Hynek Bartoš
Charles University, Prague, Faculty of Humanities, Faculty Member
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, History of Medicine, History of Science, Ancient Greek Philosophy, and 15 morePlato, Aristotle, Hippocratic Corpus, Presocratic Philosophy, Classics, Presocratics, Galen, Aristotle's Ethics, Pythagoreanism, Hippocrates, Empedocles, Pythagoras, Aristoteles, Heraclitus, and Ancient Medicineedit
Research Interests: Philosophy and Soul
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This paper focusses on Aristotle´s methodology of science and its application to the study of the human soul. My aim is to contrast two significantly different methodological approaches and to formulate two pairs of premises that... more
This paper focusses on Aristotle´s methodology of science and its application to the study of the human soul. My aim is to contrast two significantly different methodological approaches and to formulate two pairs of premises that Aristotle employs in two clearly differentiated and independent fields of study, namely in his zoological works and in the works of practical philosophy. Acknowledging these principles, as I suggest, may shed a new light on the methodological difficulties that Aristotle indicates in the introductory chapters of his De anima.
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This volume aims at exploring the ancient roots of ‘holistic’ approaches in the specific field of medicine and the life sciences, without, however, overlooking the larger theoretical implications of these discussions. Therefore, the... more
This volume aims at exploring the ancient roots of ‘holistic’ approaches in the specific field of medicine and the life sciences, without, however, overlooking the larger theoretical implications of these discussions. Therefore, the project plans to broaden the perspective to include larger cultural discussions and, in a comparative spirit, reach out to some examples from non Graeco-Roman medical cultures. As such, it constitutes a fundamental contribution to history of medicine, philosophy of medicine, cultural studies, and ancient studies more broadly. The wide-ranging selection of chapters offers a comprehensive view of an exciting new field: the interrogation of ancient sources in the light of modern concepts in philosophy of medicine, as justification of the claim for their enduring relevance as object of study and, at the same time, as means to a more adequate contextualisation of modern debates within a long historical process.
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Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Volume 94, Number 1, Spring 2020, pp. 133-135 (Review)
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Research Interests: Philosophy and Brill
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The concept of mimēsis was ‘shared by most authors, philosophers and educated audiences in the classical period, in antiquity as a whole, and even later’, although it has probably never been developed into a well-articulated theory. As... more
The concept of mimēsis was ‘shared by most authors, philosophers and educated audiences in the classical period, in antiquity as a whole, and even later’, although it has probably never been developed into a well-articulated theory. As far as we can judge from the extant evidence, the meaning of the expressions μίμησις and μιμέομαι differs from author to author and sometimes even from passage to passage. Ancient Greek views on mimēsis have often been discussed in modern scholarship, mainly within the field of history of art, and it has been demonstrated repeatedly that the traditional English translation ‘imitation’ is not always appropriate for the ancient texts and that in many contexts it is rather misleading. In the following study I aim to focus on this concept as it was employed in the oldest Greek cosmological and philosophical theories. As a rule, the study of these theories is complicated by their fragmentary state of preservation and by their distortion through the specifi...
Research Interests: Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Plato, Aristotle, Mimesis, and 10 moreHistory of Medicine, Ancient Philosophy, Hippocratic Corpus, Ancient Greek History, Ancient Greek Philosophy, Hippocrates, Philosophy and Religious Studies, History and archaeology, Language Culture and Communication, and Hippocratic Oath
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... 1 Vekeré komentáře, opravy a připomínky rád uvítám na adrese hynek.bartos@centrum.cz. ... 27-49, 1-23; Böhme, J., Die Seele Und Das Ich Im Homerischen Epos, Götingen 1929; Bremmer, JN, The Early Greek Concept of the Soul, Princeton... more
... 1 Vekeré komentáře, opravy a připomínky rád uvítám na adrese hynek.bartos@centrum.cz. ... 27-49, 1-23; Böhme, J., Die Seele Und Das Ich Im Homerischen Epos, Götingen 1929; Bremmer, JN, The Early Greek Concept of the Soul, Princeton UP 1983; Claus, DB, Toward the ...
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Research Interests: Philosophy and Soul
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Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Volume 94, Number 1, Spring 2020, pp.
133-135 (Review)
133-135 (Review)
Research Interests:
The concept of mimēsis was ‘shared by most authors, philosophers and educated audiences in the classical period, in antiquity as a whole, and even later’, although it has probably never been developed into a well-articulated theory. As... more
The concept of mimēsis was ‘shared by most authors, philosophers and educated audiences in the classical period, in antiquity as a whole, and even later’, although it has probably never been developed into a well-articulated theory. As far as we can judge from the extant evidence, the meaning of the expressions μίμησις and μιμέομαι differs from author to author and sometimes even from passage to passage. Ancient Greek views on mimēsis have often been discussed in modern scholarship, mainly within the field of history of art, and it has been demonstrated repeatedly that the traditional English translation ‘imitation’ is not always appropriate for the ancient texts and that in many contexts it is rather misleading. In the following study I aim to focus on this concept as it was employed in the oldest Greek cosmological and philosophical theories. As a rule, the study of these theories is complicated by their fragmentary state of preservation and by their distortion through the specifically Platonic views that were dominant among the later doxographers. I shall suggest that the Platonizing tendency still prevalent today, which tends to translate and interpret mimēsis as ‘imitation’ or ‘copy’, should be carefully revised in the light of the Hippocratic evidence and specifically in view of De victu, probably the oldest authentic, non-fragmentary, and non-Platonic document attesting the concept of mimēsis.
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This paper focusses on Aristotle´s methodology of science and its application to the study of the human soul. My aim is to contrast two significantly different methodological approaches and to formulate two pairs of premises that... more
This paper focusses on Aristotle´s methodology of science and its application to the study of the human soul. My aim is to contrast two significantly different methodological approaches and to formulate two pairs of premises that Aristotle employs in two clearly differentiated and independent fields of study, namely in his zoological works and in the works of practical philosophy. Acknowledging these principles, as I suggest, may shed a new light on the methodological difficulties that Aristotle indicates in the introductory chapters of his De anima.
Research Interests:
Hynek Bartoš Hippocratic Dietetics and Philosophical Care of the Soul Summary: The aim of my essay is to discuss Hippocratic dietetics as a model for construing philosophical ethics in the Classical Era of ancient Greece. I shall... more
Hynek Bartoš
Hippocratic Dietetics and Philosophical Care of the Soul
Summary:
The aim of my essay is to discuss Hippocratic dietetics as a model for construing philosophical ethics in the Classical Era of ancient Greece. I shall demonstrate how the author of De victu and other Hippocratic authors presented medicine (or more specifically dietetics) as a therapeutic technique aiming at independence from the traditional religious beliefs and practices, from the role of chance in our lives, from disadvantages of our particular natural conditions and predispositions, and even from the need of professional medical care. I will also try to distinguish the object of the dietetic health care from the object of the philosophical “care of soul” advocated by Socrates, his contemporaries and followers.
Ulrich Wollner
The Care of the Self in Xenophon’s Memorabilia
Summary: The paper deals with Socrates’ conception of the care of the self in Xenophon’s work Memorabilia. The first part is intended to analyze the relationship between human body and soul. It shows that the main task of the soul is to rule over the body. Accordingly, the man has to know himself, and the self-knowledge is one of the preconditions of the self-care. The second precondition of the care of the self is the continence. Its aim is to dominate the physical needs and pleasures. They play the role of obstacles that the man has to fight against. To be able to defeat one own’s weaknesses, the wise man needs the lifelong training both of his body and soul. Finally, I discuss the self-sufficiency as the main objective of the human endeavour.
Jakub Jirsa
Plato: self-knowledge as care of oneself
Summary:
My text presents some main features of Plato’s ethics connected with the care of one’s soul, namely his moral psychology situated within the framework of the teleological cosmos. First, I discuss the identification between the self and the soul in the Alcibiades I; further I explain the complexity of the soul and its ethical relevance in the Republic. The final section discusses Plato’s ethical maxim “becoming like god” as presented in the Theaetetus, Republic and Timaeus. In this sense, I believe, one can explain why in the Phaedrus Plato’s Socrates situates his own self on the scale with two limits: a cultivated being with a share in divine on the one hand and the mythical furious beast Typhon on the other (229e-230a). The self (soul) moves on this scale in dependence on the amount of care, which Plato presents in very intellectualistic terms.
Vladislav Suvák
Antisthenes: logos as ēthos
Summary:
The paper deals with Antisthenes' account of language (logos) as well as with the role the logical paradoxes played in Antisthenes' ethical thought (ēthos). The author doesn't see An¬tisthenes' logical investigations as a part of the early "Sophistic" writings. Rather he tries to show the connection between Antisthenes' using of the logic and Socratic ethics of taking care of the self. Socratic thought in Antisthenes' fragments is neither skeptical nor dialectical. Contrary to both of these "intellectualistic" tendencies An¬tisthenes underlines the continual ethical activity of the wise. Antisthenes' using of logical paradoxes (mainly ouk estin antilegein) should have probably served as a de-monstration of an anti-Platonic conviction: Ethics is always prior to metaphysics and logic.
Keywords: Antisthenes – Plato – Cynicism – Language – Logical paradoxes – Ethics of taking care of the self.
Pavol Sucharek
Knowledge as a care for the other or „How to get ahead of Socrates?“
Summary:
This study will analyze the different nature of dialogue as reflected by Socrates and Levinas. The purpose is to show the possibility of non-epistemological speaking of that kind of knowledge, which mediates the dialogue as a conversation of two. In a certain sense it can be said that we replace the maieutics of Socrates by the dialectics of Plato. This dialectics points to how an ordinary dialogue is being transformed into a relationship of a higher order, or a relationship through which the very meaning of what belongs to the higher or divine order shines through. “To get ahead of Socrates” means in the levinasian perspective to accept “the idea of the infinite” – the infinite demand of the impracticable Good. Therefore a dialogue can be perceived, in this sense, as the starting point of every speculation about ethical knowledge in the primary sense as “a care for the other.”
Eugen Andreanský
Donald Davidson and the modern understanding of akratic action
Summary: The paper deals with the nature of akrasia (weakness of will, incontinency). In the first section the emphasis is put on the action theory of Donald Davidson. Davidson’s treatment of incontinent action is a brilliant example of modern approach to old philosophical and ethical issues. The second section introduces a few critical notes to the theory presented by Davidson. The paper also draws attention to the interconnection between akrasia and the problem of irrationality as well as the problem of internalism in action theory.
Hippocratic Dietetics and Philosophical Care of the Soul
Summary:
The aim of my essay is to discuss Hippocratic dietetics as a model for construing philosophical ethics in the Classical Era of ancient Greece. I shall demonstrate how the author of De victu and other Hippocratic authors presented medicine (or more specifically dietetics) as a therapeutic technique aiming at independence from the traditional religious beliefs and practices, from the role of chance in our lives, from disadvantages of our particular natural conditions and predispositions, and even from the need of professional medical care. I will also try to distinguish the object of the dietetic health care from the object of the philosophical “care of soul” advocated by Socrates, his contemporaries and followers.
Ulrich Wollner
The Care of the Self in Xenophon’s Memorabilia
Summary: The paper deals with Socrates’ conception of the care of the self in Xenophon’s work Memorabilia. The first part is intended to analyze the relationship between human body and soul. It shows that the main task of the soul is to rule over the body. Accordingly, the man has to know himself, and the self-knowledge is one of the preconditions of the self-care. The second precondition of the care of the self is the continence. Its aim is to dominate the physical needs and pleasures. They play the role of obstacles that the man has to fight against. To be able to defeat one own’s weaknesses, the wise man needs the lifelong training both of his body and soul. Finally, I discuss the self-sufficiency as the main objective of the human endeavour.
Jakub Jirsa
Plato: self-knowledge as care of oneself
Summary:
My text presents some main features of Plato’s ethics connected with the care of one’s soul, namely his moral psychology situated within the framework of the teleological cosmos. First, I discuss the identification between the self and the soul in the Alcibiades I; further I explain the complexity of the soul and its ethical relevance in the Republic. The final section discusses Plato’s ethical maxim “becoming like god” as presented in the Theaetetus, Republic and Timaeus. In this sense, I believe, one can explain why in the Phaedrus Plato’s Socrates situates his own self on the scale with two limits: a cultivated being with a share in divine on the one hand and the mythical furious beast Typhon on the other (229e-230a). The self (soul) moves on this scale in dependence on the amount of care, which Plato presents in very intellectualistic terms.
Vladislav Suvák
Antisthenes: logos as ēthos
Summary:
The paper deals with Antisthenes' account of language (logos) as well as with the role the logical paradoxes played in Antisthenes' ethical thought (ēthos). The author doesn't see An¬tisthenes' logical investigations as a part of the early "Sophistic" writings. Rather he tries to show the connection between Antisthenes' using of the logic and Socratic ethics of taking care of the self. Socratic thought in Antisthenes' fragments is neither skeptical nor dialectical. Contrary to both of these "intellectualistic" tendencies An¬tisthenes underlines the continual ethical activity of the wise. Antisthenes' using of logical paradoxes (mainly ouk estin antilegein) should have probably served as a de-monstration of an anti-Platonic conviction: Ethics is always prior to metaphysics and logic.
Keywords: Antisthenes – Plato – Cynicism – Language – Logical paradoxes – Ethics of taking care of the self.
Pavol Sucharek
Knowledge as a care for the other or „How to get ahead of Socrates?“
Summary:
This study will analyze the different nature of dialogue as reflected by Socrates and Levinas. The purpose is to show the possibility of non-epistemological speaking of that kind of knowledge, which mediates the dialogue as a conversation of two. In a certain sense it can be said that we replace the maieutics of Socrates by the dialectics of Plato. This dialectics points to how an ordinary dialogue is being transformed into a relationship of a higher order, or a relationship through which the very meaning of what belongs to the higher or divine order shines through. “To get ahead of Socrates” means in the levinasian perspective to accept “the idea of the infinite” – the infinite demand of the impracticable Good. Therefore a dialogue can be perceived, in this sense, as the starting point of every speculation about ethical knowledge in the primary sense as “a care for the other.”
Eugen Andreanský
Donald Davidson and the modern understanding of akratic action
Summary: The paper deals with the nature of akrasia (weakness of will, incontinency). In the first section the emphasis is put on the action theory of Donald Davidson. Davidson’s treatment of incontinent action is a brilliant example of modern approach to old philosophical and ethical issues. The second section introduces a few critical notes to the theory presented by Davidson. The paper also draws attention to the interconnection between akrasia and the problem of irrationality as well as the problem of internalism in action theory.
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Komentář a úvodní studie ke čtvrté knize hippokratovského spisu O životosprávě.
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Český překlad a komentář první knihy hippokratovského spisu O životosprávě.
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This book offers the first extended study published in English on the Hippocratic treatise On Regimen, one of the most important pre-Platonic documents of the discussion of human nature and other topics at the intersection of ancient... more
This book offers the first extended study published in English on the Hippocratic treatise On Regimen, one of the most important pre-Platonic documents of the discussion of human nature and other topics at the intersection of ancient medicine and philosophy. It is not only a unique example of classical Greek dietetic literature, including the most elaborated account of the micro-macrocosm and phusis-technē analogies, but it also provides the most explicit discussion of the soul-body opposition preceding Plato. Moreover, Bartoš argues, it is a rare example of an extant medical text which systematically draws on philosophical authorities, such as Heraclitus, Empedocles and Anaxagoras, and which had a decisive influence on both physicians, such as Galen, and philosophers, most notably Plato and Aristotle.