This is a collection of the late Heda Segvic's papers in ancient moral philosophy.

Aristotle takes his ethics to be an inquiry into the ultimate good of human life. In the course of his criticism of Plato and Eudoxus, Aristotle formulates two general conditions on the concept of the ultimate good. Firstly, the ultimate good has to be something prakton. The primary sense of prakton is not, as it is often taken to be, of something that is "realizable" in human action, but of something that is, or can be, aimed at in human action. (...) Secondly, in addition to being based on an appropriate moral psychology and theory of action, an adequate ethical theory has to be non-reductivist--it has to give its due weight to the plurality and variety of the goodness of particular intrinsic goods. I examine why Aristotle's criticism of Eudoxus' hedonism as a reductive ethical theory is ineffective, and point out some deficiencies in Aristotle's own account of pleasure. ;Aristotle takes the view that every desire--whether rational or non-rational--is for something that appears good to the agent. This view is compared with what seems to be the currently accepted view, that some of our desires do not involve a valuation of any sort. Although I do not claim that the current view is wrong, I do argue that Aristotle's position may provide an alternative, and plausible, way of thinking about the nature of human motivation. I discuss next Aristotle's concept of telos. A telos has a dual character: it is something an action is aimed at, and also something attained in human action. Although Aristotle's ethics is not teleological, outcomes are important for the ethical evaluation of actions. In order to explicate how outcomes matter, I introduce the concepts of an Aristotelian outcome and of a good Aristotelian outcome. The notion of a third actualization is introduced to throw some light on the sort of success in the conduct of life which Aristotle takes eudaimonia to be. ;Finally, I provide an account of Aristotle's theory of practical reason. I argue that his ethical theory demands a very wide interpretation of the concept of deliberation. An analysis of Aristotle's concept of choice is given, and an attempt made to specify the conditions under which an action counts as chosen. Deliberation is ethical if it is guided by the deliberator's conception of eudaimonia. I explicate briefly what it is for a person to have such a conception, what such a conception is like, and in what way a person can be thought to be guided by it. Finally, the concept of practical reason is linked with the concept of the ultimate good. I propose an interpretation of the three conditions Aristotle imposes on the ultimate good in EN I.7--finality, self-sufficiency and choiceworthiness which requires that we initially construe the concepts of finality and of self-sufficiency in a narrow sense, and take the concept of finality as a comparative notion. The three conditions can then be regarded as specifying how deliberation ought to be conducted if it is to lead to eudaimonia. (shrink)

Aristotelian telos is the action's projected goal - what the agent aims at in action - and also, if the action is successful, its accomplished goal. Grasping the projected telos involves grasping how the circumstances of the action, and the telos itself, appear to the agent. Phantasia, appearance, thus captures the internal side of action. The object of aiming, and of desire, appears to the agent as something good, hence for Aristotle valuation is built into the very nature of action. (...) I explore the philosophical implications of this theory of action. I next examine the use Aristotle makes of telos and phantasia in his ethics. I argue that he adopts a dialectical approach there, which starts with appearances of goodness, in order to incorporate insights of Protagorean relativism, while nonetheless affirming the objectivity of ethical judgement. I conclude by looking into the role that dispositions and actualizations play in Aristotle's telos_centered approach to action. (shrink)

This is a collection of the late Heda Segvic's papers in ancient moral philosophy. At the time of her death at age forty-five in 2003, Segvic had already established herself as an important figure in ancient philosophy, making bold new arguments about the nature of Socratic intellectualism and the intellectual influences that shaped Aristotle's ideas. Segvic had been working for some time on a monograph on practical knowledge that would interpret Aristotle's ethical theory as a response to (...) Protagoras. The essays collected here are those on which her reputation rests, including some that were intended to form the backbone of her projected monograph. The papers range from a literary study of Homer's influence on Plato's Protagoras to analytic studies of Aristotle's metaphysics and his ideas about deliberation. Most of the papers reflect directly or indirectly Segvic's idea that both Socrates' and Aristotle's universalism and objectivism in ethics could be traced back to their opposition to Protagorean relativism. The book represents the considerable achievements of one of the most talented scholars of ancient philosophy of her generation. (shrink)

Mathematical investigation, when done well, can confer understanding. This bare observation shouldn’t be controversial; where obstacles appear is rather in the effort to engage this observation with epistemology. The complexity of the issue of course precludes addressing it tout court in one paper, and I’ll just be laying some early foundations here. To this end I’ll narrow the field in two ways. First, I’ll address a specific account of explanation and understanding that applies naturally to mathematical reasoning: the view proposed (...) by Philip Kitcher and Michael Friedman of explanation or understanding as involving the unification of theories that had antecedently appeared heterogeneous. For the second narrowing, I’ll take up one specific feature (among many) of theories and their basic concepts that is sometimes taken to make the theories and concepts preferred: in some fields, for some problems, what is counted as understanding a problem may involve finding a way to represent the problem so that it (or some aspect of it) can be visualized. The final section develops a case study which exemplifies the way that this consideration – the potential for visualizability – can rationally inform decisions as to what the proper framework and axioms should be. The discussion of unification (in sections 3 and 4) leads to a mathematical analogue of Goodman’s problem of identifying a principled basis for distinguishing grue and green. Just as there is a philosophical issue about how we arrive at the predicates we should use when making empirical predictions, so too there is an issue about what properties best support many kinds of mathematical reasoning that are especially valuable to us. The issue becomes pressing via an examination of some physical and mathematical cases that make it seem unlikely that treatments of unification can be as straightforward as the philosophical literature has hoped. Though unification accounts have a grain of truth (since a phenomenon (or cluster of phenomena) called “unification” is in fact important in many cases) we are far from an analysis of what “unification” is.. (shrink)

This is a collection of the late Heda Segvic's papers in ancient moral philosophy. At the time of her death at age forty-five in 2003, Segvic had already established herself as an important figure in ancient philosophy, making bold new arguments about the nature of Socratic intellectualism and the intellectual influences that shaped Aristotle's ideas. Segvic had been working for some time on a monograph on practical knowledge that would interpret Aristotle's ethical theory as a response to (...) Protagoras. The essays collected here are those on which her reputation rests, including some that were intended to form the backbone of her projected monograph. The papers range from a literary study of Homer's influence on Plato's Protagoras to analytic studies of Aristotle's metaphysics and his ideas about deliberation. Most of the papers reflect directly or indirectly Segvic's idea that both Socrates' and Aristotle's universalism and objectivism in ethics could be traced back to their opposition to Protagorean relativism. The book represents the considerable achievements of one of the most talented scholars of ancient philosophy of her generation. (shrink)

Cilj je dati temeljni ocrt čovjeka koji bi mogao biti okosnica koncepcije otvorene kulture. Analizom uporišnih točaka filozofske i kulturne antropologije: A) filozofska antropologija : a) pasivistička koncepcija, b) aktivistička koncepcija; B) kulturna antropologija : a) zatvorena kultura, b) otvorena kultura; treba doći do osiguranja koncepcije otvorene vs. zatvorene kulture. U multikulturalnim svezama izgleda da se potonja češće ispriječava daljem napredovanju pa je neophodno naći parametre kojima otvorene kulture mogu što ranije prepoznati negativna obilježja patrijarhalne kulture.

Prethodno, u izlaganju »Petrić i Acastos«, održanom na simpoziju Petrić i renesansne filozofske tradicije 2008. godine, ustanovili smo da je Petrić najbliži platonovsko-novoplatonovsko- pitagorovskom izvorniku, ali je pridonio raščinjavanju klasične etičke vrline , da je vrlo blizak drugom modelu za uspoređivanje, Acastosu I i donekle se približava Acastosu II .S istim trima modelima sada prelazimo na usporedbu u odnosu na pjesničko umijeće, kako je izloženo u petnaest izabranih Petrićevih tekstova u knjizi Ljerke Schiffler Frane Petrić o pjesničkom umijeću . Pitat (...) ćemo se koliko se u navedenoj usporedbi otkrilo, manje ili više, bliskosti s prethodnim zaključcima.Dakako, usput će se pokušati ustanoviti je li Petrićeva poetika samo obrana Platonove linije ili sadržava i neke elemente aristotelizma, što ga ne bi povezalo samo s barokom i manirizmom nego i s modernom estetikom.The author established on the occasion of the previous presentation “Petrić and Acastos” given at the symposium Petrić and Renaissance Philosophical Traditions, held in 2008, that Petrić was closest to the Platonist-Neoplatonist-Pythagorean original, but also that he contributed to the disintegration of classical ethical virtue and that there were two more comparative models he came close to – that of Acastos I and to some extent that of Acastos II .Retaining the three models, the author now deals with the comparison in relation to poetic art as it is outlined in the fifteen selected Petrić’s texts in the book by Ljerka Schiffler entitled Frane Petrić o pjesničkom umijeću . The author will look into the degree to which the mentioned comparison revealed connections with previous conclusions.Needless to say, the author will along the way try to determine whether Petrić’s poetics presents merely a defence of Plato’s attitude or it contains some elements of Aristotelianism, which would connect Petrić with not only Baroque and Mannerism but also modernist aesthetics. (shrink)

Izvorno značenje termina ‘šport’; olimpizam i elitni šport – u nas 1967. god. V. Janković.Kriza športa – problem granica, šport nije više autonoman a niti zdrav, urušenost etike je vezana uz bespoštednost ekonomskog tržišta.Rješenje:– priziv na izjednačavanje moralnih normi u svim sektorima ;– reguliranje slobodnog ekonomskog tržišta uvjet je da slobodno vrijeme i šport dobiju šansu da postanu rekreacija, tj. snaženje fizičkih silnica i obnova psiholoških zaliha, a ne ubilačka masovna histerija.The original meaning of the term ‘sport’, olimpism and elite (...) sports is retrieved and in Croatia V. Janković, 1967.The crisis of sports is due to problems of boundaries, sports are no longer autonomous, and they are not healthy. Crumbling sports ethics is conditioned by the mercilessness of economic markets.Solutions:– a call for an alignment of moral norms in all sectors of society;– the regulation of free economic markets is a condition for the possibility of sports’ becoming recreational, that is, for sports to help gain physical strength and psychic energy, rather than producing a dangerous mass hysteria. (shrink)

Vita e opera del filosofo Spalatino, Giorgio Politeo" : p.195-205.

Juraj Politeo bio je preteča Einsteina svojim doprinosom mijenjanju znanstvenog pojma, zakona i znanstvenog predmeta. Albin Nađ također je sudjelovao u izmjeni shvaćanja znanstvenog pojma, zakona i znanstvenog predmeta. Oba naša mislioca odlikovala su se istančanim razmatranjima o relativnosti, posebno Nađ o relativnosti prostora. Pokušat će se pokazati da se ovi naši mislioci mogu uključiti u tom smislu u liniju: Mach, Hertz, Duhem, Poincaré, koja se završava s Einsteinom i kvantnom teorijom. U tom pravcu članak ukazuje na to da su (...) naši mislioci prethodnici Einsteina i da dijele njegov »san«.Juraj Politeo was a precursor of Einstein because of his contribution to the reassessmentof scientific concepts, laws, and the objects of scientific study.AlbinNađ alsocontributed a reassessmentof scientific concepts, laws, and the objecets of scientific study.Bothof our thinkers gained merit with their detailed reflectionsabout relativity,and Nađ especiallyin considering the relativityof space. These text attempts to demonstrate that these twoofour thinkers are,in this sense, part of a line that includes Mach, Hertz, Duhem, Poincaré,andends with Einstein and quantum theory.In this way the article shows that our thinkers areprecursorsof Einstein and even sharehis “dream”. (shrink)

Ne samo da Mediteranska filozofija pridonosi postanku i daljem razvoju svjetske filozofije, nego joj daje osnovni pečat. Kratka analiza glavnih sastojaka, kao što su: 1) grčko-judejska i latinska skolastika; 2) uloga magije i misticizma; 3) otvaranje znanstvenog interesa naročito od arapske skolastike; 4) povijesno vrijeme i čovjekova borba za sebe, od Renesanse sve do dvadesetog stoljeća, treba pokazati da je osnovni vid Mediteranske filozofije oplemenjivanje svijeta. Budućom zadaćom Mediteranske filozofije naznačit će se pronalaženje putova kako da se koncept mogućnosti, kao (...) njezina glavna tekovina u dvadesetom stoljeću, osigura u perspektivi oplemenjivanja svijeta – najvjerodostojnijoj perspektivi svjetske filozofije.Not only does Mediterranean philosophy contribute to the genesis and susequent development of world philosophy, but it also lends it its original stamp. A breaf analysis of elements such as: 1) Greco-Judean and Latin scholasticism; 2) the role of magic and misticism; 3) the stimulation of scientific interest especially in Arabic scholasticism; 4) in history of human beings the struggle for themselves from the Renaissance to the Twentieth Century should show, with a special emphasis on Croatian philosophers, that the basic conception of Mediterranean philosophy consists in enrichment of the world. Through futures tasks for Mediterranean philosophy it will be indicated how to find ways to secure the concept of possibility as the main currency in the perspective of enriching the world – a most authentic perspective for world philosophy. (shrink)

U radu se raspravljaju eksplicitne i anticipativne kritike ranog kapitalizma i neoliberalizma , s naglaskom na Deweyevoj kritici koja je aktualna i danas. Naglašava se Deweyev poziv za metodu inteligencije koja bi, kao znanstvena metoda, svim vidovima društva donijela odgovarajuće pravne, institucionalne i civilizacijske promjene. One bi kontinuirano doprinosile razvoju slobode i napretku preko kontrole slobodnog tržišta. Zapaža se da, prema Deweyu, integralni pojam odgoja zauzima posebno mjesto u njegovom naučavanju. Osim usvajanja znanja, odgovarajući odgoj se tiče razvitka slobodne, slobodoumne (...) i liberalne osobnosti, koja se ne dostiže kroz neki određeni moralni odgoj, a posebno ne kroz religiju. Konačno, važno je zadržati one postupke iz prošlosti koji su bili konstruktivni – posebno se to tiče razdoblja socijalizma. (shrink)

In this text we offer an overview of Festini’s works on history of Croatian philosophy. The article is divided in five parts in which we discuss Festini’s attitude towards Croatian Renaissance philosophers, eighteenth and nineteenth century Croatian philosophers, and two philosophers from the twentieth century (Vladimir Filipović and Marija Brida). Majority of Festini’s texts were published in the journal Prilozi za istraživanje hrvatske filozofske baštine.

The paper honors Heda Festini; it’s first part contains author’s personal memories of Heda. The central part of the paper addresses a favorite author of Heda Festini, Franjo Petrić, and his Utopia The Happy City-State. It then places the utopian construction on the map of contemporary understanding of political theorizing. Utopias, like the one due to Petrić, result from thought-experimenting; in contrast to purely epistemic thought-experiments they are geared to “guidance”, as Petrić puts it, namely advice giving and persuading. Political (...) thought-experimenting can be understood to a large extent as work in ideal theorizing; a matter little noticed in the literature. Classical cases cover “ideal theory” in the sense of given, non-temporal arrangement; “ideal” either in a very limited sense of strict compliance (Rawls), or in a wider sense of normatively marked properties, not instantiated in actual political reality. Platonic tradition belongs to a third genus, “ideal” in the sense of recommended end-state; Utopias add to this theoretical quality the dimension of “guidance”, so that they are motivational, time-related ideal theories. The paper depicts these relations between thought-experimenting as a wider genus, and ideal theorizing as its prominent political-philosophical sub-species. The paper is thus a tribute to Heda Festini who helped me find my way to analytic theorizing, and help analytic philosophy to start serious institutional life in our native Croatia. (shrink)

The first beginnings of modern logic in Croatia are recognizable as early as in the middle of the 19th century in Vatroslav Bertić. At the turn of the 20th century, Albin Nagy, who was teaching in Italy, made contributions to algebraic logic and to the philosophy of logic. At that time, a distinctive author Mate Meršić stood out, also working on algebraic logic. In the Croatian academic philosophy, until the publication of Gajo Petrović's textbook (1964) and the contributions by Heda (...) Festini, a critical or indifferent attitude toward modern logic prevailed. The first comprehensive modern logic textbook in Croatian was written by mathematician Vladimir Devidé (1964), known, for example, for his axiomatizations of natural numbers and classical propositional logic. In the Croatian philosophy of the 1980s and 1990s, influential logicians are Goran Švob and mathematician Zvonimir Šikić. At the turn of the 21st century, logical investigations are being intensified and extended to various branches of the contemporary logic. (shrink)

In this paper, I consider several issues related to the concept of identity—the concept that is in many ways related to Heda Festini’s early philosophical interests. I specifically focus on discussion of the issues in Frege, Russell, and Wittgenstein. I contrast two competing conceptions of identity—the objectual (according to which identity is a relation in which every object stands only to itself) and the metalinguistic (according to which identity is a relation between coreferential names)—and consider reasons these authors had for (...) accepting or discarding one or the other. In addition, I consider how issues concerning identity relate to issues concerning identity statements. (shrink)