Eine Notiz über schreibende und wandernde Philosophen

Authors

  • Fabia Neuerburg Universität Trier, Universitätsring 15, 54296 Trier, Deutschland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu20.2017.111

Abstract

In a letter allegedly written by Thales to Pherekydes, which is contained in the ‘life of Thales’ by Diogenes Laertius, the reader comes across a peculiar differentiation between two kinds of sages: Philosophers who travel the world but barely write anything down, thus resembling modern-day tourists, as opposed to philosophers who are devoted to their writings, yet do not travel at all. Could it be, that movement, i.e. travelling and wandering, is not compatible with being a true philosopher after all, as suggested by Silvia Montiglio? By revisiting the relevant paragraphs this note aims to examine whether this postulated irreconcilability has anything to do with the differentiation presented in the letter of Thales. A closer analysis of the text suggests that the underlying idea of this passage consists of two different concepts of theoria: a more traditional theoria, a journey in pursuit of knowledge, in contrast to a philosophical theoria, appropriated and transformed by Greek philosophers in the fourth century. Refs 8.

Keywords:

Diogenes Laertius, Thales, Pherekydes, travel, theoria

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References

Betegh G. Thales. DNP, 12/1, Stuttgart — Weimar, 2002, Sp. 236–238.

Bremmer J. Walking, standing, and sitting in ancient Greek Culture, in: J. Bremmer, H. Roodenburg (Hgg.) A Cultural History of Gesture. Cambridge, 1991, 15–35.

Mejer J. Eudemus and the History of Science, in: I.Bodnár, W.W.Fortenbaugh (Hgg), Eudemus of Rhodes. New Brunswick: Action Publishers, 2002, 243–261.

Montiglio S. Wandering Philosophers in ancient Greece. JHS 2000, 120, 86–105.

Nightingale A. W. Spectacles of Truth in Classical Greek Philosophy. Theoria in its Cultural Context. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004.

O’Sullivan T. Walking in Roman Culture, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Rausch H. Theoria. Von ihrer sakralen zur philosophischen Bedeutung, München, Fink, 1982.

Sassi M. M. Il viaggio e la festa. Note sulla rappresentazione dell’ideale filosofico della vita, in: G. Camassa, S. Fasce (Hgg.), Idea e realtà del viaggio. Il viaggio nel mondo antico. Genova 1991, 17–36.

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Published

2017-09-20

How to Cite

Neuerburg, F. (2017). Eine Notiz über schreibende und wandernde Philosophen. Philologia Classica, 12(1), 111–114. https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu20.2017.111

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 1 (2017)

Section

Miscellanea

License

Articles of "Philologia Classica" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.