Volume 71 (2016), 5

The following article is an attempt at indicating the influence Parmenides’ thought had on later Greek philosophy (especially that of Aristotle) from the perspective of the meaning of “phronesis”. Beginning with an analysis of passages from Heraclitus connected with this category, the semantic context of the understanding of phronesis in Parmenides’ thought is… Read more

A therapeutic approach to reading the Socratic literature of the 4th century B.C. is based on the assumption that Socrates appears in Socratic dialogues not only as a persistent investigator or as a paradigm of ethical behaviour, but also as a therapist. Socrates cures the souls of his loved companions. Therapeia in Plato’s Charades is a mask which Socrates… Read more

In Callicles’ monologue (491e5-492c8) from the dialogue Gorgias the term φρόνησις is used only in one place. The most important Socrates’ opponent applied it when defending his own conception of a good life. His ideal of a good life is represented by a ruler who must not restrict himself in any way. This means that Callicles rejects the moral ideal, i. e.… Read more

The paper deals with the problem of distinction between knowledge and true belief in Plato’s dialogue Theaetetus. It is focused on the part Theaet. 201a-c, where according to some commentators, Plato specified the necessary and sufficient conditions for achieving knowledge. The aim of the paper is to find out, whether talking about nec-essary or sufficient… Read more

The article deals with the topic of free decision in Aristotleʼs moral psychology. First, Aristotleʼs conception of psychological powers as a whole is outlined followed by a more detailed examination of his understanding of phronesis. Scrutinized is also the question to what extent the freedom of action is allowed for by Aristotleʼs practical reason. In order to… Read more

The term prudent has been introduced into Latin philosophical writings by M. Tullius Cicero as a counterpart of the Greek virtue phronesis. Probably he used it in order to underline his intellectual affinity with some ethical and physical aspects of Plato’s, Aristotleʼs or Stoic thought; or maybe he let himself inspire by the older Latin intellectual tradition. As… Read more

The article is designed to defend the thesis that conceptual analysis is the main method of analytic philosophy. Philosophical analysis pursued in analytic philosophy can be identified with conceptual analysis while concepts can be supposed to be the primary subject-matter of philosophical theories. The thesis can be justified by claiming that philosophical… Read more