aristotle＇s theory of tragedy in which the grand magnitude of the spirit of the tragic hero somehow trapped and misguided by a certain tragic flaw arouses the audiences＇ emotional intensity of pity and...Breaking with Aristotle＇s theory of tragedy in which the grand magnitude of the spirit of the tragic hero somehow trapped and misguided by a certain tragic flaw arouses the audiences＇ emotional intensity of pity and fear for the functioning of catharsis, Hegel analyzes the structure of tragedy in terms of the social conflict, in the case of Sophocles＇ Antigone, between the ruler Creon and the rebel Antigone, the patriarchal state and the individual woman, the civil codes and the divine law. Rejecting Creon＇s dictatorship and performing civil disobedience, Antigone intentionally buries the dead body of her brother Polyneices at the cost of being sentenced to death. Through this sacrifice, Antigone exposes the structural fissure of the civil society embedded in decaying morality for realizing the higher ideal of divine law and ethics. Through Antigone＇s sacrifice, the paradox of self-denial and self-elevation manifests the inner principle of dialectic through which the very opposite forces of contradiction engender the dynamic facets of the formation of modern civil society. As Hegelian dialectic is driven by its inner principle of negativity or negation of negation, through self-denial, Antigone transcends the moral codes of the mundane world for reaching the higher divine will. Yet, this dialectical ascending does not indicate a transcendent hero beyond the human world; instead, through the means of self-denying sacrifice, Antigone accomplishes the purpose of the divine will and conveys the divine spirit incarnated in the human flesh. For Hegelian tragic hero, the external and internal conflicts lead to the realization of self-consciousness and the ultimate consummation of heroic identity. Instead of being conditioned by Aristotelian tragic flaw and unconquerable fate, for Hegel, Antigone explicates the modern rebellious spirit of free will, and this martyrdom, not in the sense of scapegoat as the passive substitute for the sin of collective human community, presents a modern sense of tragic hero, an incarnated flesh invested with politically radical spirit. The flesh figure of heroine Antigone exemplifies the immanent power of ethical substance and dialectically transforms the divine will into the earthly spirit. Thus, this paper aims to investigate into the shift from Aristotle＇s concept of tragic hero to Hegelian dialectic tragedy and further examines how Hegelian tragic hero engenders the historical move into Western modernity through negative dialectic and accomplishes the self-other positioning of ethical substance presented in Sophocles＇ Antigone.展开更多
The article addresses the issue of leisure in the sense of ancient ＂schole.＂ It strives to uncover the relationship between Aristotelian concept of theoretical activity and ＂schole＂ as vacuity. It shows a paradoxi...The article addresses the issue of leisure in the sense of ancient ＂schole.＂ It strives to uncover the relationship between Aristotelian concept of theoretical activity and ＂schole＂ as vacuity. It shows a paradoxical character of ＂schole＂ as purposeless time that forms condition for a meaningful activity. How, then, to restore ＂schole＂ as vacuity today, when colonization of time expands？展开更多
In 2012, my winter in Athens began with Aristotle＇s Metaphysics Zeta. Among strong classical philologists, 1 was the only student whose understanding of metaphysics had been based on Avicenna. After a while 1 found m...In 2012, my winter in Athens began with Aristotle＇s Metaphysics Zeta. Among strong classical philologists, 1 was the only student whose understanding of metaphysics had been based on Avicenna. After a while 1 found myself amid audiences beforehand precluded to compromise milestones of mine. But on the contrary, I embarked to reread both of the Avicenna and Aristotle from entirely different angle again. Inquiring in the concept of Being in both of the Aristotle and Avicenna was the first candidate of my decision. This paper is the result of mentioned concern. Aristotle＇s equivalence between the question of ＂what substance is＂ rendered to the question of ＂what being is＂ in addition to spelling out the implications of this observation done by Avicenna--basing on his own metaphysics---constitutes the body of my paper.展开更多
This paper aims, first of all, to examine the two fundamental treatments of the complex and very broad notion of chrematistikd （money-making） and its links with the notion of oikonomia （economics）, outlining a fun...This paper aims, first of all, to examine the two fundamental treatments of the complex and very broad notion of chrematistikd （money-making） and its links with the notion of oikonomia （economics）, outlining a fundamental division between natural and unnatural art of money-making. The two different arts of money-making are based on two very different psychological attitudes： in the first case, desire is channeled, managed, and organized by practical wisdom with a view to a further end; in the second case, desire is an end unto itself, insatiable, boundless and contrary to the commands of practical wisdom. Only in the first case there is a ＂true wealth＂, that is a wealth oriented toward a good life that constitutes the end （telos） and the limit （peras） of the wealth itself. The conclusion is that, for the Stagirite, wealth is not an evil, nor, in itself, is the pursuit of wealth, that is, the art of money-making, because if it is rightly organized and oriented in function of the end, it constitutes the conditio sine qua non of a life that is good, ordered and happy for the individual and for the city展开更多
In Physics B 1, Aristotle establishes a detailed definition ofphysis. For that purpose, Aristotle distinguishes physis from rechne and his domain. He did this to offer a satisfactory account of the physical being. In ...In Physics B 1, Aristotle establishes a detailed definition ofphysis. For that purpose, Aristotle distinguishes physis from rechne and his domain. He did this to offer a satisfactory account of the physical being. In this process, phf;sis is defined as an immanent principle of movement and as matter and as form. As matter physis could be understood as ＂the primary underlying matter in each case, of things which have in themselves a source of their movements and changes＂. To consider physis as form Aristotle appeals to four arguments where priority of form over matter appears to be evident and where the identifying of eidos/morphe with to telos/to hou heneka will be crucial, especially for later developments. The reconstruction of Aristotle＇s reasoning on his definition ofphysis in Physics B 1 emphasizing the problems that such effort of definition implies is the purpose of this paper.展开更多
文摘One can see often in explanations of encyclopedia or lexicons of philosophy that Plato manifested primarily the absolute Idealism, whereas Aristotle verified antagonistically the relevance of realism. It is easy to pick up several parts of their representative works and prove that this thesis is corresponded to the original of Plato and Aristotle. But, in reflections of philosophy, we should not ignore a cautious view, focused just on this starting point： If the above mentioned thesis is used like a slogan, ＂Plato for idealism, Aristotle for realism,＂ as it often is, in the meantime there arises a dogmatic position which fixes our mental and intellectual activity only within the frame, so that everyone begins to reflect on Plato or Aristotle from that starting point in a certain framework. A critical and self-critical view of philosophy may bring this position for a query.
文摘Breaking with Aristotle＇s theory of tragedy in which the grand magnitude of the spirit of the tragic hero somehow trapped and misguided by a certain tragic flaw arouses the audiences＇ emotional intensity of pity and fear for the functioning of catharsis, Hegel analyzes the structure of tragedy in terms of the social conflict, in the case of Sophocles＇ Antigone, between the ruler Creon and the rebel Antigone, the patriarchal state and the individual woman, the civil codes and the divine law. Rejecting Creon＇s dictatorship and performing civil disobedience, Antigone intentionally buries the dead body of her brother Polyneices at the cost of being sentenced to death. Through this sacrifice, Antigone exposes the structural fissure of the civil society embedded in decaying morality for realizing the higher ideal of divine law and ethics. Through Antigone＇s sacrifice, the paradox of self-denial and self-elevation manifests the inner principle of dialectic through which the very opposite forces of contradiction engender the dynamic facets of the formation of modern civil society. As Hegelian dialectic is driven by its inner principle of negativity or negation of negation, through self-denial, Antigone transcends the moral codes of the mundane world for reaching the higher divine will. Yet, this dialectical ascending does not indicate a transcendent hero beyond the human world; instead, through the means of self-denying sacrifice, Antigone accomplishes the purpose of the divine will and conveys the divine spirit incarnated in the human flesh. For Hegelian tragic hero, the external and internal conflicts lead to the realization of self-consciousness and the ultimate consummation of heroic identity. Instead of being conditioned by Aristotelian tragic flaw and unconquerable fate, for Hegel, Antigone explicates the modern rebellious spirit of free will, and this martyrdom, not in the sense of scapegoat as the passive substitute for the sin of collective human community, presents a modern sense of tragic hero, an incarnated flesh invested with politically radical spirit. The flesh figure of heroine Antigone exemplifies the immanent power of ethical substance and dialectically transforms the divine will into the earthly spirit. Thus, this paper aims to investigate into the shift from Aristotle＇s concept of tragic hero to Hegelian dialectic tragedy and further examines how Hegelian tragic hero engenders the historical move into Western modernity through negative dialectic and accomplishes the self-other positioning of ethical substance presented in Sophocles＇ Antigone.
文摘The article addresses the issue of leisure in the sense of ancient ＂schole.＂ It strives to uncover the relationship between Aristotelian concept of theoretical activity and ＂schole＂ as vacuity. It shows a paradoxical character of ＂schole＂ as purposeless time that forms condition for a meaningful activity. How, then, to restore ＂schole＂ as vacuity today, when colonization of time expands？
文摘In 2012, my winter in Athens began with Aristotle＇s Metaphysics Zeta. Among strong classical philologists, 1 was the only student whose understanding of metaphysics had been based on Avicenna. After a while 1 found myself amid audiences beforehand precluded to compromise milestones of mine. But on the contrary, I embarked to reread both of the Avicenna and Aristotle from entirely different angle again. Inquiring in the concept of Being in both of the Aristotle and Avicenna was the first candidate of my decision. This paper is the result of mentioned concern. Aristotle＇s equivalence between the question of ＂what substance is＂ rendered to the question of ＂what being is＂ in addition to spelling out the implications of this observation done by Avicenna--basing on his own metaphysics---constitutes the body of my paper.
文摘This paper aims, first of all, to examine the two fundamental treatments of the complex and very broad notion of chrematistikd （money-making） and its links with the notion of oikonomia （economics）, outlining a fundamental division between natural and unnatural art of money-making. The two different arts of money-making are based on two very different psychological attitudes： in the first case, desire is channeled, managed, and organized by practical wisdom with a view to a further end; in the second case, desire is an end unto itself, insatiable, boundless and contrary to the commands of practical wisdom. Only in the first case there is a ＂true wealth＂, that is a wealth oriented toward a good life that constitutes the end （telos） and the limit （peras） of the wealth itself. The conclusion is that, for the Stagirite, wealth is not an evil, nor, in itself, is the pursuit of wealth, that is, the art of money-making, because if it is rightly organized and oriented in function of the end, it constitutes the conditio sine qua non of a life that is good, ordered and happy for the individual and for the city
文摘In Physics B 1, Aristotle establishes a detailed definition ofphysis. For that purpose, Aristotle distinguishes physis from rechne and his domain. He did this to offer a satisfactory account of the physical being. In this process, phf;sis is defined as an immanent principle of movement and as matter and as form. As matter physis could be understood as ＂the primary underlying matter in each case, of things which have in themselves a source of their movements and changes＂. To consider physis as form Aristotle appeals to four arguments where priority of form over matter appears to be evident and where the identifying of eidos/morphe with to telos/to hou heneka will be crucial, especially for later developments. The reconstruction of Aristotle＇s reasoning on his definition ofphysis in Physics B 1 emphasizing the problems that such effort of definition implies is the purpose of this paper.
