Author: Cappello, Orazio
Title: The Shape of the Tradition to Come: Academic Arguments in Cicero
Review/Collection: in David Konstan, Myrto Garani, and Gretchen Reydams-Schils (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Roman Philosophy
Editor: Oxford Academic
Year edition: 2023
Keywords: Philosophie - Filosofia - Philosophy
Description: As foundational texts in the establishment of a Roman tradition in philosophy, Cicero’s writings regularly attend to the question of how philosophy is to be done. These technical works show a sustained interest in the model they adopt to stage philosophical debate, drive the exchange to some satisfactory resolution, and, in so doing, meaningfully engage both performers and their audience. Surveying the treatment of the two key models Cicero draws on, this contribution studies Cicero’s reflections on the heritage of philosophical methodology from Socrates down to his time. The aim of these close readings is to suggest that more than a sidebar on the history of philosophy or a self-serving apology for Academic epistemology, these passages lay bare the foundation of Cicero’s philosophical project. As he (re)introduces this genre to a novice audience of his contemporaries, Cicero institutes Philosophy as a field of conflicts and counterpositions around select issues, determining what counts as philosophy and creating normative guidelines for how to practice it [Auteur].
Works:
Author initials: Cappello 2023
Title: The Shape of the Tradition to Come: Academic Arguments in Cicero
Review/Collection: in David Konstan, Myrto Garani, and Gretchen Reydams-Schils (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Roman Philosophy
Editor: Oxford Academic
Year edition: 2023
Keywords: Philosophie - Filosofia - Philosophy
Description: As foundational texts in the establishment of a Roman tradition in philosophy, Cicero’s writings regularly attend to the question of how philosophy is to be done. These technical works show a sustained interest in the model they adopt to stage philosophical debate, drive the exchange to some satisfactory resolution, and, in so doing, meaningfully engage both performers and their audience. Surveying the treatment of the two key models Cicero draws on, this contribution studies Cicero’s reflections on the heritage of philosophical methodology from Socrates down to his time. The aim of these close readings is to suggest that more than a sidebar on the history of philosophy or a self-serving apology for Academic epistemology, these passages lay bare the foundation of Cicero’s philosophical project. As he (re)introduces this genre to a novice audience of his contemporaries, Cicero institutes Philosophy as a field of conflicts and counterpositions around select issues, determining what counts as philosophy and creating normative guidelines for how to practice it [Auteur].
Works:
Author initials: Cappello 2023
