Welcome to the Post-Truth era-- a time in which the art of the lie is shaking the very foundations of democracy and the world as we know it. The Brexit vote; Donald Trump's victory; the rejection of climate change science; the vilification of immigrants; all have been based on the power to evoke feelings and not facts. So what does it all mean and how can we champion truth in in a time of lies and 'alternative facts'? In this eye-opening (...) and timely book, Post-Truth is distinguished from a long tradition of political lies, exaggeration and spin. What is new is not the mendacity of politicians but the public's response to it and the ability of new technologies and social media to manipulate, polarise and entrench opinion. Where trust has evaporated, conspiracy theories thrive, the authority of the media wilt and emotions matter more than facts. Now, one of the UK's most respected political journalists, Matthew d'Ancona investigates how we got here, why quiet resignation is not an option and how we can and must fight back. (shrink)

The transmission of Greek learning to the Arabic-speaking world paved the way to the rise of Arabic philosophy. This volume offers a deep and multifarious survey of transmission of Greek philosophy through the schools of late Antiquity to the Syriac-speaking and Arabic-speaking worlds.

The Arabic version of the Enneads is the earliest datable text in which appears the term "anniyya", that features in Avicenna’s metaphysics and lies in the background of the Latin definition of the Causa prima as esse tantum, typical of the Liber de Causis. This paper examines some examples of the use of "to be" in the Arabic translation of the Enneads. It also discusses the description of the First Cause as ‘pure Being’ or ‘first Being’ in the Arabic Plotinus, (...) and compares it with the Divine Names of the pseudo-Dionysius. icona . (shrink)

Le traité Περὶ θείων ὀνομάτων de l’élève de Proclus dissimulé sous le nom de ‘Denys l’Aréopagite’— traité qui a été récemment édité en qualité de premier titre de la série Corpus Dionysiacum— est subdivisé en deux grandes parties par un excursus fameux sur le problème de la substantialité des maux. Dans la première partie, contenant les chapitres I-III, l’auteur discute la possibilité des prédications dont l’objet est le premier principe. Dans la deuxième, contenant les chapitres V-XIII, il en présente les (...) ‘noms’. Les deux parties sont séparées par le long excursus sur la nature du mal, qui forme l’objet du chapitre IV. Ce dernier s’ouvre, il est vrai, sur le propos d’examiner la dénomination de ‘Bien’ attribuée au premier principe , si bien que l’on rangerait volontiers ce chapitre dans la deuxième partie, consacrée à la présentation des ‘noms’ de Dieu et à leur commentaire. Il se trouve pourtant que l’auteur a explicitement placé la charnière principale de son traité après l’excursus sur la nature du mal. Au début du chapitre V, en effet, il déclare aborder la question de l’οὑσιωνυμία divine, en démontrant par là concevoir le ‘Bien’ comme une dénomination différente de toute autre, voire antérieure à tous les noms qui sont en relation avec l’οὑσία, et dont l’examen occupe les chapitres V-XIII. (shrink)

L’idée d’une discontinuité radicale entre l’Un et l’être intelligible a été parfois comprise comme la thèse la plus intéressante de Plotin pour l’histoire de la métaphysique. En effet, à côté de passages où Plotin établit un rapport de ressemblance entre l’effet et la cause, il y en a d’autres où une théorie de la causalité des principes est introduite, selon laquelle le principe « donne ce qu’il n’a pas ». Dans le but d’examiner si cette théorie conduit Plotin à soutenir (...) une discontinuité radicale entre l’Un et l’être intelligible, cet article examine le traité III, 8 [30]. Une critique de Plotin à l’égard de la doctrine alexandriste de la dynamis y est signalée, et deux passages difficiles sont analysés : III, 8 [30], 2. 15-19 et III, 8 [30], 9. 29-32.Modèles de causalité chez Plotin Complete otherness of the One with respect to intelligible Being has been presented as the sharpest Plotinian contribution to the history of metaphysics. As a matter of fact, together with passages where similarity between the effect and the cause is held, there are other passages where a notion of causality is advanced, in which the principle produces « what it does not possess ». Does this involve that according to Plotinus there is complete otherness between the One and intelligible Being? This article focuses on treatise III, 8 [30], showing that it contains a criticism of Alexander of Aphrodisias’ doctrine of dynamis. It deals also with two controversial passages, III, 8 [30], 2. 15-19 and III, 8 [30], 9. 29-32. (shrink)

Partiendo del conocimiento que los árabes tuvieron de los textos neoplatónicos atribuidos a Aristóteles, tales como la Pseudo-Teología y el Liber de Causis, la autora de este estudio investiga el posible conocimiento que Avicena tuvo de este último libro, conocido en el mundo árabe por el título de Kalam fi mahd al-hayr. Se apoya, para ello, en el análisis de cuatro pasajes de la Metafísica de la gran enciclopedia filosófica Al-Sifa ("La curación").

Scholars working in the field of Graeco-Arabic Neoplatonism often discuss the role Porphyry, the editor of Plotinus, must be credited with in the formation of the Arabic Plotinian corpus. A note in this corpus apparently suggests that Porphyry provided a commentary to the so-called Theology of Aristotle, i.e., parts of some treatises of Enneads IV-VI. Consequently, Porphyry has been considered as responsible for the doctrinal shifts which affect the Arabic Plotinian paraphrase with respect to the original text. This article aims (...) at submitting this hypothesis to trial on a specific doctrinal point where Porphyry parts company with Plotinus: the relationship between the Demiurgic Intellect and World Soul. The ancient doxographical sources testify that Porphyry, in his conviction to be in agreement with Plotinus, in fact parted company with him in so far as he merged the World Soul into the Demiurgic Intellect, while Plotinus always kept them apart. There are in the Enneads some baffling passages where the role of Intellect as the Demiurge of the sensible world is not clearly distinguishable from the role of World Soul. Notwithstanding that, these passages in the Arabic paraphrase do not bear any trace of the characteristically Porphyrian merging of World Soul into Intellect. The Arabic paraphrase of Plotinus text and its Arabic tradition. (shrink)

The transmission of Greek learning to the Arabic-speaking world paved the way to the rise of Arabic philosophy. This volume offers a deep and multifarious survey of transmission of Greek philosophy through the schools of late Antiquity to the Syriac-speaking and Arabic-speaking worlds.

Duranti gli anni della _Querelle des femmes_ si è assistito ad un’importante crescita di testi in difesa o in detrazione della causa femminile. Una delle caratteristiche principali di questa tendenza letteraria risiede nelle reciproche relazioni che le opere stabiliscono tra loro, attraverso una fitta rete di richiami intertestuali. Il Dialogo _Della Dignità e della nobiltà delle donne_ (1624) dello scrittore marchigiano Cristoforo Bronzini aderisce appieno alla pratica intertestuale che mette a servizio della memoria storico-culturale. Nel presente articolo si analizzano i (...) rapporti intertestuali del trattato seicentesco con opere di scrittrici come Lucrezia Marinella, Moderata Fonte ed Isabella Cervoni, mettendo in rilievo le diverse funzioni che l’intertestualità adempie nei testi della _Querelle des femmes_. (shrink)

The Lotka–Volterra predator-prey-model is a widely known example of model-based science. Here we reexamine Vito Volterra’s and Umberto D’Ancona’s original publications on the model, and in particular their methodological reflections. On this basis we develop several ideas pertaining to the philosophical debate on the scientific practice of modeling. First, we show that Volterra and D’Ancona chose modeling because the problem in hand could not be approached by more direct methods such as causal inference. This suggests a philosophically insightful motivation for (...) choosing the strategy of modeling. Second, we show that the development of the model follows a trajectory from a “how possibly” to a “how actually” model. We discuss how and to what extent Volterra and D’Ancona were able to advance their model along that trajectory. It turns out they were unable to establish that their model was fully applicable to any system. Third, we consider another instance of model-based science: Darwin’s model of the origin and distribution of coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean. Darwin argued more successfully that his model faithfully represents the causal structure of the target system, and hence that it is a “how actually” model. (shrink)

Este artículo se centra en L'Alcorano di Macometto, escrito por Giovanni Battista Castrodardo de Belluno (1517 ca.-1588 ca.) e impreso por Andrea Arrivabene en Venecia en 1547. Aunque hoy sea considerado como una torpe paráfrasis de la traducción latina del Corán de Roberto de Ketton (1143 AD), un examen atento demuestra que L¿Alcorano costituyó una práctica y exitosa enciclopedia de bolsillo sobre la historia del islam y del Imperio otomano. Siguiendo una intuición de Alessandro D¿Ancona (1889), analizo los textos históricos (...) publicados en la introducción del texto, centrándome especialmente en la biografía del profeta Muh.ammad escrita por Castrodardo. Dicha biografía presenta una larga oración renacentista pronunciada por el monje Sergio-Bahi-ra- para convencer a Muh.ammad a derrocar al emperador Heraclio. A través de un análisis lingüistico y retórico detallado de esta oración, intento demostrar la cultura literaria de Castrodardo y su interés por las obras de Maquiavelo. Este nuevo retrato de Muhammad presenta al profeta del islam como un príncipe renacentista, un legislador y un «profeta armado», revelando asimismo las ideas políticas de los círculos filoturcos y anti-imperiales vinculados a la embajada de Francia en Venecia. (shrink)

1-2. Carteggio Gentile-Jaja -- 3-7. Lettere a Benedetto Croce -- 8. Carteggio Gentile-D'Ancona -- 9. Carteggio Gentile-Omodeo -- 11. Carteggio Gentile-Chiavacci -- 12. Carteggio Gentile-Pintor -- 13. Carteggio Gentile-Calogero (1926-1942) -- 14. Carteggio Gentile-Donati.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:The Cambridge History of Philosophy in Late AntiquityJohn RistLloyd P. Gerson, editor. The Cambridge History of Philosophy in Late Antiquity. 2 vols. Cambridge-New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Pp. 1313. Cloth, $240.00.1313 pages, including 915 pages of text and 200 of bibliography; 51 authors—in about 800 words! The editor of the present Cambridge History makes plain that his new two-volume monument is the successor to Armstrong’s Cambridge History (...) of Late Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy—8 contributors—and is intended to build on its strengths and correct its deficiencies in the light of some 40 years of highly successful investigation of the thought of late antiquity. The result is a professional structure in which the “giants” (Plotinus and Augustine) are awarded comparatively modest coverage, while figures often neglected, such as Damascius, of whom our understanding has greatly increased of late, are given much more space. Damascius secures 30 pages: the only individual to get more is Porphyry (33), while Augustine has 29 and Plotinus 24 (four more than Hierocles). There are those (as Tacitus might have put it) who will fear that the wood has been lost for the trees, and at least it must be said that one overall impression of these volumes is that some of their authors are recounting what will be of interest to a worldwide group of aficionados whose number can be counted on the fingers of a mutilated hand—and the importance of which lies less in philosophical achievement than in the handing on of a great tradition.Gilbert Ryle is supposed to have asserted that in France everyone can talk about philosophy but that there are no philosophers; some of Gerson’s more philosophically minded readers may find their prejudices confirmed that in late antiquity there were many who talked about Plato and Aristotle but few who understood what they were trying to do. For it is clear that a general theme of the present volumes is that in late antiquity philosophers were largely concerned to “interpret” Plato and (especially after Porphyry) Aristotle while occasionally seizing the opportunity not merely to rubbish their similarly-engaged predecessors but to add (if shamefacedly) something of their own. Except, that is, for the Christians, whose enterprise was very different and who, quite properly, are more visible in Gerson’s account of late antique thought than in that of Armstrong (though there remain strange omissions in a work on this scale: Methodius, Ambrose, Evagrius).Gerson has tried to contextualize his story by including short (and helpful) historical introductions by Elizabeth DePalma Digeser to the various epochs with which his volumes are concerned, and which can perhaps be divided into four sections: pre-Plotinian Platonism [End Page 136] (plus extras) from Cicero to Numenius; later pagan Platonism, including extensive treatment of the Neoplatonic commentators on Aristotle; Christian thought before Constantine; and later Christian philosophy-cum-theology. Rounding off the volume are introductions to the transition from “ancient” to “medieval” thought in the Latin West (Gersh), in Byzantium—a remarkably honest presentation of a largely stagnant philosophical world by Ierodiakonou and Zografidis—and (in a magisterial improvement on what is to be found in Armstrong) in Islam (Cristina d’Ancona) where (inter multa alia) the roots of the virtually inevitable later destruction of a flourishing philosophical tradition founded by al-Kindi and al-Farabi are identified in the more “orthodox” and theocratic approach—here there are Byzantine parallels—of the followers of al-Ash’ari (885).Gerson’s readers can inspect philosophical wisdom and conceptual muddle among late antique intellectuals—Christians, a few Muslims, pagans—down to Scotus Eriugena and al-Farabi. But some of them may suspect that an opportunity has been lost to reflect on the origins and nature of early Christian thought, and to ask why Christians soon jumped for Platonism rather than Stoicism (Aristotle, let alone Epicurus, was not—yet—considered a serious option)—and that is not intended as criticism of the excellent, if brief, treatment of important Christian thinkers such as Origen. But it was an adventure for Christians to begin to philosophize, and when they embarked on this adventure—here the significance... (shrink)

L'esistenza del commento di Alessandro di Afrodisia al De generatione aristotelico, perduto nella versione greca e nella traduzione araba, è attestata da numerose fonti arabe, tra le quali Averroè, nel suo commento alla stessa opera. L'A. rintraccia la presenza, la tipologia e la distribuzione delle citazioni tratte dal commento di Alessandro nel Kitab al-Tasrif, un'opera del corpus alchemico attribuita a Gabir ibn Hayyan. Secondo l'A., la sezione interessata dalle citazioni assembla tre diversi tipi di testi: 1) lemmi del De generatione (...) in traduzione araba; 2) frammenti lacunosi della traduzione araba del commento di Alessandro; 3) interventi di collegamento. Una più ampia discussione si trova in un saggio visibile sulla pagina "publicationslist" dell'autore: "Alessandro di Afrodisia sulle 'contrarietà tangibili' (De gen. et corr. II.2): fonti greche e arabe a confronto" in: Aristotele e Alessandro di Afrodisia nella tradizione araba, a c. di C. D'Ancona e G. Serra, “Il Poligrafo”, Padova 2002, pp. 151-189. Notasi che il testo ricostruito di Alessandro in GC 2.2-5 è stato pubblicato da E. Gannagé nella serie ACA, che però non menziona il contributo di SF, dalla cui iniziativa, dalle cui analisi e dalla cui ricostruzione integrale, svolta sul manoscritto arabo Paris. 5099, la ricerca prese l'avvio. (shrink)

Per trovare un'utilizzazione del problema posto in Z6 da Aristotele l'A. considera i testi di autori medievali relativi ai problemi dell'identità tra una realtà accidentale e la propria essenza. Anzitutto è ricostruito il testo aristotelico, poi sono sviluppate considerazioni sui modelli dell'interpretazione del tema nei secoli XIII e XIV. L'A. intende mostrare come le letture che in epoca moderna sono date del problema posto da Aristotele già si trovano in autori medievali e come tali soluzioni siano deducibili da un testo (...) aperto a diverse soluzioni interpretative. Infine, l'A. si interroga sulla rilevanza della problematica nella messa a punto del problema dello statuto ontologico degli accidenti. I testi esaminati sono cinque expositiones alla Metafisica, di Alberto, Tommaso d'Aquino, Antonio d'Andrea, Alessandro d'Alessandria e Paolo Veneto, oltre che questiones di Agostino Trionfo d'Ancona, Galfredo di Aspal, Pietro d'Alvernia e testi anonimi: Anonymus domus Petri, Anonymus Zimmermanni. (shrink)

Prolusione: A servizio dell'uomo, di G. Urbani.--L'uomo nella filosofia, di P. Prini.--L'uomo nella sociologia, di A. Grumelli.--L'uomo nella psicologia, di L. Ancona.--L'uomo nell'arte, di P. Bruzzichelli.--L'uomo nella teologia, di D. Grasso.--L'uomo nella Chiesa, di F. Weber.

In The Quantum Self, Danah Zohar argues that the insights of modem physics can illuminate our understanding of everyday life -- our relationships to ourselves, to others, and to the world at large. Guiding us through the strange and fascinating workings of the subatomic realm to create a new model of human consciousness, the author addresses enduring philosophical questions. Does the new physics provide a basis by which our consciousness might continue beyond death? How does the material world (for instance, (...) ugly inner cities) impinge upon our sense of self? Is there a subatomic wellspring from which our creativity, our empathy with others, and our feelings of unity with the inanimate world originate?Most important, Zohar shows how the vitality of the new physics combats the alienation and fragmentation of twentieth-century life, and replaces it with a model of reality in which the universe itself may possess a type of consciousness, of which human consciousness is one expression. (shrink)