The sixth-century-BCE Pythagorean communities included both male and female members. This thesis focuses on the Pythagorean women and aims to explore what reasons lie behind the prominence of women in Pythagoreanism and what roles women played in early Pythagorean societies and thought. In the first chapter, I analyse the social conditions of women in Southern Italy, where the first Pythagorean communities were founded. In the second chapter, I compare Pythagorean societies with ancient Greek political clubs and religious sects. Compared to mainland Greece, South Italian women enjoyed higher legal and socio-political status. Similarly, religious groups included female initiates, assigning them authoritative roles. Consequently, the fact that the Pythagoreans founded their communities in Croton and further afield, and that in some respects these communities resembled ancient sects helps to explain why they opened their doors to the female gender to begin with. The third chapter discusses Pythagoras’ teachings to and about women. Pythagorean doctrines did not exclusively affect the followers’ way of thinking and public activities, but also their private way of living. Thus, they also regulated key aspects of the female everyday life, such as marriage and motherhood. I argue that the Pythagorean women entered the communities as wives, mothers and daughters. Nonetheless, some of them were able to gain authority over their fellow Pythagoreans and engage in intellectual activities, thus overcoming the female traditional domestic roles. The fourth chapter argues that another contributing factor to the status of the Pythagorean women is the doctrine of metempsychosis. This belief led the Pythagoreans to adopt similar behaviours towards other ensouled beings. Therefore, since men and women were believed to have the same souls, they were treated with the same respect and received the same education. Finally, the fifth chapter explores how the Pythagorean views on women are taken up and developed in Plato’s Republic. I argue that, although the Pythagoreans never went as far as to have philosopher-queens and abolish private families, they took the first step towards Plato’s ‘gender equality’ theory. Overall, that of women in Pythagoreanism is the first documented case of female engagement with ancient philosophy: Pythagorean men and women lived together according to the same lifestyle, were educated on the same doctrines and played equally integral roles in the intellectual community.

<p>Modern scholars cannot agree how extant fragments of thought attributed to Leucippus and Democritus integrate (or do not) to form a coherent perspective on the ancient Greek world. While a certain degree of uncertainty is unavoidable, given the nature of the evidence available and the fact that Democritus wrote many different works (including at least one in which he deliberately argued against positions that he defended elsewhere), this study demonstrates that we know enough to take a more integrative view of the early atomists (and of Democritus in particular) than is usually taken. In the case of Democritus, this study shows that it makes good sense to read what remains of his works (physical, biological, and ethical) under the presumption that he assumes a single basic outlook on the world, a coherent perspective that informed every position taken by the atomist philosopher. </p><p> Chapter 1 provides an in-depth portrait of the historical and philosophical context in which early atomism was born. As part of this portrait, it offers thumbnail sketches of the doctrines attributed to a representative catalogue of pre-Socratic philosophers to whom published work is attributed (Anaximander, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Philolaus). It demonstrates how each philosopher presumes that his theory offers a universal outlook on human reality, a perspective on the universe which purposely encompasses (and builds into a single theoretical framework) physics and biology and practical ethics.</p><p> Chapter 2 introduces the early atomists as respondents to the pre-Socratic movement before them (a movement which this study refers to as the Critical Tradition). It presents evidence for an integrated reading of early atomist fragments, a reading that construes the Leucippus and Democritus as men of their time (working with and responding to the positions taken by their predecessors in the Critical Tradition).</p><p> Chapter 3 shows how Democritus' ethics arise naturally from his physics via an historical process of development. Like his predecessors in the Critical Tradition and many of his contemporaries, the atomist deliberately imagines nature (physics) providing the raw material from which culture (ethics) naturally and inevitably rises. </p><p> Chapter 4 offers an original reading of extant ethical fragments of Democritus, showing how the atomist uses his unique outlook on the world to develop a practical approach to living well.</p> / Dissertation

A presente tese explora, como solução para o controvertido quadro geral da moderna história da crítica sobre Pitágoras e seu movimento, a definição do pitagorismo como categoria historiográfica. Superando tanto o dilema entre ceticismo e confiança nas fontes, como a pretensão de alcançar uma única chave hermenêutica que permita resolver a questão pitagórica, procura percorrer a história da tradição em busca de uma imagem suficientemente plural a ponto de possibilitar a compreensão do pitagorismo em sua irredutível articulação de bíos e theoría e não apesar dela. A configuração da comunidade e de seu bíos é percebida como elemento central de identificação do pitagorismo. A análise das duas teorias que mais decididamente contribuíram para a definição do pitagorismo ao longo da história, a transmigração da alma imortal e a doutrina dos números, procura definir as condições de possibilidade de atribuí-las ao pitagorismo mais antigo e as formas pelas quais ambas teriam contribuído, ao longo da história, para a definição do pitagorismo como categoria historiográfica. As fontes pré-socráticas, a platonização do pitagorismo, o testemunho aristotélico sobre os assim chamados pitagóricos, a literatura pseudoepigráfica helenística e o pitagorismo de época imperial são entendidos como momentos de um percurso histórico que resulta em uma imagem poliédrica de um dos maiores fenômenos intelectuais da história ocidental. / This thesis explores the definition of Pythagoreanism as historiographical category, seen as solution for the controversial general framework of modern history of criticism about Pythagoras and his movement. Overcoming both the dilemma between skepticism and faith in the sources and the claim to achieve a single hermeneutical key to solve the Pythagorean question, in it searches are made throughout the history of tradition looking for an image sufficiently plural in order to understand Pythagoreanism in accordance with its irreducible articulation of bíos and theoría, not despite it. The setting of the community and its bíos is understood as central element for Pythagorean identification. An analysis of the two theories that more decisively contributed to the definition of Pythagoreanism throughout history, the transmigration of the immortal soul and the doctrine of numbers, attempts to define the conditions of possibility to assign them to the earlier Pythagoreanism and the ways in which these have contributed throughout history to the definition of Pythagoreanism as historiographical category. Presocratic sources, the platonization of Pythagoreanism, Aristotle\'s testimony about the \"so-called\" Pythagoreans, the hellenistic Pseudoepigrapha and Pythagoreanism in imperial age are understood as moments of an historical route resulting in a polyhedral image of one of the greatest intellectual phenomena in Western history.

A presente tese explora, como solução para o controvertido quadro geral da moderna história da crítica sobre Pitágoras e seu movimento, a definição do pitagorismo como categoria historiográfica. Superando tanto o dilema entre ceticismo e confiança nas fontes, como a pretensão de alcançar uma única chave hermenêutica que permita resolver a questão pitagórica, procura percorrer a história da tradição em busca de uma imagem suficientemente plural a ponto de possibilitar a compreensão do pitagorismo em sua irredutível articulação de bíos e theoría e não apesar dela. A configuração da comunidade e de seu bíos é percebida como elemento central de identificação do pitagorismo. A análise das duas teorias que mais decididamente contribuíram para a definição do pitagorismo ao longo da história, a transmigração da alma imortal e a doutrina dos números, procura definir as condições de possibilidade de atribuí-las ao pitagorismo mais antigo e as formas pelas quais ambas teriam contribuído, ao longo da história, para a definição do pitagorismo como categoria historiográfica. As fontes pré-socráticas, a platonização do pitagorismo, o testemunho aristotélico sobre os assim chamados pitagóricos, a literatura pseudoepigráfica helenística e o pitagorismo de época imperial são entendidos como momentos de um percurso histórico que resulta em uma imagem poliédrica de um dos maiores fenômenos intelectuais da história ocidental. / This thesis explores the definition of Pythagoreanism as historiographical category, seen as solution for the controversial general framework of modern history of criticism about Pythagoras and his movement. Overcoming both the dilemma between skepticism and faith in the sources and the claim to achieve a single hermeneutical key to solve the Pythagorean question, in it searches are made throughout the history of tradition looking for an image sufficiently plural in order to understand Pythagoreanism in accordance with its irreducible articulation of bíos and theoría, not despite it. The setting of the community and its bíos is understood as central element for Pythagorean identification. An analysis of the two theories that more decisively contributed to the definition of Pythagoreanism throughout history, the transmigration of the immortal soul and the doctrine of numbers, attempts to define the conditions of possibility to assign them to the earlier Pythagoreanism and the ways in which these have contributed throughout history to the definition of Pythagoreanism as historiographical category. Presocratic sources, the platonization of Pythagoreanism, Aristotle\'s testimony about the \"so-called\" Pythagoreans, the hellenistic Pseudoepigrapha and Pythagoreanism in imperial age are understood as moments of an historical route resulting in a polyhedral image of one of the greatest intellectual phenomena in Western history.

Notre thèse consiste en une édition et traduction des témoignages sur le philosophe présocratique Mélissos de Samos dans l’Antiquité, et un commentaire qui se concentre sur l’histoire de l’interprétation de ce penseur. Notre objectif est de montrer comment Mélissos a été compris par les auteurs anciens en fonction de leur perspective et des connaissances dont ils disposaient, et de présenter les grandes orientations de cette lecture à travers l’Antiquité. Une telle étude est particulièrement intéressante pour Mélissos étant donné qu’il est l’objet d’une doxographie certes riche mais qui peut être analysée dans son intégralité. De plus, elle nous offre un éclairage sur la place de l’éléatisme dans l’histoire de la pensée. Nous avons proposé pour chaque témoin une analyse de leur interprétation de Mélissos, mais nous sommes concentréssur trois grandes lectures : celle d’Aristote, de Pseudo-Aristote dans le MXG et la réinterprétation néoplatonicienne par Philopon et Simplicius. Notre édition présente la quasi-intégralité des textes anciens qui mentionnent Mélissos, et est accompagnée d’un apparat critique sélectif composé à partir des éditions déjà existantes, mais modifié en fonction de nos propres choix éditoriaux. Elle est accompagnée d’une traduction annotée en français. / My dissertation contains an edition and translation of the testimonies on the Presocratic philosopher Melissus of Samos in Antiquity, and a commentary focusing on the history of the way in which he has been interpreted. My aim is to show how he has been understood by ancient writers according to their own agenda and to the knowledge available to them, and to present the main lines of the reception of Melissus throughout Antiquity. A study of this kind is of particular interest in the case of Melissus since he offers a rich material that can be nonetheless analysed in its entirety. Moreover, it provides us with some insights on the place occupied by Eleatism in the intellectual history. For each witness I gave an analysis of theirinterpretation of Melissus, but I concentrated on four main authors: Aristotle, the MXG’s Pseudo-Aristotle and the Neoplatonists Philoponus and Simplicius. My edition includes almost every ancient text that mentions Melissus with a selective critical apparatus, based on the already existing editions, but modified in accordance with my own editorial choices. The edition is accompanied by a French translation with notes.

La thèse centrale de cette recherche consiste à étudier la façon dont les Histoires d'Hérodote, en s'érigeant comme symbole de la pensée présocratique, révèlent une conception politique de la connaissance où les différents modes de la pensée archaïque peuvent trouver une espèce d'architexte qui fournit une méthode particulière de lecture et d'analyse. La manière dont l'historien organise, critique et donne la priorité à l'information met en évidence une conception politique de la connaissance, parce qu'il est toujours dans une position de médiation, il intervient et agit comme arbitre et juge des discours. Cette lutte ou bataille discursive est en définitive un symbole des forces politiques inhérentes à la pensée archaïque. Une des hypothèses centrales ayant guidé cette recherche est la proposition selon laquelle une analogie peut être établie entre le rôle du peuple par rapport au type de gouvernement de sa pólis et le rôle de l'auditoire ou le destinataire d'un récit. Ainsi, l'analyse des textes « présocratiques » peut être réalisée dans le but de pouvoir y tracer une politique du discours déterminée. Le travail est divisé en trois chapitres. Les deux premiers visent à légitimer la proposition qui est développée dans le dernier et qui constitue la thèse à proprement parler. Pour ériger Hérodote en symbole des présocratiques (chapitre 3), il est nécessaire de définir sa position interstitielle tant en amont (Homère, chapitre 1) qu'en aval (Platon et Aristote, chapitre 2), car les présocratiques sont également des interstices entre les corpus homérique et platonicien-aristotélicien. / The central thesis of this research is to examine how the Histories of Herodotus, acting as a symbol of Presocratic thought, display a political conception of kwowledge in which the various archaic modes of thought may find a sort of architext that offers a peculiar reading and analysis method. The Histories bring into stage the clash of discourses, the confrontation between them, representing the battle for discursive legitimation. The way the historian organizes, criticizes and sets a hierarchy for the information reveals a political conception of knowledge, because he invariably places himself as a mediator interceding and acting as an arbitrator and judge of discourses. This struggle or discursive battle is definitely a symbol of the political forces that are immanent to the archaic thought. A fundamental hypothesis guiding this research is that an analogy can be drawn between the role played by the people of a city as a function of their form of government and the role of the auditorium or addressee of a discourse. As such, the analysis of the Presocratic texts may be performed under the perspective that it is possible to trace in them a defined politics of discourse. This research comprises three chapters. To raise Herodotus into a Presocratic symbol (Chapter 3), it is necessary to define his interstitial stance with respect to the past (Homer = chapter 1) and the future (Plato- Aristotle = chapter 2). Several terms have been studied and through their forms of articulation in oppositions, associations or mere concomitances, an attempt has been made to determine how they work.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T18:26:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jose Provetti Junior.pdf: 967352 bytes, checksum: a11663adac9c9ac85b4c09cdc68fc5cc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This dissertation proposes to present the results of a survey around the philosophical foundations of popperian view of knowledge, because assumed through the work of Popper: The world of Parmenides: essays on the presocratic illustration (TWP), the idea of returning to the Greeks as regards the originated attitude of these as philosophy. Initiators of discursive rational mode opened in Archaic Hellas, and that proved the source of the rich array of later scientific and rational development. Popper raises the question of criticism of the inductive method of science positivism, locating it historically in what he called baconian myth , as a certain Aristotle's bias to create the inductive method based on the socratic elencho. It is supposed to understand the relevance of Popper's invitation to return as the Greeks and their originates motivation on the cosmology and the theory of knowledge by being able to better understand popperian logic of scientific inquiry; investigating the historical and philosophical foundations of his argument as it is believed, is set directly on the shaft of the presocratic thought. What make possible to understand the whole popperian work as the philosopher's attempt to build a truly foundational cosmological system, aligned with the archaic Hellenic philosophizing, aiming the challenges of contemporary philosophy and science with respect to Epistemology. / Essa dissertação propõe-se a apresentar os resultados de uma pesquisa em torno das bases filosóficas da visão popperiana do conhecimento, pois se supõe, através da obra de Popper, O Mundo de Parmênides: ensaios sobre a ilustração pré-socrática (TWP), a ideia de retorno aos gregos no que respeita à atitude originária destes quanto à filosofia. Iniciadores do modo discursivo racional, inaugurado na Hélade Arcaica e que se mostraram a fonte da rica matriz do desenvolvimento racional e científico posterior. Popper levanta a questão da crítica ao método indutivo da ciência positivista, localizando-o historicamente, tanto no que denominou mito baconiano quanto em certa tendenciosidade de Aristóteles ao criar o método indutivo, com base no procedimento socrático do elencho. Supõe-se compreender a relevância do convite de Popper quanto ao regresso aos gregos e sua motivação originária quanto à cosmologia e à teoria do conhecimento, através da possibilidade de melhor compreender a lógica da pesquisa científica popperiana, investigando as bases histórico-filosóficas de sua argumentação que, conforme se acredita, está diretamente estabelecida no veio do pensamento pré-socrático. O que possibilita compreender o conjunto da obra popperiana como sendo uma tentativa do filósofo em construir um sistema cosmológico autenticamente fundante, alinhado com o filosofar helênico arcaico, com vista aos desafios da filosofia e da ciência contemporâneos, no que se refere à Epistemologia.

Dès sa découverte en 1962, le Papyrus de Derveni, le plus ancien manuscrit d'Europe, n'a pas cessé de soulever des interrogations majeures relatives à la transmission, à l'interprétation et à la fonction des textes orphiques. Le Papyrus de Derveni nous fournit aussi un témoignage de premier ordre quant à l'influence de la philosophie présocratique sur les doctrines orphiques. Cette thèse est la première édition critique française du Papyrus de Derveni. Celle-ci comprend un apparat critique complet ainsi que des notes au texte. Ce travail de recherche propose aussi une étude monographique du Papyrus de Derveni. Nous avons porté une attention toute particulière à l'analyse du poème orphique, aux techniques exégétiques employées et aux thématiques philosophiques de l'écrit contenu dans le Papyrus de Derveni. Nous avons, en outre, comparé les doctrines cosmologiques et philosophiques proposées par son auteur avec les théories d'Héraclite d’Éphèse, d'Anaxagore de Clazomènes, de Diogène d'Apollonie et Archélaos d’Athènes. / Since his discovery in 1962, the Derveni Papyrus, the most ancient manuscript of Europe, has rase full of major questions about the transmission, the interpretation and the function of the orphic texts. The Derveni Papyrus offers us an emblematic testimony about the influence of Presocratic Philosophy on the orphic doctrines. This thesis is the first french critical edition of the Derveni Papyrus with a critical apparatus and notes on the text. This research paper also provides a monographic study of this document. We especially focused our attention on the orphic poem quoted by the author of the Derveni Papyrus, on the exegetical technics he employed and on the philosophical doctrines he proposed. We particularly compared the cosmological and philosophical theories of the Derveni Papyrus author with that of Heraclitus of Ephesus, Anaxagoras of Clazomenae, Diogenes of Apollonia and Archelaus of Athens.