The Ancient Philosophy Program of the Philosophy Doctoral School at Eötvös University announces a lecture held by
Prof. Dr. Filip Karfík (University of Fribourg):
The constitution of human body in Plato’s Timaeus
The lecture will be followed by a seminar, jointly held by Prof. Karfík and Chad Jorgenson.
Date: 23 February, 17:00-19:30; 24 February, 10:00-13:00.
Location: Eötvös University, Faculty of Humanities, Institute of Philosophy, Director’s Office, 1088 Budapest, Múzeum krt. 4/I, 1st floor, room 122.
Further information about the seminar: László Bene (Eötvös University, Department of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy), E-mail: benel@elte.hu.
Prof. Filip Karfík has worked on phenomenology and on ancient philosophy, particularly on the Platonic tradition. His publications include a book on Plato’s cosmology, psychology and theology (Die Beseelung des Kosmos. Untersuchungen zur Kosmologie, Seelenlehre und Theologie in Platons Phaidon und Timaios. K.G. Saur Verlag, 2004), edited volumes on Plato’s various dialogues, many articles on a wide range of issues in ancient and in modern philosophy and a monograph on Jan Patočka (Unendlichwerden durch die Endlichkeit. Eine Lektüre der Philosophie Jan Patočkas. Königshausen & Neumann, 2008).
Chad Jorgenson is research assistent at the University of Fribourg. His research project is on “The Embodied Soul: The Constitution of the Ethical Subject in Plato’s Later Thought”.
Course description:
Plato’s Timaeus is mostly studied for its cosmology. The larger part of the text, however, deals with the creation of human beings, with the constitution of human body and with the interaction between human body and human soul. The purpose of this seminar is to focus on these topics.
The first session will take the form of a lecture on the constitution of the human body in Plato’s Timaeus giving first a general introduction in this section of the dialogue and dealing then in more detail with Plato explanation of how the complex apparatus of the human body works and interacts with its environment. After the lecture, a selection of passages from the Timaeus 77c-79e will be read and examined in detail.
The second session will take the form of a close reading of the section on psychic ailments caused by bodily conditions (Tim. 86b-90d). Each passage will be briefly presented along with some questions to help get the discussion going, but the focus will be on the contributions of the participants. The Greek text of the passages in question will be provided, accompanied by an original translation into English. The aim is, first, to come to an understanding of the details of the text in and of itself, and, second, to draw out the implications of this section for our broader understanding of Plato’s ethics. Of particular interest are the problems of moral responsibility and determinism, the relationship between physiological and environmental causes of vice, and the question to what extent the new formulation of the principle “κακὸς ἑκὼν οὐδείς” complements or replaces those found in the earlier ethical and political works.
