K. BOUDOURIS (ED.), CONCEPTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY. ANCIENT AND MODERN
IONIA PUBLICATIONS, ATHENS 2004, pp. 416.

Book cover Answering various philosophical questions, and particularly "Wherefore philosophy?" (that is, what is the use of philosophy, is philosophy necessary for life), the Stagirite philosopher seems to have proposed the following, short and concise answer:

"Either one philosophises or does not philosophise, one has to philosophise. So, whatever the case may be, one needs to philosophise".

This indicates that philosophy and philosophising, which originate in wonder, are at the same time a necessary and qualitative element of every culture. However, if it is necessary to philosophise, the further question that is raised is related to the content, way and method of philosphising. Since by doing philosophy one attempts to give answers to crucially important questions regarding human life and natural world in their truth, various philosphers invented different ways and paths of research.

This is why philosophy has its history, i.e. has its beginning and course in time. In this long period of time from the Pre-socratics until now, various methods of philosophising were used, and all of them together constitute the concept and content of philosophy. That which constitutes the content of philosophy is not something static but rather a developing in time, so that there emerged differentiation in philosophising among various thinkers of different peoples and nations concerning the essence, the structure, the function and the aim of philosophising. In Greek culture, philosophy, apart from other things, was conceived as a choice of life (áßñåóéò âßïõ), e.g. as a decision that a philosopher thinker has to make and follow constistently, so that there would be harmony between his philosophical beliefs and his way of life. Thus, philosophy is not concidered as an insignificant activity that would be separated from the state of affairs of social and political life.

The papers published in the present volume examine the problems that implicity or explicity concern the essence, the work, the aim, the method and the usefulness of philosophy. Therein lies their importance and usefulness, since the question "What is Philosophy?" is not a question that can be answered once and for all.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.PREFACE9
2.RAMO'N ROMA'N ALCALA' THE SKEPTICISM OF ARCESILAUS: A MODERN SKEPTIC CONCEPT OF PHILOSOPHY11
3.JOHN P. ANTON FROM SOPHIA TO PHILOSOPHIA: THE GREEK CONCEPTION OF PHILOSOPHY26
4.LINDA ARDITO SOPHIA'S DUAL PATH TO THE MUSICAL OCTAVE38
5.FREDERICK E. BRENK THE STRONG AND THE WEAK. CONCEPTIONS OF REWRITING PLATO IN MIDDLE PLATONISM51
6.LILIA CASTLE & JORG HARDY 'ALL WE NEED IS LOVE' - PLATO'S CONCEPT OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE SYMPOSIUM61
7.JOHN ALAN COHAN IS ARISTOTLE'S UNITY THESIS RELEVANT TODAY?79
8.MARIE I. GEORGE AMMONIUS HERMEIAS ON THE DEFINITIONS OF PHILOSOPHY95
9.ASH GOBAR THREE FACES OF PHILOSOPHY: METASCIENCE, WELTANSCHAUUNG, IDEOLOGY111
10.SOPHIE GRAPOTTE LA CONCEPTION KANTIENNE DE LA PHILOSOPHIE COMME TRANSCENDANTALE123
11.EDWARD C. HALPER PLATO'S CASE FOR PHILOSOPHY AS THE EXAMINED LIFE133
12.MARK ANDREW HOLOWCHAK ANCIENT AND MODERN CONCEPTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY AS A WAY OF LIFE. LIBERAL INDIVIDUALISM, AUTONOMY AND THE GREAT DIVIDE151
13.JENNIFER F. INGLE DIALOGICAL NEGOTIATIONS: PLATO'S PHILOSOPHIC CONVERSATION171
14.VASSILIKI A. KARAVAKOU HEGEL ON PHILOSOPHY178
15.GEORGE CH. KOUMAKIS PLATO'S SO-CALLED "UNWRITTEN DOCTRINES"192
16.AIKATERINI LEFKA DU «SOPHOS» AU «PHILOSOPHOS»: AUX ORIGINES DE LA PHILOSOPHIE OCCIDENTALE217
17.MITROPOULOU ELENI PHILOSOPHIE ET HILOSOPHIE DU LANGAGE SELON UMBERTO ECO235
18.GEORGIA MOUROUTSOU THE CONCEPT OF PHILOSOPHY IN PLATO. BEGINNING WITH THE DIALOGUE "SOPHIST": "ÄÉ×ÙÓ OY PHTON" OF THE PHILOSOPICAL NATURE246
19.SOPHIA GABRIEL-PANTELIADOU ANAMIMNESKESTHAI: RECOIL AND DISCERNMENT257
20.IOANNA PATSIOTI PRAGMATISM AND PHILOSOPHY267
21.JOHN POULAKOS NIETZSCHE'S CONCEPTION OF PHILOSOPHY276
22.TAKIS POULAKOS ISOCRATE'S PHILOSOPHIA284
23.RICHARD PURTILL ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY AND GREEK PHILOSOPHY292
24.JEREMIAH REEDY CICERO'S CONCEPTION OF PHILOSOPHY299
25.HEATHER L. REID SOCRATES' MISSION: PHILOSOPHY AS PIETY312
26.FRANcOIS RENAUD L' ART DU QUESTIONNEUR: QUELQUES SPECIFICITES DU DIALOGUE SOCRATIQUE CHEZ PLATON325
27.THOMAS M. ROBINSON IS THERE A PLATONIC APPROACH TO PHILOSOPHY?332
28.SERGIA ROSSETTI FAVENTO PHILOSOPHY, THEOLOGY, RELIGION. ANALYSIS OF TOPICS, PROBLEMS AND CORRELATIONS339
29.ADAM M. ROTH PLATO'S WRITTEN CONCEPTION OF PHILOSOPHY351
30.JASON SEARS PHILOSOPHY, FRIENDSHIP AND HUMAN FLOURISHING356
31.SARANINDRA NATH TAGORE CONCEPTION OF PHILOSOPHY: ON THE POSSIBILITY OF COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY362
32.ANDREA TSCHEMPLIK PARASITES AND PARRICIDES: PHILOSOPHY IN IDEA AND PRACTICE374
33.GEORGE I. TSIANTIS THE FUTURE OF PHILOSOPHY AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY387
34.HIDEYA YAMAKAWA PHILOSOPHY AS SELF-SEARCH396
35.INDEX NOMINUM405