Philosophical Inquiry

Cultural transmission in non-literate societies (including that of Homer) is first discussed, partly to test some theories of Dan Sperber, and partly to consider thetheory of memes, which is sometimes held applicable to Homeric formulae, and is considered next. After discussing Sperber's criticism of memeticism, I turn toSperber's susceptibility theory of culture, and his discussions of religion and of music. Further examples drawn from Homeric religion are found to be in tension with aspects of this theory. Two diverse interpretations of susceptibility present in Sperber's text are elicited and contrasted, of which one is criticised and the other welcomed as consistent with the role of reflection, artifice and rationality in the development of culture, activities that theories of culture cannot afford to disregard.

In his theory of perception Aristotle is committed to the principle that there is a one-to-one correspondence between a sensible quality, the modification of a sense organ by that quality, and the content of the perceptual experience of it. But on the basis of this principle, simultaneous perceptions of different sensible qualities give rise only to distinct perceptual contents. This generates the problem of how we become aware of complex perceptual content, e.g. in discerning red from cold. This paper examines the alternative (although not equally explanatorily powerful) models that Aristotle offers in the De Anima and in his biological works to account for complex perceptual content.

Even though Heimarmene is the natural order of things, as it is claimed in the Laws; and although the human being has to participate in that order, as it is written in Timaeus; Plato, at times, tends to be willing to rupture that circle of necessity, that the "naturality" of Heimarmene enforces on man, by finding a potential escape. The human soul is the unambiguous vehicle of this effort. In the writings of the Stoic Seneca, the transcendence of Fate is a matter correlated with the human life and with moral responsibility. His philosophical aim is focused on overcoming the existential conditions which render man a subjugated as well as a non eudaimonistic being. In both philosophers we diagnose a common theoretical orientation: to break through the limitations that Fate imposes on man's freedom in the material world. Certainly there is a difference in the degree, frequency and depth that this is critically established in their thought. In our paper, we mean to: a) ascertain this, b) examine the role of the soul, and c) to recognize the ground where "Paideia" may initiate the transcendence of Fate by human means solely.

This paper's aim is to study the Greek simile of the ship of state, since it was born in the Lyric Poetry until its definitive drawing by Plato's hands. It describes the image of Paros' ship, by Archilochus, or the ship of city by Alcaeus and by Theognis. Analyzes how this image improves through the tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles, and their moral comprehension of it. And, at last, explains the excellence achieved as the central image on Plato's politic project.

Our purpose in this paper is to bring about a new meaning of the term λόγοϛ used in the fragments of Heraclitus' work. In ancient Greek literature this term hasmany different meanings. We are going to restrict our interest in those meanings that Heraclitus used in his fragments, where the term λόγοϛ appears ten times.