Filozofska istraživanja, Vol. 34 No. 3, 2014.
Original scientific paper
Pre-socratic Consideration of φρόνησις and αἴσθησις
Željko Kaluđerović
orcid.org/0000-0002-6572-4160
; University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Philosophy, Novi Sad, Serbia
Abstract
The author in this paper analyses the Pre-Socratic consideration of φρόνησις and αἴσθησις, under an Aristotelian prism of denial of logos-based faculties in animals and plants. Aristotle’s general view is that majority of Pre-Socratics did not discern reason, thought and practical wisdom from sensation and other aspects of soul. The substantial aporia in Pre-Socratic elaboration the Stagirite explains by the statement that they were actually examining the truth of that which is, but starting from the assumption that that which is was identical with sensible world. The Presocratics, accordingly, understand reason as something physical such as sensation and often understand that like is understood as well as perceived by like. An understandable consequence of such an approach is the statement of the Presocratics that not only people but all other beings possess consciousness, thought and practical wisdom. Brought to the extreme, some of these views are expressed by words such as that plants are driven by nature, that they breathe, feel, can be either sad or happy, that they have power of calculation, thinking, and reason. The author concludes that the Presocratic Alcmaeon, by discerning the thought i.e. practical wisdom from sensation, most clearly anticipated Aristotle’s own standing point. Alcmaeon’s statement that the man is different from other living beings by being the only one that is capable of understanding while other living beings receive sensations but do not understand, is in line with the Stagirites pointing out that logos abilities may be allocated only to humans and that the man has ontological primacy in relation to other living beings.
Keywords
Presocratics; φρόνησις; αἴσθησις; Aristotle; Alcmaeon; soul; reason; people; animals; plants
Hrčak ID:
139104
URI
Publication date:
27.1.2015.
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