L’article suit dans un premier moment les deux grands fils conducteurs du projet de phénoménologie asubjective qui se constitue à la fin des années soixante et au début des années soixante-dix comme geste critique envers la phénoménologie transcendantale husserlienne, pour ensuite tenter d’identifier les traces de ce que le projet de phénoménologie asubjective (y compris dans ses conséquences métaphysiques) doit à la pensée aristotélicienne, telle qu’elle est reprise par Jan Patočka au début des années soixante.

This article examines how Merleau-Ponty and Patočka confront the two major difficulties of every phenomenological thinking of temporality, corresponding to the two Aristotelian aporias of time: the unity of time and the permanence of the now . Our goal is to show that only a radical account of movement and the structure of appearing, such as that provided by Patočka following his phenomenological renewal of Aristotle, can clarify the true status of the unity of time and of the temporal present, (...) without falling into an excessive subjectivising thereof or an exacerbation of the transcendent pole . As an alternative to the Merleau-Pontian chiasm, Patočka offers a rigorous thinking of the phenomenological correlation, making time appear as a sediment of movement. (shrink)

The paper analyses Patočka’s phenomenological treatment of the concept of space and of personal spatiality. Patočka’s solution is used to assess Heidegger’s approach to the concept of space. Patočka’s phenomenological advancements in regards to his teacher’s developments are considered first through a comparison of their respective concepts of “Earth”, and second, through an evaluation of the reasons of the impossibility of the Heideggerian attempt, in Sein und Zeit, to reduce spatiality to temporality.

L?intention de cet article est de présenter la critique et le remaniement de l?intentionnalité qu?implique l?élaboration d?une phénoménologie asub­jective chez Jan Pato?ka. À cette fin, nous exposerons d?abord les raisons qui amènent Pato?ka à prendre ses distances par rapport au subjectivisme de la phénoménologie husserlienne, et les conséquences de ce dépassement de l?horizon transcendantal de la subjectivité. Et dans un deuxième temps nous tâcherons de suivre les implications de cette destitution du subjectivisme relativement au statut et au sens de l?intentionnalité. (...) La nécessité d?élaborer une phénoménologie asubjective et de propo­ser par là une alternative au subjectivisme et à l?idéalisme implicite de la phénoménologie husserlienne découle chez Pato?ka d?une volonté de rendre compte plus authentiquement, c'est-à-dire plus phénoménologi­quement, de la structure et de la modalité de l?apparaître. En effet, c?est en s?interrogeant sur le comment de l?apparaître que Pato?ka est conduit à affirmer que celui-ci ne peut pas être expliqué à partir d?un sujet qui, avant tout, est lui-même quelque chose d?apparaissant. S?il apparaît à son tour, c?est qu?il est soumis lui-même à la légalité de l?apparaître, au lieu d?en être le principe. À partir de ces considérations, il devient possible de formuler une alternative tranchée entre deux types de phénoménologie, comme le. (shrink)

Le projet phenomenologique de Jan Pato ka peut etre lu comme une tentative de recuperer ce qui, de la Physique d'Aristote (que Heidegger appellait le livre cache de la philosophie occidentale ), a ete oublie par l'histoire de la philosophie. Notre ouvrage se concentre sur un des resultats les plus aristoteliciens de Pato ka, que l'on pourrait resumer ainsi: le mouvement est phenomenologiquement et ontologiquement premier. Mais si le mouvement est premier, cela veut dire que les extases et les determinations (...) du mouvement ne sont, elles, que secondaires, c'est a dire phenomenologiquement et ontologiquement derivees. La matiere et la forme (du monde), l'acte et le possible, le temps et l'espace, l'hypokeimenon (le corps et le sujet) sont secondaires, car sedimentes, deposes par le mouvement, et ne s'eclairent donc fondamentalement que par leur reconduction au mouvement. C'est une telle reconduction que nous avons tache d'accomplir a chaque etape de notre analyse. (shrink)

Following a brief presentation of the main results of R. Barbaras’ contemporary essay in phenomenological cosmology, L’appartenance, we propose to examine what appear be two internal tensions: a) the apparent inflation of the importance of the conceptuality of spatiality for describing the type of adjointment that unites subjective life and the life of the world, and b) the competition between two opposing ontological models of mobility in the description of subjective life (or of the living in general): a model of.

Le livre de Dragoş Duicu présente l’oeuvre de Patočka comme une phénoménologie du mouvement dont il opère l’archéologie conceptuelle en effectuant un retour à Aristote, ce qui permet aussi de situer Patočka dans le paysage phénoménologique. Il est établi tout au long de l’ouvrage que le mouvement est le sens d’être de l’être, dès lors compris comme physis, et de l’existence elle-même qui est mouvement de part en part, force voyante. Ce qui pour la tradition philosophique échappe au (...) mouvrement est en vérité toujours une extase du mouvement, déposé par lui, et s’avère dès lors secondaire, dérivé, car sédimenté. La philosophie de Patočka se donne donc indissociablement comme une ontologie et une phénoménologie du mouvement, l’auteur proposant un approfondissement cosmologique de la phénoménologie largement étayé sur une théorie de la sédimentation. Le livre offre une interprétation aussi érudite qu’originale de la cosmologie et de l’anthropophénoménologie patočkiennes.The book of Dragoş Duicu, presents the work of Patočka as a phenomenology of movement wherein he operates a conceptual archaeology by returning to Aristotle, and which allows him to situate Patočka in the phenomenological landscape. It is established throughout the work that movement is the meaning of being, therefore understood as physis, and that existence itself is all-around movement, force voyante. That which in the philosophical tradition escapes from movement is always in truth an ecstasy of movement, laid by the movement, which happens to be secondary and derivative, for it is ‘sedimented.’ The philosophy of Patočka presents itself therefore inseparably as an ontology and phenomenology of movement, as the author proposes a cosmological deepening of phenomenology largely supported by a theory of sedimentation. The book offers an interpretation as scholarly as it is original of the Patočkian cosmology and anthropo-phenomenology.Il libro di Dragoş Duicu presenta l’opera di Jan Patočka come una fenomenologia del movimento di cui l’autore svolge un’archeologia concettuale, che risale fino ad Aristotele, e al tempo stesso una ricollocazione all’interno del paesaggio fenomenologico. Il libro è attraversato da un filo rosso: il movimento è il senso d’essere dell’essere, in quanto physis, e dell’esistenza stessa, in quanto movimento anch’essa da cima a fondo, movimento o forza veggente. In questa prospettiva, ciò che per la tradizione filosofica si sottrae al movimento è sempre in verità un’estasi del movimento, depositata dal movimento stesso e proprio perciò secondaria, derivata, sedimentata. La filosofia di Patočka si offre, indissociabilmente, come un’ontologia e come una fenomenologia del movimento, come mostra Duicu sulla base di un approfondimento cosmologico della fenomenologia patockiana largamente incentrato su una teoria della sedimentazione. Il libro offre quindi un’interpretazione tanto erudita quanto originale della cosmologia e dell’antropologia patočkiane. (shrink)

One can know how to ride a bicycle, play the cello, or collect experimental data. But who can know how to properly ride a tandem bicycle, perform a symphony, or run a high-energy physics experiment? Reductionist analyses fail to account for these cases strictly in terms of the individual know-how involved. Nevertheless, it doesn't follow from non-reductionism that groups possess this know-how. One must first show that epistemic extension cannot obtain. This is the idea that individuals can possess knowledge even (...) when others possess some of the epistemic materials generating it. I show that only knowledge-that can be epistemically extended, not knowledge-how. Appeal to epistemic extension is a viable way of avoiding group knowledge-that ascriptions but not group knowledge-how ascriptions. Therefore, groups can know how. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that the values supported by scientists can have a role in episodes of theory choice. In the first part, I characterize the value- and the rulebased accounts of theory choice. In the second part, I analyze how the thesis of underdetermination of theory by empirical data can be used to argue for a value-based account. I discuss two versions of the underdetermination thesis, arguing that the weaker version, underdetermination by the evidence available at a particular (...) time, is sufficient for establishing the role of values in theory selection. Many authors distinguish between cognitive and non-cognitive values, considering that only the former ones have a legitimate role in theory choice. I defend this distinction, showing that it has both a normative and a descriptive dimension. I argue that cognitive values must not be seen as indicators of truth, but they can be characterized by their relation to the goal of science. In the end, I argue that, in spite of being justified and useful, the distinction between cognitive and non-cognitive values is not clear-cut. (shrink)

Even though Pietraszewski acknowledges the tentative nature of the theory and the multiple lines of adjacent research needed to flesh it out, he insists that the finite set of primitives he identified is necessary and sufficient for defining social groups in the context of conflict. In this commentary I expose three interrelated conundrums that cast doubt on this simplistic presumption.

U ovom radu pokusacemo da ponudimo opstiji nacrt za razmatranje odnosa izmedju toga kako se na pitanje religijske tolerancije gleda u dva dokumenta koja hriscanska i islamska religijska tradicija priznaju i slave. Rec je o Milanskom ediktu i o Ustavu Medine. Ovi dokumenti su za svoje vreme bili revolucionarni. Medjutim, sami ovi dokumenti, kao i religijska ucenja, na kojima su oni zasnovani, ne mogu biti merilo za uredjivanje odnosa u nase vreme. Oni su izlozeni u pojmovnom okviru i u vrednosnom (...) sistemu koji je vladao u doba kada su ta ucenja i ti dokumenti nastali. Mnogi odnosi koji su tada postojali, danas ne postoje. Na primer, u Milanskom ediktu afirmise se opste pravo na religiju, a u Ustavu Medine uzajamna tolerancija avramovskih monoteistickih religija, dok se osobe koje danas nazivamo ateistima ili agnosticima uopste pominju. (shrink)

One of the most important texts in the history of medieval philosophy, the Book of Causes was composed in Baghdad in the 9th century mainly from the Arabic translations of Proclus' Elements of Theology. In the 12th century, it was translated from Arabic into Latin, but its importance in the Latin tradition was not properly studied until now, because only 6 commentaries on it were known. Our exceptional discovery of over 70 unpublished Latin commentaries mainly on the Book of Causes, (...) but also on the Elements of Theology, prove, for the first time, that the two texts where widely disseminated and commented on throughout many European universities (Paris, Oxford, Erfurt, Krakow, Prague), from the 13th to the 16th century. These two volumes provide 11 editions (partial or complete) of the newly-discovered commentaries, and yields, through historical and philosophical analyses, new and essential insights into the influence of Greek and Islamic Neoplatonism in the Latin philosophical traditions."--P. [4] of cover. (shrink)

Cohen’s “Logic of Pure Knowledge” marks a transformation of transcendental philosophy through its new and radical interpretation of pure thinking. For Cohen, thought is in its essence creative and needs no external elements in order to produce knowledge. This study is an attempt to reconstruct the way in which Cohen understands how thinking can create its pure content from nothing. My thesis is that Kant’s distinction between the determinable and the determining I offers the theoretical context in which the productivity (...) of thinking in Cohen’s system can be understood. Thinking creates its pure content by questioning the nothing that stands before it. (shrink)

Father André Scrima emphasised in his works the importance of monasticism as an inward phenomenon of the church, and he even believed that the Orthodox Church can be considered a 'monastic' church, given that monasticism is itself ecclesial. Trying to explain this ecclesial function, Father Scrima developed a unique, fresh vision regarding the role that the monk had throughout history, and this article sought to summarise some of these observations as they emerged from the writings of Father Scrima. CONTRIBUTION: The (...) article focuses on Father Scrima and argues that this remarkable Romanian theologian is often overlooked. He was gifted with an incredible memory and an outstanding capacity to bring together information from different fields of knowledge - the so-called classical culture - with universal cultural elements, patterns, traits or institutions that are common to all human cultures worldwide, presenting them in a theological interpretation. (shrink)

This article proposes a first systematic approach to the manuscript tradition of the Liber de causis. It studies both the manuscript variants and the doctrinal difficulties raised by the transliteration of the Arabic al-ʿaql preserved in the Latin translation. Some authors interpreted this transliteration as a concept forged by Arab philosophers without an equivalent in Latin. Other authors do not mention it because they probably knew a different branch of the manuscript tradition. By examining one hundred and ten Latin manuscripts (...) of the Liber de causis, the article establishes a list of the numerous variations regarding the presence of this transliteration in the text and its forms or spellings. This analysis enables a better understanding of both Albert's position and the hitherto unsuspected diversity of the transmission of the Liber de causis in the Latin West. (shrink)

Nicolas d’Autrécourt (c. 1298-1369) est l’un des penseurs les plus audacieux de l’histoire de la philosophie, et Zénon Kaluza, qui lui a consacré près de trente ans d’études, nous le fait découvrir par ses sources, ses doctrines et ses manuscrits. Ce livre propose notamment des analyses sur des thèmes importants (tels que la perception, la causalité finale, les catégories ou l’éternité du monde) ainsi qu’une nouvelle édition des Prologues de l’Exigit ordo, enrichie d’un commentaire suivi. Les études—dont certaines sont parues (...) mais difficiles d’accès et d’autres sont inédites—dévoilent la figure d’un philosophe désirant de libérer la philosophie des contraintes institutionnelles et de critiquer la métaphysique d’Aristote, au risque de bouleverser les traditions, de contredire les dogmes de la foi et se voir condamner par les autorités théologiques de son temps. Nicolas d'Autrécourt (c. 1298-1369) is one of the most daring thinkers in the history of philosophy, and Zénon Kaluza, who has devoted to him nearly thirty years of study, presents him to us through his sources, his doctrines and his manuscripts. The reader will find studies on some of the most relevant philosophical doctrines (such as perception, the final causality, the categories and the eternity of the world) as well as a new edition of the Prologues of the _Exigit ordo_, enriched with a running commentary. The texts gathered here—some of which have been published previously but are difficult to access and others which have been unpublished until now—reveal a philosopher who wished to free philosophy from institutional constraints and dared to criticize Aristotle's metaphysics, at the risk of upsetting traditions and contradicting the dogmas of the faith, and who was condemned by the theological authorities of his time. (shrink)

Heymeric de Campo († 1460) discusses the Trinity several times in a largely unpublished metaphysical treatise, the Colliget principiorum. This paper analyses only some of these references, especially in relation to the creation of the world, which Heymeric understands in two stages : first as a creation in thought by the Father in the Son, and then as an outflow from the Trinity through the participation of the Holy Spirit. To better situate this position in the medieval context, the paper (...) shows that some authors associate the thesis of creation in the Word with the archetypal world of Plato’s Timaeus, while others reject it, such as Albert the Great. Heymeric de Campo chooses an intermediate path : he accepts that creation in the Son is the archetypal world, but he stresses that the latter neither exists nor acts outside the Trinity. This can be interpreted as a reaction against the Prague realists (Jerome of Prague and John Hus) condemned at the Council of Constance. Heymeric draws on Albert’s interpretation of Proposition IV of the Liber de causis to show that God’s going out from the Trinity is through a particular type of flow of the first created being. This first created being is a third kind of being, neither that of the Creator nor that of the creature, but creation. It is passage and becoming, that by which God manifests himself and allows himself to be known. Heymeric calls it quid neutrum and quo fit, an indeterminate being, simple but filled with forms, both finite and infinite, a form without form, but informing and transporting forms (in an inchoative manner). Yet it is the subject of metaphysics, and that opens a different perspective from that of the onto‑theology to which we are accustomed. (shrink)

MethodologyA new hypothesis on the basic features characterizing the Foundations of Mathematics is suggested.Application of the methodBy means of it, the several proposals, launched around the year 1900, for discovering the FoM are characterized. It is well known that the historical evolution of these proposals was marked by some notorious failures and conflicts. Particular attention is given to Cantor's programme and its improvements. Its merits and insufficiencies are characterized in the light of the new conception of the FoM. After the (...) failures of Frege's and Cantor's programmes owing to the discoveries of an antinomy and internal contradictions, respectively, the two remaining, more radical programmes, i.e. Hilbert's and Brouwer's, generated a great debate; the explanation given here is their mutual incommensurability, defined by means of the differences in their foundational features.ResultsThe ignorance of this phenomenon explains the inconclusiveness of a century-long debate between the advocates of these two proposals. Which however have been so greatly improved as to closely approach or even recognize some basic features of the FoM.Discussion on the resultsYet, no proposal has recognized the alternative basic feature to Hilbert's main one, the deductive organization of a theory, although already half a century before the births of all the programmes this alternative was substantially instantiated by Lobachevsky's theory on parallel lines. Some conclusive considerations of a historical and philosophical nature are offered. In particular, the conclusive birth of a pluralism in the FoM is stressed. (shrink)

_Reading Proclus and the_ Book of Causes: _Western Scholarly Networks and Debates, Volume 1_ provides a fresh account, based on previously unknown documents, of the diffusion of Hellenic and Islamic thought in the Latin West (12th -16th centuries).

. Each predicate of the Aristotelian square of opposition includes the word “is”. Through a twofold interpretation of this word the square includes both classical logic and non-classical logic. All theses embodied by the square of opposition are preserved by the new interpretation, except for contradictories, which are substituted by incommensurabilities. Indeed, the new interpretation of the square of opposition concerns the relationships among entire theories, each represented by means of a characteristic predicate. A generalization of the square of opposition (...) is achieved by not adjoining, according to two Leibniz’ suggestions about human mind, one more choice about the kind of infinity; i.e., a choice which was unknown by Greek’s culture, but which played a decisive role for the birth and then the development of modern science. This essential innovation of modern scientific culture explains why in modern times the Aristotelian square of opposition was disregarded. (shrink)

The book is the proceeding of a conference in Pisa 12007 on the philosophy of Lanza del Vasto - the unique Western disciple of Gandhi - examined under the items: his thesis work in Philosophy (Fabris), his Greek and Christian methaphysics (Salmeri), his criticism of Hegel (Vigne), the relationship with Gandhi (Manara), Trinity (Vermorel) Indian philosophical traditioon (Trianni), his henologixcal thinking (Reale) his trinitarian metaphysics (Bertini), his mystical thinking (Vannini) a logicaL analysis of his thinking(Drago), his philosophy and theory of (...) non-violence(Cozzo) The relationship with Catholic Church (Tanzarella), Pedagogy (Butturini), sojourn in Pisa (Lanza). (shrink)

If we accept that Kandinsky developed a systematic theory of the fundamentals of painting, we must ask what is the central concept underlying this attempt. This paper argues for the thesis that objectless vibration plays a central role in the reconstruction proposed Kandinsky’s first book, ”Concerning the Spiritual in Art”. This kind of vibration includes as a virtual field both shapes, sounds and colors. All these “fall” in an organized way from the virtual vibrations, and the purpose of abstract painting (...) is to lift the mind beyond the specific distinctions of the visible world of objects to the abstract level of primordial vibrations. The article examines the origin, functions, and the effect this concept has on color theory. (shrink)

Reading Proclus and the Book of Causes, published in three volumes, is a fresh, comprehensive understanding of Proclus' legacy in the Hellenic, Byzantine, Islamic, Latin and Hebrew traditions. The history of the Book of Causes, an Islamic adaptation of mainly Proclus' Elements of Theology and Plotinus' Enneads, is reconsidered on the basis of newly discovered manuscripts. This first volume enriches our understanding of the diverse reception of Proclus' Elements of Theology and of the Book of Causes in the Western tradition (...) where universities and religious schools offered unparalleled conditions of diffusion. The volume sheds light on overlooked authors, texts, literary genres and libraries from all major European universities from the 12th to the 16th centuries. (shrink)

La notion d’ordre public trouve des expressions diverses dans la norme constitutionnelle. Tantôt norme d’habilitation, tantôt moyen de conciliation entre des principes constitutionnels antagonistes, l’ordre public est un objectif de valeur constitutionnelle qui s’impose au législateur et qui est susceptible de restreindre l’exercice de certaines libertés. Plus fondamentalement, la Constitution apparaît comme une règle, par nature, d’ordre public.

The contribution by De Dreu and Gross oversimplifies the complexity of the topic. I provide counterarguments that undermine the two sweeping contentions on which the article's argument depends, and I argue that asymmetric conflict is best understood at the finer-grained level of studying the sequences of strikes and counterstrikes that the rival actors have in store for one another.

U ovom clanku bice izlozena polemika o kalam kosmoloskom argumentu, koja je razvijena u srednjovekovnoj islamskoj teologiji i filozofiji. Glavni momenti ove polemike bili su izlozeni stolecima pre u Filoponovoj kritici Aristotelove teze da je svet vecan i da nije moguca aktuelna beskonacnost. Filopon prihvata tezu da je aktuelna beskonacnost nemoguca, ali on misli da, upravo zbog toga, svet ne moze biti vecan. Naime, prema Filoponu, nesto ne moze da nastane ako njegovo po?stojanje zahteva prethodno postojanje beskonacnog broja drugih stvari, (...) od kojih jedna dolazi posle druge. Filopon i njegovi sledbenici u srednjevekovnoj islamskoj teologiji, zvani kalam teolozi, ponudili su argumente protiv koncepcije temporalno beskonacnog univerzuma, koji bi bio shvacen kao sukcesivni kauzalni lanac. S druge strane, srednjovekovni islamski mislioci, zvani falasifah /filozofi/ ili aristotelijanci ponudili su argumente u prilog Aristotelove koncepcije vecnosti univerzuma. Odlucujuci problem u raspravi izmedju kalam i falsafa srednjovekovnih muslimanskih mislilaca bio je problem beskonacnosti. U ovom clanku bice prikazani neki od krucijalnih momenata tih argumenata. (shrink)

Nella storia della metafisica è stato un grande problema come chiarire l’idea della coincidentia oppositorum (la coincidenza degli opposti) di Cusano, il quale è riconosciuto comunque da Cassirer come il primo epistemologo del pensiero moderno, in particolare come colui che ha saputo conquistare l’infinito alla mente umana. Dopo alcuni secoli, ha avuto una grande importanza una idea simile a quella di Cusano, la dialettica di Hegel, la quale aggiunge una negazione ad una prima frase negata per ottenere una sintesi in (...) termini generali. Ma poi queste idee sono state sempre meno seguite, eccetto che nel XX secolo da un filosofo non accademico, Lanza del Vasto che ha criticato Hegel e si è ricondotto a Cusano. Nello scritto esamino questa tematica mediante gli strumenti recentemente forniti dalla logica matematica, già verificati sugli scritti di altri scienziati; essi sono capaci di distinguere con precisione che cosa, negli scritti di uno studioso, è un passaggio logico formale e che cosa è una semplice illazione, derivata dalla conoscenza comune o dalla sua creatività; e se è un passaggio logico, decidere di che tipo di logica è. Per mezzo di questo metodo formale, i) presento alcune caratteristiche del ragionare di Cusano; ii) critico il metodo di Hegel; il risultato si accorda con la analisi critica di Hegel che Lanza del Vasto ha compiuto in maniera intuitva; iii) dimostro che la relazione tra Cusano e Lanza del Vasto è più forte di quanto dichiara quest’ultimo; iv) suggerisco una spiegazione della coincidentia oppositorum, chiarendo che la novità di ragionare in logica non classica è stata così innovativa che il tentativo di Cusano di precisarne il metodo è risultato in una scorciatoia, non errata ma valida solo in alcune situazioni; mentre è stato deviante il tentativo di Hegel; Lanza del Vasto, che ha portato un contributo al metodo di Cusano, si è comunque reso conto che occorreva arrivare a formalizzare un nuovo tipo di logica, che oggi risulta essere quella non classica. In definitiva, occorre attribuire a Cusano il merito di aver suggerito una nuova maniera di razionalità logica, quella capace di ragionare in logica non classica e di averne dato, sia pure in maniera imprecisa ed oscura, una prima formalizzazione. (shrink)

I characterize Bishop's constructive mathematics as an alternative to classical mathematics, which makes use of the actual infinity. From the history an accurate investigation of past physical theories I obtianed some ones - mainly Lazare Carnot's mechanics and Sadi Carnot's thermodynamics - which are alternative to the dominant theories - e.g. Newtopn's mechanics. The way to link together mathematics to theoretical physics is generalized and some general considerations, in particualr on the geoemtry in theoretical physics, are obtained.that.

I connect two increasingly popular ideas in social epistemology—group knowledge and epistemic extension—both departures from mainstream epistemological tradition. In doing so, I generate a framework for conceptualizing and organizing contemporary epistemology along several core axes. This, in turn, allows me to delineate a largely unexplored frontier in group epistemology. The bulk of extant work in group epistemology can be dubbed intra-group epistemology: the study of epistemically salient happenings within groups. I delineate and attempt to motivate what I dub inter-group epistemology: (...) the study of epistemically salient happenings between groups and other subjects and entities. (shrink)

“Conflict” in the Works of Michel de Montaigne The “philosophical” style specific to Montaigne’s Essays, totally devoid of demonstration and system, gives the reader the possibility of “essaying” an experience of his own reading, based on the idea that “Words belong half to the speaker, half to the hearer” (III, 13). Following Montaigne’s idea that selfishness is the basis of solidarity between men (the basis of society), we can detect two levels in this political conception: 1) on the one hand, (...) the relationship between the individual subject and his own complex state; 2) on the other hand, the relationship of the individual to otherness. For Montaigne, the first level is a priority and, as his own political experience shows, the individual subject has above all the duty to remain true to himself and to his own temperament. The duty to serve others is secondary, occasional and moderate. To complete the ideas that can constitute a “map” of Montaigne’s political philosophy, we have analyzed – quantitatively and qualitatively – the contexts in which the French philosopher used the word “conflict”. The examples confirm the predominance of the interior level of the individual subject and less of the relationship of the individual to otherness. To be active in the public sphere, the individual needs modesty and moderation in the expression of his opinions, as well as a rational evaluation when he wishes major changes; otherwise, they risk doing more harm than good to others. The individual must struggle internally with the weapons of reason, so as not to give in to irrational desires – such as revenge or carnal desires – which would affect others, which is virtue. An inner balance is necessary, and the others will gain from this. (shrink)

Sriprakash, Rudolph and Gerrard write: ‘There is an ongoing need to hold in tension, and be deeply conscious of, the past that endures in the present as much as there is a need to hold in tension,...

Pierre Hadot famously claimed that, between Antiquity and German Idealism, Western philosophy had lost its practical role of guiding the life of the practitioner. Scholars who challenged this view focused on two medieval models. This article argues that the overlooked work Colliget principiorum iuris naturalis, divini et humani philosophice doctrinalium by Heymericus de Campo postulates a third model. On the basis of St. Paul’s teaching about the “inner man,” Heymericus reconsiders the Aristotelian doctrines of abstraction and of being as such (...) in relation to the Neoplatonic model of intellectual progression and interior conversion. In a realist conceptual framework, he holds that only metaphysics reflects the true nature of the human being inasmuch as it presupposes a way of life that assumes both the interaction with and withdrawal from the sensible world. However, Heymericus’ theory is neither limited to nor conditioned by Christian principles, but by Peripatetic philosophy. (shrink)