Chris: I'D LIKE ALL OF YOUR TAKES ON THIS. Please. If the intellectual level is the quest for knowledge for knowledge's sake alone - Can this quest come to be without a distinct *I* to perform and be the vessel of that quest?
Or is it so that the social level had to evolve to such a degree that it produced the basis for the idea of a distinct and separate *I* to form - and only when the social level had provided this *I* could the intellectual level emerge? Could this be it? That when social structures become so evolved that distinct and separate *I's* are created that provides the vessel for the intellectual level? Couldn't Bodvar agree? Couldn't Platt agree (oh Platt, there is your beloved individuality!)? Couldn't Magnus agree? All of you? Ron: Chris, you hit the nail on the head. In fact I made this comment some weeks ago with my discussion with Matt. "Any linguistic study of the Greek verb be is essentially conditioned, and perhaps ultimately motivated, by the philosophic career of this word. We know what an extraordinary career it has been. It seems fair to say, with Benveniste, that the systematic development of a concept of Being in Greek philosophy from Parmenides to Aristotle, and then in a more mechanical way from the Stoics to Plotinus, relies upon the pre-existing disposition of the language to make a very general and diversified use of the verb einai. Furthermore, insofar as the notions expressed by on, einai, and ousia in Greek underlie the doctrines of Being, substance, essence, and existence in Latin, in Arabic, and in modern philosophy from Descartes to Heidegger and perhaps to Quine, we may say that the usage of the Greek verb "be" studied here forms the historical basis for the ontological tradition of the West, as the very term "ontology" suggests. At the same time it is generally recognized that this wide range of uses for the single verb eimi in Greek reflects a state of affairs which is "peculiar to Indo-European languages, and by no means a universal situation or a necessary condition." (1) The present monograph series on "the verb 'be' and its synonyms" shows just how far the languages of the earth may differ from one another in their expression for existence, for predication with nouns or with adjectives, for locative predication, and so forth. The topic of be can itself scarcely be defined except by reference to Indo-European verbs representing the root *es-. The question naturally arises whether an historical peculiarity of this kind can be of any fundamental importance for general linguistics and, even more pressing, whether a concept reflecting the Indo-European use of *es- can be of any general significance in philosophy." (1) Émile Benveniste - "Catégories de pensée et catégories de langue" (1958) - in: Problèmes de linguistique générale - (Paris , 1966) p. 73 From: Charles H. Kahn - The verb 'Be' in ancient Greek - Dordrecht, Reidel (1973) p. 1 (Reprinted Indianapolis, Hackett, 2003 with a new introduction) Ron: Turns out it IS THE defining characteristic. The question of "being" or what it means to "be", is what drives the ancient Greek philosophers to establish "truth in being" which in turn defines a set of criteria that is universally verifiable by the five senses. Once this is established logical arguments or "statements of truth" may be established, shored up with axioms of non contradiction in statement and creating a logical chain of deductive reasoning from inference which had not existed before. Defining "that which is measurable and that which is not." Otherwise known as SOM. which was brought to the known world by Aristotle's student, Alexander the great, who conquered from the eastern and southern shores of the Mediterranean to frontiers of China and India. " But less than a decade after he founded Alexandria, Alexander's namesake became his tomb. Following Alexander's death in Babylon in 323 b.c., his canny general Ptolemy-who had been granted control of Egypt-stole the dead conqueror's body before it reached Macedonia, Alexander's birthplace. Ptolemy built a lavish structure around the corpse, thereby ensuring his own legitimacy and creating one of the world's first major tourist attractions. Amid dozens of "Alexandrias" in the fragmented empire, Ptolemy's city quickly became the most important. Ptolemy, already rich from his Asian conquests and now controlling Egypt's vast wealth, embarked on one of the most astonishing building sprees in history. The Pharos, soaring more than 40 stories above the harbor and lit at night (no one knows exactly how), served the practical purpose of guiding ships to safety, but it also told arriving merchants and politicians that this was a place to be reckoned with. The city's wealth and power were underscored by the temples, wide colonnaded streets, public baths, a massive gymnasium and, of course, Alexander's tomb. Though schooled in war, Ptolemy proved to be a great patron of intellectual life. He founded the Mouseion, a research institute with lecture halls, laboratories and guest rooms for visiting scholars. Archimedes and Euclid worked on mathematics and physics problems here, and the astronomer Aristarchus of Samos determined here that the sun was the center of the solar system. Ptolemy and his successors also created botanical and zoological gardens to show off rare species. Ptolemy's son added the famous library to the Mouseion complex. The first chief of the library, Eratosthenes, measured the earth's circumference to an accuracy within a few hundred miles. The library contained an unparalleled collection of scrolls thanks to a government edict mandating that foreign ships hand over scrolls for copying. And the ships arrived from all directions. Some sailing on the monsoon winds imported silks and spices from the western coast of India via the Red Sea; the valuable cargo was then taken overland to the Mediterranean for transport to Alexandria. One ship alone in the third century b.c. carried 60 cases of aromatic plants, 100 tons of elephant tusks and 135 tons of ebony in a single voyage. Theaters, bordellos, villas and warehouses sprang up. Ptolemy granted Jews their own quarter, near the royal quarter, while Greeks, Phoenicians, Nabateans, Arabs and Nubians rubbed shoulders on the quays and in the marketplaces. Lest they be overrun, the Greek-speaking rulers periodically banished the far more numerous Egyptians to the countryside. The go-go era of the Ptolemies ended with the death, in 30 b.c., of the last Ptolemy ruler, Cleopatra. Like her ancestors, she ruled Egypt from the royal quarter fronting the harbor. Rome turned Egypt into a colony after her death, and Alexandria became its funnel for grain. Violence between pagans and Christians, and among the many Christian sects, scarred the city in the early Christian period."- By Andrew Lawler The Smithsonian april 2007 full article http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/alexandria.html Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
