Phronimon Volume 4 Number 1 (2003)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/11456

Contents
Domanski, A. Platonic temperance: The heart of a healthy constitution 1
Evangeliou, C.C. Nietzsche on Tragedy and Socrates 18
Hofmeyr, A.B. Self-created or Other-involved? Foucault and Levinas on how to become ethical 40
Ladikos, A Hermeneutical paradoxes in the trial of Socrates 62
Maniatis, Y.N. The world in identity in Heraclitus: (Greek not available) 70

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    The world in identity in Heraclitus
    (South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities, 2003) Maniatis, Y.N.; South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities
    Heraclitus is not only the philosopher of the law of constant change but also the philosopher of identity. The fact that the cosmos is one and the same for itself and for all, means that it is in unity and identity with itself. The unity of diverse phenomena is to be found not in their matter, but in their logos. Indeed the very identity of an object depends not on the matter that composes it, but on the regularity and predictability of the changes it undergoes. The world in Heraclitus is the same, one and common and its identity lies exclusively in that it is "everlasting fire" and also in its eternal, same, one and common ontological nature.
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    Hermeneutical paradoxes in the trial of Socrates
    (South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities, 2003) Ladikos, Anastasios; South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities
    The logical role of the paradox is not to state a truth whose paradoxical nature lies in the difficulty we feel in maintaining it as true, but rather to state something that will cause fo feel as false something else we previously believed to be true. The Socratic paradox, sometimes called the "moral paradox, " is convincing and true because it implicitly raises the question about the true good. The drama of Socrates' trial and death indeed illustrates a dilemma, in which on the one hand the philosopher cannot accept the way of life prescribed by his tradition but on the other hand cannot offer an unquestionable alternative to it. The best approach to the Socratic problem is an eclectic one, using all the ancient sources instead of championing a single author at the expense of the rest.
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    Self-created or other-invoked? Foucault and Levinas on how to become ethical
    (South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities, 2003) South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities; Hofmeyr, Augusta Benda
    Foucault professes the possibility of resistance despite the human innate entrapment in power and knowledge. The ethical subject is the site where this resistance becomes possible, if and only this ethical subject is realised as something ofher than common speculative self-possession. Levinas does not equip the existent with any scope for ethical action. He constructs an existent that is happy, independent and atheistic, but completely powerless. Social reality seems to affirm Levinas' suspicions therein that many of us are primarily concerned with our own needs, desires and ambitions. Foucault does not offer an unproblematic alternative but he does believe in the subject's inherent ethical potential and in the possibility of actualising it.
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    Nietzsche on tragedy and Socrates
    (South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities, 2003) Evangeliou, Christos; South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities
    Socrates appears to have been the perpetual target of Nietzsche's manic critique. His accusation of Socrates as ultimately responsible for the untimely death of Greek tragedy acquires both comic aspects and tragic proportions, surrounded as it is by his speculative and mytho-poetic account of the genesis of Greek tragedy and the additional prophesy of its destined rebirth in romantic Germany. Although he acknowledges the Socratic irony and Socrates' sense of humour, Nietzsche feels that he can identify Socrates' dialectic tricks in order to discern and disclose the dangerous essence of Socratism and its corrupting effect on noble Plato. While admiring Nietzsche's vision and power of the will as a classical philologist with philosophical pretensions, he is to be held accountable for his non-philosophical treatment of Socrates.
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    Platonic temperance : the heart of a healthy constitution
    (South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities, 2003) Domanski, A.; South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities
    Plato's notion of temperance, as elaborated in his dialogues the Republic and the Laws, is far removed from conventional modern thinking on the subject. Platonic temperance is as much a public as a private virtue. lts manifold meanings include restraint, moderation, order, equilibrium, harmony, measure, selfcontrol and balance. Temperance in one or other of these senses underpins a number of key concepts which lie at the heart of modern constitutional theory and practice. These are the social contract, the separation of powers in the state, the notion of a mixed constitution and the rule of law, among others. All of these notions are Platonic in origin, although they are often incorrectly attributed to later writers. This article serves to identify and acknowledge Platonic temperance as the root of these key ideas, and the foundation of every sound constitution.