The main aim of my paper is to analyse Aristotle’s theory of language in the context of his Physics I.1 and via an analysis and an interpretation of this part of his Physics I try to show that (i) the study of human language (logos) significantly falls within the competence of Aristotle’s physics (i.e. natural philosophy), (ii) we can find the results of such (physical) inquiry in Aristotle’s zoological writings, stated in the forms of the first principles, causes and elements (...) of the human speech (logos) and (iii) the analogies (Phys. 184b13-14) made by Aristotle at the very end of the first chapter make better sense if we consider them in the broader context in which Aristotle recognizes language as a complex natural phenomenon we are born into and which has to be not only biologically, but also socially developed through our lives. Hence, I aim towards a more naturalistic reading of Aristotle’s views on language. (shrink)

The overall purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate over a possibility to reconstruct such theories which are not explicitly formulated in the preserved texts of ancient authors. Aristotle is one of those who did not write a single treatise on language, though language – both, as an instrument, as well as an object of the study – was still focal point of his philosophy. In his writings, Aristotle rigorously distinguishes several ways of methodologically examining same phenomenon. (...) He is aware of the fact that every phenomenon can be examined from various perspectives and that different goals of the study lead us towards different answers. Aristotle’s views on language are scattered through his entire oeuvre. The main aim of this paper is to offer and justify a new way of reconstructing Aristotle’s theory of language. In the first part, the paper justifies the very existence of Aristotle’s theory of language and outlines a plan how to proceed with reconstruction of such theory. In the second part, the preliminary plan is situated into the current state of Aristotelian scholarship. Finally, in the third part, the plan of reconstruction is elaborated using an integrationist approach. Integrationism (the idea that our language is a very complex phenomenon which has to be studied from different perspectives and the results of those studies cannot be reduced to each other and cannot be merged into a single atemporal model, instead those results should be understood as an integral part of the very temporal nature of our language) allows me to explain how various different dimensions of language are uncovered in Aristotle’s works and how they gradually arise from each other. (shrink)

The aim of the paper is to examine whether conceptual relativism is a prerequi-site for conceptual engineering (and if so, then to what extent). In the first part of the paper, I explore and classify varieties of relativism to prepare a distinctive definition of conceptual relativism. In the second part I analyse conceptual relativism and I consequently propose two different readings of conceptual scheme: (i) conceptual scheme as a monolithic, timeless, and determinate systems of meanings, and (ii) conceptual scheme as (...) a system of relatively stable meanings, that is based on agreement and is open to change over time. In the third part of the paper, I show that of those two readings only the second reading of conceptual scheme fits into the practice of conceptual engineering. (shrink)

The Beginnings and Nature of Science in Archaic Greece: The aim of the paper is to examine the beginnings and nature of science in the archaic period of ancient Greece. The method of research is historicalphilosophical. It is historical because the interpretation of the birth of science suggested by our approach corresponds with text evidence. And it is philosophical because our reconstruction of the birth of science is able to explain the dynamic nature of the stratification of science. In the (...) first part of the paper we deal with the methodological analysis of the issue of the beginnings of science. In the second part we analyse particular manifestations of ancient investigations that, based on the diversity of their aims and the variety of methods, gradually emancipated to become separate disciplines. In the third part of the paper we argue in favour of the thesis that disciplines emerged from philosophy in such a manner that various disciplines stemmed from the diversity of philosophy. In the conclusion we state that in Archaic Greece of the 6th-5th centuries BC science emerged from the wealth of various research approaches by gradual separation, i.e. stratification of aims and stabilization of research methods. However, not a single science but a number of disciplines appeared. They did not emerge from one philosophy but from the abundance of research approaches and aims. Only later the umbrella term “science” began to be used. (shrink)

On the Nature of Philosophy: A Historical-Pragmatist Point of View. The aim of the paper is to examine the nature of philosophy from the historical-pragmatist point of view. In the first part, the paper deals with the meaning holism and family resemblance of various exemplifications of philosophy, which are taken as presuppositions of our approach to define philosophy as an activity. In the second part, the paper criticizes those approaches which define philosophy as a quasi-science or a super-science. In the (...) third part, the paper finally offers a definition of philosophy as a two-way intellectual activity consisting in outsourcing and insourcing of open questions and solutions. (shrink)

The subject of this paper is the issue of human speech in Aristotle, especially in his work Categories. Its primary goal is to elaborate an interpretation of Aristotle’s statements about human speech as a quantity (Cat. 4b20–b39, 5a15–b2) that would allow them to fit reasonably into the whole of Aristotle’s theory of language. The structure of the paper is as follows. In the first part a certain approach to the question of the reconstruction of Aristotle’s theory of language is proposed. (...) The second part, by means of the introduction of the criteria of separability and ontological priority of the first substance, creates a framework for the subsequent analysis of the two basic classifications, which constitute the main theme of Categories. The third part supplies its own interpretation of the ontological status of human speech in the context of the classification schemes in Categories, and this, in the fourth part, is inserted into the greater whole of Aristotle’s theory of language. (shrink)

The essay deals with the problem of historical incorporation of Greek metaphysics into Christian theology. The approach adopted is inspired by Martin Heidegger’s ideas. Heidegger identified the platform for the incorporation of Greek metaphysics into Christian theology with the understanding of thinking as uncovering of being as being. According to Heidegger, every reductive understanding of thinking has a common source, which is the objectification of thinking. In Western tradition it leads to the hegemony of logic. Logical basis of metaphysics gave (...) rise to onto-theological structure in both: in the thought of ancient Greeks as well as in Christian theology. Through the presentation of Heidegger’s analysis, the essay calls for re-thinking the nature of metaphysics and theology, as well as for re-thinking the relations between modern philosophical and theological conceptions. (shrink)

The paper deals with free will as discussed in the recent book of Michael Frede A Free Will: Origins of the Notion in Ancient Thought. Besides a close view on the structure of Fredes’s main ideas and arguments, the paper aims to provide a critical discussion of Frede’s view of St. Augustine’s contribution to the development of the notion of free will. This would enable us to explore and re-think the historical and philosophical conditions of the rise of the notion (...) of free will in ancient thought. (shrink)

The subject of the paper is Plotinus’ theory of the One. The motif to work on the issue was the need of a systematic treatment of this problem, still missing in the writings of Slovak historians of philosophy. The intention of the paper is the presentation, analysis and critical interpretation of the remarkable origins of Plotinus’ theory. The paper deals further with the question of the sources of Plotinus’ theory of the One in Plato. The introductory general theoretical reflections on (...) the origins of Plotinus’ theory is followed by a detailed text analysis of the books 6 and 7 of Plato’s Republic and by the analysis of the first and second hypotheses of the second part of the dialogue Parmenides. (shrink)

The subject of the paper, Plotinus’ theory of the One, is situated on the intersection of a systematic investigation and a text analysis and interpretation belonging to the area of the history of philosophy. The motif to work on this issue was the absence of a systema- tic analysis of the specificity of Plotinus’ philosophical theory and its unique mode of expression. The aim of the study is the presentation, analysis and critical evaluation of the forms of expression, fundamental statements (...) and consequences of Plotinus’ concept of the One. The structure of the text resulted from discussing the general character of Plotinus’ language , the explanation of terms „One“ and „hypostasis“ to and presentation and criticism of its own statements and philosophical consequences of the theory of the One. (shrink)