The present account – conducted in the paradigm of the recent approach to Plato – comprises a new translation with a short introduction and source bibliography. It consists of three major parts: I. Plato’s own testimonies: arguments against writing; II. References within the dialogues to the dialectic of principles ; III. Testimonia Platonica. Apart from the relevant parts of Plato’s dialogues, the testimonies of Aristotle, Theophrastus and Sextus Empiricus have been taken into account. The translation of the testimonies has been (...) arranged in a more systematizing manner than it was in the previous editions. The idea is to provide the Polish reader with reliable sources on the widely discussed hermeneutics of the written and unwritten Plato. (shrink)

R. Loredana Cardullo, Il libro Alpha della Metafisica di Aristotele tra storiografia e teoria, Catania 2009, pp. 294. R. Loredana Cardullo, A sclepio di Tralle. Commentario al libro Alpha Meizon della Metafisica di Aristotele. Intoduzione, testo greco, traduzione e note di commento, Acireale-Roma 2012, pp. 512. Paris 2012, pp. 164.

The label idios apodeixis/logos «particular demonstration or argument» of Gorgias is known to us only from the third section of the little work attributed to Aristotle under the title De Melisso, Xenophane, Gorgia. Its authenticity seems to be unjustly questioned. We try to show that from the Aristotelian perspective we can properly understand the context of Gorgias’ own argument from his lost treatise On Not-Being or On Nature. Parmenides – using implicitly the polysemy of the verb ἔστιν/εἶναι – presented a (...) certain ontological argument «being is, because being is being». Gorgias, however, makes a parody of this by offering a meontological argument: «not-being is because not-being is not-being». Consequently Gorgias then attempts to demonstrate, by means of refutation, that «it is not either to be or not be», i.e. «nothing is». We propose, thus, a reconstruction of Gorgias’ account of meonological and nihilistic argumentation. In this context we find in Plato’s Sophist and in Aristotle’s writings certain allusions to Gorgias’ idios apodeixis, which have not been sufficiently recognized and properly interpreted. (shrink)

The present article consists of two parts. First, we provide some general information on the life and views of Philolaus. This serves as an intro­duction to the second part which offers a new Polish translation of the most important ancient testimonies on Philolaus and the preserved fragments from his book On Nature (the latter are quoted along with the Greek original). According to the most recent research, these fragments are authentic and give an important insight into the Pythagorean and early (...) Greek philosophy. The present selection of Philolaus’ testimonies and fragments has been arranged in a novel and accessible manner. (shrink)

The article examines the relevance of Aristotle’s analysis that concerns the syllogistic figures. On the assumption that Aristotle’s analytics was inspired by the method of geometric analysis, we show how Aristotle used the three terms, when he formulated the three syllogistic figures. So far it has not been appropriately recognized that the three terms — the major, the middle and the minor one — were viewed by Aristotle syntactically and predicatively in the form of diagrams. Many scholars have misunderstood Aristotle (...) in that in the second and third figure the middle term is outside and that in the second figure the major term is next to the middle one, whereas in the third figure it is further from it. By means of diagrams, we have elucidated how this perfectly accords with Aristotle's planar and graphic arrangement. In the light of these diagrams, one can appropriately capture the definition of syllogism as a predicative set of terms. Irrespective of the tricky question concerning the abbreviations that Aristotle himself used with reference to these types of predication, the reconstructed figures allow us better to comprehend the reductions of syllogism to the first figure. We assume that the figures of syllogism are analogous to the figures of categorical predication, i.e., they are specific syntactic and semantic models. Aristotle demanded certain logical and methodological competence within analytics, which reflects his great commitment and contribution to the field. (shrink)

This paper offers a new Polish translation of Aristotle’s Book Delta of his Metaphysics. It takes into account its original title and subtitle that have been preserved in ancient catalogues. It is argued that the title and subtitle did not concerns any “ambiguity” of expressions as it is often mistakenly assumed, but rather the many ways of predicating of various terms. Nor is it a typical lexicon of philosophical concepts, but rather a methodical survey of certain expressions that begin with (...) physical and categorical specifications to make the terminological domain of the first philosophy more precise. (shrink)

We 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, 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. (shrink)

Epicurus’ philosophy grew out of his life experiences, contacts, polem­ics, journeys and other activities. Apart from such great works as the monumental On nature in 37 books, Epicurus authored also various extracts, principle doctrines, sayings and letters. The letters, while addressed to many students and friends, were for him a very important tool of propagating his own philosophy. Epicurus’ fascinating Letter to Menoeceus can be regarded as a manifesto of his philosophy of life. In historiography, it is often characterized as (...) an expo­sition of his ethics, even though Epicurus probably did not use the term himself. To better capture the composition and spirit of this work, the Greek text of the letter has been somewhat rearranged here: for the sake of clarity, ample spaces and special paragraphs have been provided, and appropriate headings have been introduced in the Polish translation. (shrink)

There are several recent and noteworthy studies on the testimonies and fragments of Melissos of Samos: Laks-Most, Brémond. Furthermore, one can learn a great deal about Melissos from the lectures and discussions undertaken in the framework of “Eleatica 2012”. When taken together, these studies enable us to fully appreciate Melissos’ original work in terms of its sources, its audacious arguments and its later criticisms. Melissos is here presented as a spokesman of the Eleatic school in an order that aims to (...) do justice to the ancient testimonies that relate and refute his arguments as well as to the verbatim fragments. For the sake of clarity, however, various secondary testimonies have been omitted. (shrink)

After a very brief presentation of the most important facts concerning the life and writings of Georgius Gemistus Plethon, we shortly summarize the challenging content of his greatest and posthumously published opus entitled Nómōn syngraphḗ. While this paper offers the first Polish translation of this amazing work, the purpose of present article is to familiarize and promote Plethon’s fascinating treatise.

Ancient Platonists and Aristotelians considered the heuristic method of reasoning to first principles as “analysis.” It was derived from Greek geometrical practice. Plato’s theory of first principles, as we reconstruct it following Aristotle, postulated such an “analytic system.” In this system both sensible things and mathematical objects, ideas and eidetic numbers are gradually reduced to the same principles (ἕν – μέγα – μικρόν). In the reversal order, from the principles are genetically elicited eidetic numbers and through them numbers, mathematical objects, (...) and sensible things. This is a great analytical system that in fact has a mathematical structure. It transcends the physical explanation of the Timaios and is a broad translation of the nature of things. Our considerations concern a reconstruction and debatable issues, and they follow the following topics: 1. Testimonia Platonica, 2. Analytic theory of principles and agrapha dogmata, 3. Contextual problem and the field of agrapha dogmata, 4. The construction of a system: a procedure from and toward the principles, 5. The alleged paradox: “Good – One.” Ethics or mathematics? 6. Written and unwritten dogmata: dialogue or system? (shrink)

What is meant under the genuine title of Aristotle’s ta Analytika is rarely properly understood. Presumably, his analytics was inspired by the method of geometric analysis. For Aristotle, this was a regressive or heuristic procedure, departing from a proposed conclusion and asking which premises could be found in order to syllogize, demonstrate or explain it. The terms that form categorical and modal propositions play a fundamental role in analytics. Aristotle introduces letters in lieu of the triples of terms constitut­ing the (...) propositions and the three syllogistic figures that schematize them. His formulation of the three syllogistic figures refers to a syntacti­cal and predicative order and position of the triples of terms, arranged in some diagrammed schemata, which, regrettably, are missing from the extant text of the Prior Analytics. Considering planar and graphic arrangements, both vertical and horizontal orders as well as the posi­tion of the three terms involved, we propose a reconstruction, at least to some extent, of these probable lettered diagrams. In such reconstructed diagrams, we can appropriately capture the definition of syllogism as a predicative connexion of terms, and easier survey a synoptic account of all valid predicative relations and transpositions, and also reduce the imperfect syllogisms into the moods of the first figure. Aristotle’s syllogistic is an analytical calculation of terms, understood as predicates and subjects within the categorical propositions, and more precisely of three terms schematized in three figures in predicative links such that, by means of a middle, follows from necessity a conclusion of the extreme terms. The necessity of the consequence is not based on the implication or inference of the propositions, but on a predictive transi­tivity through the middle term within the syllogistic figures. Syllogism must draw its conclusion through the way its terms are predicated of one another. Aristotle in his Prior Analytics developed also a complex account of modal syllogisms within necessity and possibility of belonging. This account involves also such an analyti­cal reduction to the syllogistic figures. In this analytical perspective, we try to throw some light on his modal syllogisms, although this difficult and nowadays thoroughly discussed topic would require a much wider treatment. (shrink)

The aim of this article is to present a new Polish translation of Aristotle’s Poetics, namely, those of its central chapters (6–19) that deal with the Stagirite’s explication of the mimesis of tragedy. When interpreting the first five chapters of the treatise, it is important to recognize the mimetic distinctions and forms according to means and objects as well as the question of how poetic creativity takes shape (generally from improvisation through epic to comedy and tragedy). On the basis of (...) these preliminary assumptions, Aristotle proceeds to define tragedy and analyze its components, forms and functions in more detail. Unlike the previous Polish translations of the Poetics, we have attempted here to render Aristotle’s essential technical expressions as faithfully as possible, without distorting them in accord with various concepts of modern aesthetics or literary criticism. We have also sought to preserve the Stagirite’s typical composition and his complex argument. Only in this way can the sense of Aristotle’s leading assumptions and distinctions be properly discerned. For the ease of reading, we also introduce more paragraphs and relevant subject headings into the text. (shrink)

Jan Bigaj, Zrozumieć metafizykę. Tom I: Rozszyfrowanie dzieła zwanego ‘Metafizyką’ Arystotelesa, Część 1: Bibliofilska kompilacja i jej skutki, Toruń 2004 ; Część 2: Elementy składowe i ich pochodzenie. Księgi centralne, Toruń 2005.