Delimiting a Self by God in Epictetus

Epictetus' thought is defined by an antithesis of mine and not-mine, which is an antithesis of externals and self. From this arise a number of questions for Epictetus‘ theology, which are addressed in this paper: How is the self delimited from God, given that God is all-pervading? Is God inside or outside the self? In which way is God the cause, creator and shaper of the self? And how does human agency and self-shaping through prohairesis spell out within this determinst framework? If, as will become apparent in the discussion of the previous questions, the shape and activities of human selves originate from God and should be perfectly aligned with God, in which sense is there still a separate, individual human self

Digital document and interpretation : re-thinking "text" and scholarship in electronic settings

The contribution starts from outlining the evolution of the scholarly production flow from the print based paradigm to the digital age and in this context it explores the opposition of digital versus analog representation modes. It then develops on the triple paradigm shift caused by genuine digital publishing and its specific consequences for the social sciences and humanities (SSH) which in turn results in re-constituting basic scholarly notions such as 'text' and 'document'. The paper concludes with discussing the specific value that could be added in systematically using digital text resources as a basis for scholarly work and also states some of the necessary conditions for such a 'digital turn' to be successful in the SSH.Der Beitrag beginnt mit einem Überblick zur Evolution des wissenschaftlichen Informationskontinuums auf dem Weg vom druckbasierten Paradigma in das digitale Zeitalter und geht in diesem Zusammenhang näher auf die Unterscheidung 'digitaler' und 'analoger' Repräsentationsmodi ein. Anschließend behandeln wir den als Folge des Übergangs zu genuin digitalen Publikationsformen erwartbaren dreifachen Paradigmenwechsel und dessen spezifische Konsequenzen für die Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften sowie als deren Folge wiederum die Re-Konstitution elementarer Kernbegriffe geisteswissenschaftlichen Arbeitens wie 'Text' und 'Dokument'. Der Beitrag schließt mit einer Betrachtung des spezifischen Mehrwerts, der sich aus dem systematischen Rekurs auf digitale Textressourcen in den Geisteswissenschaften ergeben könnte und geht dabei auch auf die erforderlichen Vorbedingungen eines solcherart erfolgreichen 'digital turn' in den Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften ein

Flooding in Northern Italy during the Early Middle Ages: resilience and adaptation

open1Alluvial phenomena are well documented by archaeologists all over Northern Italy, and have been often linked to events reported by literary sources (e.g. the flooding of 589 described by Paul the Deacon). This paper will discuss, on the basis of the archaeological documentation of several case studies, flooding in the Middle Ages, considering it both as a periodical threat in certain regions and as resilience, or rather as the capacity of the local people to bring the land back to its original appearance. The paper also discusses the economic and social impact of alluvial phenomena. They were a hazard for populations forced to change settlement distribution, but also offered new economic opportunities, through the exploitation of wetlands and forests.openBrogiolo, GIAN PIETROBrogiolo, GIAN PIETR

The environmental battle hymn of the Stoic God

In Stoic theology, the universe constitutes a living organism. Humankind has often had a detrimental impact on planetary health. We propose that the Stoic call to live according to Nature, where God and Nature are one and the same, provides a philosophical basis for re-addressing environmental degradation. We discuss the value of the logocentric framework and aligning oneself with Divine will and natural law (as stated by reason) in order that living beings can thrive

Theon and the history of the progymnasmata

This paper surveys the evidence for the technical literature on rhetorical progymnasmata. It concludes that the arguments for an early date for Theon’s Progymnasmata are inherently weak, and are inconsistent with the evidence for the text’s currency in late antiquity (especially the fact that it was translated into Armenian). Analysis of a dispute about the classification of Aelius Aristides On the Four in the fourth and fifth centuries shows that Theon and the Sopater whose Progymnasmata are quoted by John of Sardis are both likely to be teachers of rhetoric independently attested in fifth-century Alexandria. It is suggested that the pseudo-Hermogenean Progymnasmata are most likely to be the work of Minucianus; but this conjecture cannot be proved

Reassessing Epictetus’ Opinion of Divination

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Irony as a way of life : Svevo, Kierkegaard and psychoanalysis

Dejected by decades of commercial and critical failure, the Triestine author Italo Svevo found fresh inspiration for his final novel (La coscienza di Zeno, 1923) in the writings of Freud. Yet critics have always puzzled over his declared intransigence toward his new master, often attributing this ambivalence to a simple defence mechanism. But what if Svevo had been reading other works simultaneously, works that challenged and exposed the weaknesses of psychoanalytic authority? As this article argues, Svevo’s recently discovered reading of Kierkegaard’s ‘existential irony’ sheds light on his conception of the power of both narrative and the analytical process itself.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

How might a Stoic eat in accordance with nature and “environmental facts”?

This paper explores how to deliberate about food choices from a Stoic perspective informed by the value of environmental sustainability. This perspective is reconstructed from both ancient and contemporary sources of Stoic philosophy. An account of what the Stoic goal of “living in agreement with nature” would amount to in dietary practice is presented. Given ecological facts about food production, an argument is made that Stoic virtue made manifest as wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance compel Stoic practitioners to select locally sourced, low resource input, plant-based foods whenever circumstances allow

On the History of Number Line

The notion of number line was formed in XX c. We consider the generation of this conception in works by M. Stiefel (1544), Galilei (1633), Euler (1748), Lambert (1766), Bolzano (1830-1834), Meray (1869-1872), Cantor (1872), Dedekind (1872), Heine (1872) and Weierstrass (1861-1885).Comment: 9 page