Invited Speakers

Chris Izgin (Oxford): 'Themistius on the Grasp of Axioms in the Posterior Analytics'

Abstract: In his Paraphrasis of Aristotle's Posterior Analytics, Themistius claims that the intellect grasps the per se attributes of which axioms are composed. However, he does not give any examples, leaving his account unsubstantiated. I aim to show that Aristotle’s principles of non-contradiction and of excluded middle, which are axioms common to all demonstrative sciences, are derivable from the per se attributes that are part of Aristotle’s definition of contradiction. 

Chair: Ursula Coope

Rachel Barney (Toronto): 'Plato on the Normativity of Craft'

Location: Amersi Lecture Theatre, Brasenose College

Chair: Simon Shogry

Malcolm Keating (Smith College): 'Selves and Sky-flowers: Kumārila Bhaṭṭa on Metaphor and Nonexistents'

Abstract: The seventh-century philosopher Kumārila Bhaṭṭa, in explaining his theory of metaphor, also discusses the problem of negative existentials and nonreferring terms, for cases used by his Buddhist opponents, such as “There is no self” and “The self is a sky-flower.” I show how Kumārila’s broadly descriptivist solution to these puzzles acts as a defense of his preferred theory of metaphor. This case also illustrates the importance of taking Mīmāṃsā texts like the Tantravārttika seriously as philosophical works, even if, given their concern with Vedic hermeneutics, they are less often the topic of modern philosophical interest.

Chair: Monima Chadha

Kelli Rudolph (Kent): 'Beyond Detachment: Political Love in Stoic Cosmopolitan Theory'

Abstract: Critics of Stoic cosmopolitanism claim that it faces a motivational gap, reflecting wider contemporary concerns about cosmopolitan ideals. According to this critique, the Stoic focus on rational detachment and the sufficiency of virtue prevents them from cultivating genuine concern for others. Yet the resources of Stoicism prove more robust than such criticisms allow. While Stoic moral psychology and the doctrine of oikeiosis are often invoked as responses to this challenge, I argue that the Stoics’ notion of political love constitutes a crucial but underexplored aspect of their cosmopolitan vision. This concept provides a distinctive framework for understanding how personal attachments can be extended and universalised, thereby fostering active benevolence and sustaining social responsibility. Far from advocating an abstract or emotionally impoverished ideal, Stoicism articulates principles capable of grounding a model of cosmopolitanism that is both rationally coherent and practically engaged, rooted in recognition of the fundamental interrelations of human life.

Chair: Marion Durand

Francesca Masi (Università Ca’ Foscari, Venezia): 'The Physiology of the epibolē phantastikē tēs dianoias: Epicurus’ Letter to Herodotus 49–51'

Abstract: Diogenes Laërtius states that in the Canon, Epicurus introduced as criteria of truth sensations, prolēpseis, and affections, and the later Epicureans added to these the epibolai phantastikai tēs dianoias (DL X.31). This seems to be confirmed in a passage from Philodemus’ On Signs, which includes epibolai phantastikai tēs dianoias among other criteria (fr. 1 De Lacy).
The notion of epibolē phantastikē tēs dianoias rarely appears in Epicurus’ writings (KD 24; Ep. Hrd. 50–51). More frequently, Epicurus uses the term epibolē, possibly qualified according to the level of generality of its content (the distinction between partial (kata meros) and complete (athroa) epibolai, cf. Ep. Hrd. 35, 36, 69, 83), or the notion of epibolē associated with the genitives tēs dianoias and tōn kritēriōn (51), without reference to the adjective phantastikē. Although Epicurus also uses various expressions relating to epibolē in relevant passages of his work in which he discusses important methodological or physiological aspects of his doctrine, he never explains what it is. Interpreters have approached the subject of epibolē from a predominantly epistemological perspective, seeking precisely to establish:

1. what mental and cognitive act it is and what, if any, its content is;
2. in what relation it is to other cognitive states;
3. why the Epicureans felt the need to introduce the epibolē phantastikē tēs dianoias among the criteria of truth

Chair: Michail Peramatzis

Alesia Preite (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg): 'The Secret of Tripartition'

Abstract: The Timaeus is one of the three dialogues where Plato explicitly introduces a tripartite soul. In this dialogue we also appear to learn about the origin, the structure and the composition of the immortal rational soul, but not of the other two parts. In this paper, I challenge this assumption and argue that in an often-overlooked passage (Ti. 42e5-44b8), Timaeus in fact describes the origin of the soul’s mortal parts, from which we can reconstruct their structure and composition. My main claim is that the mortal parts of the soul originate from modifications of the circles of the immortal rational soul and are constituted by them. After discussing the implications of this claim and addressing some possible objections to it, I conclude by briefly showing how this reading of the Timaeus can help us making sense of other complex passages concerning tripartition, such as Glaucus’ one in the Republic (R. 610a9-612a6).

Chair: Simon Shogry