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13 July 2009
The Ontological Counterrevolution: Parmenides, the First Extreme Rationalist
This post is one in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought Previously in this series: The Ontological Revolution: The Proto-Skepticism of Heraclitus . As discussed in the previous post in this series, Heraclitus introduced ontology into the world of philosophy, threatening to upend the cosmological... Read More...
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12 July 2009
Induction in Ancient Greek Thought
This post is one in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought . Previously in this seri es: The Worldview of the Metaphysical Dualist I have written of three major schools of thought in the ancient world. The Theologi The P hysiologi The Metaphysical Dualists As divergent as these three schools... Read More...
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28 June 2009
The Ontological Revolution: The Proto-Skepticism of Heraclitus
This post is one in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought . Previously in this series: Induction in Ancient Greek Thought. A key element of the cosmologies of the Milesian physiologi is the phenomenon of change. Each Milesian believed the entire universe was once composed of a single kind... Read More...
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19 June 2009
Know Thyself
"The true science and study of man is man." -Pierre Charron In the 5th century B.C., the Greek sophist Protagoras wrote, "Man is the measure of all things." This statement is generally taken to refer to subjective truth, such as whether a woman is beautiful or a circumstance is happy... Read More...
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13 June 2009
Thales and Deductive Geometry
This post is one in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought . Previously in this series: Divination in the Iliad In its earliest days, geometry was empirical and inductive. Ancient measurers noticed repetitions and patterns in observed facts. They used these observations of fact as foundations... Read More...
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10 June 2009
Divination in the Iliad
This post is one in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought . Previously in this series: Inductive Practical Astronomy . Homer begins his Iliad as Hesiod begins his poems, by invoking a goddess, probably a Muse (although Homer, unlike Hesiod, does not specify). A similar kind of divine revelation... Read More...
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08 June 2009
Inductive Practical Astronomy
This post is one in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought . Previously in this series: Introducing Works and Days Much of the Works and Days , like the Theogony , is concerned with outlandish tales about the past. Here we have the myths of Prometheus, Pandora, and the Ages of Man (Golden... Read More...
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07 June 2009
Night, Day, and Induction
As I discussed in my last post, Hesiod's Eros (Love) can be thought of as a motive force that brings entities to come together (much like gravity) and to create. Khaos felt Eros , the urge or internal force that made it seek to give birth. And what did it first give birth to? Erebos , or Darkness... Read More...
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07 June 2009
Hesiod and Aristotelean Demonstration
This post is one in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought . Previously in this series: The Epistemology of Divine Poetry . Even though Hesiod pleads "for the Muses told me so" as his chief intellectual justification, a careful reader can glean attempts at non-divine inference in... Read More...
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07 June 2009
The Epistemology of Divine Poetry
This post is one in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought . Previously in this series: Ethics in the Theogony . Now that I've introduced Hesiod's teachings in his Theogony (regarding cosmology , history , human nature , and ethics ), let us consider the grounds upon which he establishes... Read More...
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07 June 2009
Introducing the Theogony
This post is one in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought . Previously in this series: The Inspiration of Hesiod . The Theogony is likely the work of poetry which made Hesiod's name. In his later poem Works and Days , Hesiod tells of how he won a prominent prize for poetry, and it is... Read More...
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07 June 2009
The Inspiration of Hesiod
This post is one in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought . Previously in this series: Epistemology in (Western) History: From Hesiod to Hoppe . One ancient day, at the foot of Mount Helicon in Boeotia, a lowly shepherd named Hesiod tended his flock. Upon entering a clearing, he found to... Read More...
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07 June 2009
Epistemology in (Western) History: From Hesiod to Hoppe
This post is one in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought . Previously in this series: Epistemology in History . In the forthcoming series of posts on the history of epistemological thought, I won't start with the first thinkers to consider epistemology explicitly (like the Sophists... Read More...
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07 June 2009
Epistemology in History
This post is the first in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought . Assertions and arguments regarding particular topics (for example, ethics, economics, physics, etc) all rest on an epistemology (whether explicitly or implicitly): that is, a theory of knowledge, truth, and falsity. Therefore... Read More...
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