Logoi and Muthoi: Further Essays in Greek Philosophy and Literature, 2020
In this essay I shall explore: (A) the issue of calendar reform, the idea of a seasonal sundial, ... more In this essay I shall explore: (A) the issue of calendar reform, the idea of a seasonal sundial, and its specific mythos and logos connection to New Year’s Day for Anaximander; (B) reconstruct Anaximander’s sundial, exhibiting the trial and error that was required to make it; and (C) illuminate the context of Anaximander’s sundial and prose writings in light of archaic architectural prose treatises and the analogous success of their trial and error experiments that they discussed in their books.
In this essay on ancient architectural technologies, I propose to challenge the largely conventio... more In this essay on ancient architectural technologies, I propose to challenge the largely conventional idea of the transcendent origins of philosophy, that philosophy dawned only when the mind turned inside, away from the world grasped by the body and senses. By focusing on one premier episode in the history of western thinking – the emergence of Greek philosophical thought in the cosmic architecture of Anaximander of Miletus – I am arguing that the abstract, speculative, rationalising thinking characteristic of philosophy, is indeed rooted in practical activities, and emerges by means of them rather than in repudiation of them. The spirit of rational inquiry emerged from several factors but the contributing role of monumental architecture and building technologies has been vastly under-appreciated. In the process of figuring out how to build on an enormous scale that the eastern Greeks had never before tried, the architects discovered and revealed nature’s order in their thaumata, th...
Barnes represents a dominant point of view in certain philosophical circles. Those who subscribe ... more Barnes represents a dominant point of view in certain philosophical circles. Those who subscribe to this perspective tend to rule out of hand the possibility that the innovation o f philosophy and science owed a significant debt to the architects engaged in monumental temple building contemporaneous with the flourishing of Anaximander. Indeed the su p ra celestia l view makes it impossible to take such an investigation seriously. The short article now being presented, part of this larger project of tracing out the origins o f the earliest philosophers within their cultural context-and in this way re-appraising the very idea o f w estern ra tio n a lity-offers a challenge to Barnes' point of view. This essay is divided into several sections. In (B) I set out the problem o f making a diagram or model of Anaximander's cosmos, then in (C) I outline the relevant fragments and testimony-for Anaximander's picture o f the cosmos and its formation-from which a diagram or model might be constructed. Next, in (D) I invite the reader to reflect on the differences between plan and elevation perspectives: two ways o f Im agining. In (D .l), evidence for plan and elevation perspectives in ancient Egyptian architecture is examined, and the contributing influence is considered; in (D.2) evidence for plan and elevation perspectives in archaic Greek architecture, focusing on the Ionian evidence, is then taken up. In (E), possible plan and elevation renderings o f Anaximander's cosmos are displayed. And then, in (F), some reflections on the consequences of this project are briefly considered.
SUNY series in Ancient Greek Philosophy Anthony Preus, editor ... Anaximander in Context New Stud... more SUNY series in Ancient Greek Philosophy Anthony Preus, editor ... Anaximander in Context New Studies in the Origins of Greek Philosophy Dirk L. Couprie, Robert Hahn, and Gerard Naddaf State University of New York Press Thi s Oi 6LX9-EN0-LCAT
Page 1. REMEMBERING LEWIS E. HAHN The following testimonials were offered on the occasion of a me... more Page 1. REMEMBERING LEWIS E. HAHN The following testimonials were offered on the occasion of a memorial gathering for Dr. Lewis E. Hahn held on February 19, 2005, and were compiled for presentation here by Sharon (Hahn) Crowell. ...
Journal of the History of Philosophy, Monograph Series, 1988
The revolution in philosophy that Kant proposes to effect in the Critique of Pure Reason, as anno... more The revolution in philosophy that Kant proposes to effect in the Critique of Pure Reason, as announced in the B Preface of 1787, is a Newtonian, or even a Keplerian, but not a Copernican revolution . The commonplace that Kant effects a Copernican revolution in philosophy misrepresents Kant's expressed statements on the matter, it distorts Kant's view of Copernicus, and it misleads us in our effort to understand what the scientific revolution -- the revolution in natural science or physics -- meant to him. It is this model that Kant tries to imitate to effect a revolution in philosophy, and Kant did not regard Copernicus as a revolution-making thinker.
Logoi and Muthoi: Further Essays in Greek Philosophy and Literature, 2020
In this essay I shall explore: (A) the issue of calendar reform, the idea of a seasonal sundial, ... more In this essay I shall explore: (A) the issue of calendar reform, the idea of a seasonal sundial, and its specific mythos and logos connection to New Year’s Day for Anaximander; (B) reconstruct Anaximander’s sundial, exhibiting the trial and error that was required to make it; and (C) illuminate the context of Anaximander’s sundial and prose writings in light of archaic architectural prose treatises and the analogous success of their trial and error experiments that they discussed in their books.
In this essay on ancient architectural technologies, I propose to challenge the largely conventio... more In this essay on ancient architectural technologies, I propose to challenge the largely conventional idea of the transcendent origins of philosophy, that philosophy dawned only when the mind turned inside, away from the world grasped by the body and senses. By focusing on one premier episode in the history of western thinking – the emergence of Greek philosophical thought in the cosmic architecture of Anaximander of Miletus – I am arguing that the abstract, speculative, rationalising thinking characteristic of philosophy, is indeed rooted in practical activities, and emerges by means of them rather than in repudiation of them. The spirit of rational inquiry emerged from several factors but the contributing role of monumental architecture and building technologies has been vastly under-appreciated. In the process of figuring out how to build on an enormous scale that the eastern Greeks had never before tried, the architects discovered and revealed nature’s order in their thaumata, th...
Barnes represents a dominant point of view in certain philosophical circles. Those who subscribe ... more Barnes represents a dominant point of view in certain philosophical circles. Those who subscribe to this perspective tend to rule out of hand the possibility that the innovation o f philosophy and science owed a significant debt to the architects engaged in monumental temple building contemporaneous with the flourishing of Anaximander. Indeed the su p ra celestia l view makes it impossible to take such an investigation seriously. The short article now being presented, part of this larger project of tracing out the origins o f the earliest philosophers within their cultural context-and in this way re-appraising the very idea o f w estern ra tio n a lity-offers a challenge to Barnes' point of view. This essay is divided into several sections. In (B) I set out the problem o f making a diagram or model of Anaximander's cosmos, then in (C) I outline the relevant fragments and testimony-for Anaximander's picture o f the cosmos and its formation-from which a diagram or model might be constructed. Next, in (D) I invite the reader to reflect on the differences between plan and elevation perspectives: two ways o f Im agining. In (D .l), evidence for plan and elevation perspectives in ancient Egyptian architecture is examined, and the contributing influence is considered; in (D.2) evidence for plan and elevation perspectives in archaic Greek architecture, focusing on the Ionian evidence, is then taken up. In (E), possible plan and elevation renderings o f Anaximander's cosmos are displayed. And then, in (F), some reflections on the consequences of this project are briefly considered.
SUNY series in Ancient Greek Philosophy Anthony Preus, editor ... Anaximander in Context New Stud... more SUNY series in Ancient Greek Philosophy Anthony Preus, editor ... Anaximander in Context New Studies in the Origins of Greek Philosophy Dirk L. Couprie, Robert Hahn, and Gerard Naddaf State University of New York Press Thi s Oi 6LX9-EN0-LCAT
Page 1. REMEMBERING LEWIS E. HAHN The following testimonials were offered on the occasion of a me... more Page 1. REMEMBERING LEWIS E. HAHN The following testimonials were offered on the occasion of a memorial gathering for Dr. Lewis E. Hahn held on February 19, 2005, and were compiled for presentation here by Sharon (Hahn) Crowell. ...
Journal of the History of Philosophy, Monograph Series, 1988
The revolution in philosophy that Kant proposes to effect in the Critique of Pure Reason, as anno... more The revolution in philosophy that Kant proposes to effect in the Critique of Pure Reason, as announced in the B Preface of 1787, is a Newtonian, or even a Keplerian, but not a Copernican revolution . The commonplace that Kant effects a Copernican revolution in philosophy misrepresents Kant's expressed statements on the matter, it distorts Kant's view of Copernicus, and it misleads us in our effort to understand what the scientific revolution -- the revolution in natural science or physics -- meant to him. It is this model that Kant tries to imitate to effect a revolution in philosophy, and Kant did not regard Copernicus as a revolution-making thinker.
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