This text aims to show how the inclusion of sense-perceptions in cognition reformulates Plato’s “canonical version of the theory of Forms” (TF). Knowledge is no longer understood as the activity of a formal, epistemic, subject, but of a psychological one. In those dialogues dedicated to the exposition of the TF Plato’s view of cognition is based on the identification of epistêmê with Forms (according to the model of anamnesis). In the Theaetetus, however, sense-perceptions are related to knowledge in a way (...) which sees the psychê no longer as an impersonal soul, travelling through a succession of bodies. Plato’s analysis of doxa takes psychê as a feeling and thinking, irreducibly personal, subjective mind. (shrink)

Franco Trabattoni. Platão.. São Paulo, Annablume, 2010, 342 pp.

Resenha de Rossetti, L. Un altro Parmenide.

SOUZA, E.. Catábases: estudos sobre as viagens aos infernos na antiguidade. São Paulo. Annablume Clássica.

The absence of grammatical subject and object in Parmenides' "it is/it is not" allows the reading of the verbal forms not as copulas but as names, with no implicit subject nor elided predicate. Once there are two only alternatives, contrary and excluding each other, sustaining that a 'no-name' does not grant knowledge implies identifying its opposite – "it is" – as the only name conducive to knowledge in itself, denouncing the 'inconceivability of a knowledge that does not know. If "it (...) is" is the only [name] "which can be thought/known", and "what is" is the way in which 'thought/knowledge' can be accomplished, there is no need to postulate the existence of 'anything' that is, nor of anything that can be said of "what is". Being the only name which "can be thought of/known", the unifying synthesis of "knowledge, knowing and known" in one infallible cognitive state, it is unthinkable that "what is" does not exist. (shrink)

All the time political equality has been feeding on unequality. With the whole world changing into a blossoming democracy we seem to be running out of "unequals” to carry our blessed dream on. We better act before the golden carriage turns into a pumpkin. And why not pay some attention to Greek democracy? How it was born, how it worked, how long it lasted and why it died, leaving us with a dream of ideal perfection. We might learn something useful (...) for our own future. Though the million dollar question is not what are we going to do now that the dream is real, but rather why we seem to be unable to get it out of our minds. (shrink)

Resumo Lida sem atenção, a avaliação do Poema de Parmênides por Nietzsche corre o risco de frustrar, mais do que estimular, os leitores não-iniciados em Filosofia. Pois, nela o filósofo não só ignora a pesquisa sua contemporânea sobre o Eleata, como insere o seu pensamento numa polêmica antiracionalista, recheada de equívocos e intuições infundadas. É nosso objetivo aqui tentar restituir credibilidade a esta avaliação, apontando as linhas que orientam o diálogo do crítico com o seu objeto tanto para o senso-comum, (...) como para o seu próprio pensamento.Carelessly read, Nietzsche’s evaluation of Parmenides frustrates rather than stimulates non-initiate readers in Philosophy. For the German philosopher ignores any current research on the Eleatic thinker, inserting his arguments in an anti-rationalist polemic, mostly based on unfounded intuitions. We aim at establishing the credibility of Nietzsche’s criticism on the grounds of common sense and of his own heraclitean influenced philosophy. (shrink)

Parmenides’ argument in the Way of Truth and Plato’s theory of Forms are usually seen as mighty metaphysical constructions. But what if they are motivated by the semantic complexity of the Greek verb ‘be’? This is the approach followed throughout this paper, mostly dealing with the debate on the emergence of a separate existential reading of ‘einai,’ and the problems arising from the use of the Latin verb ‘existere’ to translate it. The analysis of some sophistic puzzles provides examples of (...) this fused reading of the verb. They suggest that Plato’s philosophical program was intended as a correction of current sophistic views on reality and discourse, both through his theory of Forms, and the analysis of being and not being, carried out in the Sophist. (shrink)

This paper sketches a superficial analysis of the curriculum of Philosophy now followed in the secondary schools. It lingers on some of the «perverse aspects» of its association to a style of teaching in which the use of manuals occupies a prominent position. As an alternative it proposes a «divergent» didactical approach. This strategy may be characterized along two parallel lines. One is the option for a treatment of each topic of the curriculum as each individual teacher sees it. The (...) other is the respect for a historical perspective, without which Philosophy in the Secondary ceases to have a place among Humanities. Some indications on how this suggestion could be carried on are offered. (shrink)

The author proposes an interpretation of the theory and practise of paradeigma, developed in conjunction with the method of diairesis in the Sophist, Politicus and Philebus. The conclusions reached are then balanced against the evidence of Plato's views on knowledge and language in the Cratylus, and compared to the logos of Heraclitus, in order to explain the conception designated as the "metaphorical structure of reality". It is then suggested that the degradation and reevaluation of this structure in Modern and Contemporary (...) thought was due to the attention paid, or not paid, to Aristotle's consideration of metaphor as a purely linguistic fact. (shrink)

O objetivo deste texto é evidenciar o papel desempenhado pela noção de “aporia” no Parménides de Platão. Depois de ter descrito alguns dos usos da noção nos diálogos platónicos, o texto concentra-se no Parménides, analisando: 1. O debate de Sócrates com Zenão; 2. O conjunto de objeções apresentadas por Parménides ao uso por Sócrates das noções de “separação” e “participação”, focadas em particular no “Argumento do Terceiro Homem”; 3. Algumas conclusões paradoxais resultantes das oito “Hipóteses sobre o Um”, na segunda (...) parte do diálogo. Com o objetivo de sustentar a unidade da Obra, argumentando a favor do uso dos “resultados atingidos na II parte do diálogo para resolver os problemas levantados na I”, defendemos que o exercício de Parménides sobre o Um e os Outros propõe uma reformulação da dialética, denunciando a deficiência da prática atribuída a Zenão, de reduzir ao absurdo as consequências da hipótese “Se há muitos”. Em vez disso, o Eleata examina as consequências de “Se há Um”, mediante a relacionação do Um consigo próprio e com cada um dos Outros; depois dos Outros consigo próprios e com quaisquer outros, primeiro afirmando, depois negando, a hipótese. (shrink)

This article is divided in two parts. The first one aims to show a short interpratation of the methodology of investigation developed by Socrates across the platonic dialogs. In the second one I'm going to show some pointed consequences on that proposed lecture in the first one.

Resenha de Casertano, G. Venticinque studi sui preplatonici.

Book Review: ARRUZZA, Cinzia. 2019. A Wolf in the City: Tyranny and the Tyrant in Plato’s Republic. New York, Oxford University Press, 312 p.

Background: Chronic Pain (CP) has serious medical and social consequences, and leads to economic burden that threatens the sustainability of healthcare services. Thus, optimized management of pain tools to support CP patients in adjusting to their condition and improving quality of life is timely. Although Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is considered an evidence-based psychological approach for CP, evidence for the efficacy of online-delivered ACT for CP is still scarce. At the same time, studies suggest that self-compassion mediates the change (...) in disability and psychopathological symptoms in ACT interventions for CP, although self-compassion is not a specific target in ACT. Thus, an explicit focus on self-compassion might increase the efficacy of ACT interventions for CP, although this hypothesis has not been tested. This study aims to develop an eHealth ACT and compassion-based self-management intervention for CP, the iACTwithPain, and to compare its efficacy in improving health outcomes to a similar ACT-only intervention and a waiting list group. Methods: The eHealth platform that will host the interventions will be developed using a flat design identity and will be interactive. The iACTwithPain intervention will comprise 8 weekly self-management sessions, and will be developed taking into consideration the psychological flexibility model applied to CP, with the addition of explicit compassion-based components. To analyse whether the iACTwithPain intervention will present superiority in improving CP’s impact and related health markers over the two other conditions, this study will follow a RCT design with three arms. CP patients will be recruited through direct contact with patient associations and healthcare services and a national press release in Portugal. Outcome measurement will be conducted at baseline, post-intervention and at 3- and 6-months follow-ups. The interventions’ acceptability will also be assessed. Discussion: The iACTwithPain intervention is expected to improve CP patients’ psychosocial functioning, quality of life, and empowerment, by promoting adaptive disease management and regulation of pain-related internal experiences. Results will contribute to a better understanding on the pertinence of adding compassion elements to ACT for CP and to reach an optimized intervention for CP. (shrink)

BackgroundThis pilot study aims to test the usability of the iACTwithPain platform, an online ACT-based intervention for people with chronic pain, to obtain information on which intervention and usability aspects need improvement and on expected retention rates.MethodsSeventy-three Portuguese women with chronic pain were invited to complete the first three sessions of the iACTwithPain intervention assess their quality, usefulness and the platform’s usability. Twenty-one accepted the invitation. Additionally, eight healthcare professionals working with chronic medical conditions assessed the platform and the intervention (...) from a practitioner’s point of view.ResultsThis study presented a considerable attrition rate (71.43%) among chronic pain participants, with six completers. There were no significant differences in demographic or clinical variables between dropouts and completers except for completed education (participants who dropped out presented less education than completers). Reasons for dropout were related to difficult personal events occurring during the time of the intervention, lack of time, or having forgotten. There seemed to be an overall satisfaction with both the intervention, its contents and form of presentation of information, and the platform, concerning its design, appearance, and usability. Real image videos were preferred over animations or audio by chronic pain participants. Healthcare professionals emphasized the appealing and dynamic aspects of the animation format.ConclusionThis study informs the ongoing improvement of the iACTwithPain platform and provides valuable information on aspects researchers should consider while developing online psychological interventions for chronic pain. Further implications are discussed. (shrink)

Review of Casertano, G. _Venticinque studi sui preplatonici_.

This paper provides a detailed analysis of how, according to Kant, the moral badness of some third parties’ actions can be established with certainty (by anyone, not only by the agent’s own conscience or by God). This account helps clarify why Kant affirms that some forms of wrongdoing (of which there are a “multitude of woeful examples”) can be demonstrated to be immoral, while excluding the possibility of proving the moral goodness of any action. The paper concludes by arguing that (...) the possible certainty of judgements imputing immorality to actions of others is not rational but rather moral. (shrink)

El acceso al Derecho y a unos servicios jurídicos básicos constituye una exigencia fundamental del Estado de Derecho. El desarrollo de aplicaciones de inteligencia artificial jurídica capaces de proporcionar un mejor conocimiento y comprensión del Derecho aplicable en cada situación particular ha difuminado, llegando incluso a eliminar en algunas áreas de la práctica legal, la distinción entre “información jurídica” y "asesoramiento legal”. A partir de ahí, la conjunción de la inteligencia artificial jurídica, la computación en la nube y las TICs (...) para producir conocimiento jurídico “customizado” y distribuirlo masivamente a través de la red está generando formas disruptivas de prestación de los servicios jurídicos que pueden ayudar a colmar bolsas hasta ahora desatendidas de necesidades jurídicas básicas. Ello requiere, sin embargo, un nuevoenfoque regulador de los servicios legales. (shrink)