This series provides a forum for monographs and collected volumes aiming at a philosophical discussion of the texts, topics, and arguments of ancient philosophers. The authors demonstrate that philosophical historiography not only paraphrases the claims of ancient authors, but can also reconstruct the arguments for those claims and consider ongoing discussions in modern philosophy, thus enriching the philosophical debate of our time.

This book illuminates the distinctive character of our modern understanding of the basis and value of free speech by contrasting it with the very different form of free speech that was practised by the ancient Athenians in their democratic regime. Free speech in the ancient democracy was not a protected right but an expression of the freedom from hierarchy, awe, reverence and shame. It was thus an essential ingredient of the egalitarianism of that regime. That freedom was challenged by the consequences of the rejection of shame (aidos) which had served as a cohesive force within the polity. Through readings of Socrates's trial, Greek tragedy and comedy, Thucydides's History, and Plato's Protagoras this volume explores the paradoxical connections between free speech, democracy, shame, and Socratic philosophy and Thucydidean history as practices of uncovering.

Examines the teaching and practice of the twin arts of argumentation -- rhetoric and dialectic -- in the time of Galileo. Galileo was an ardent controversialist on behalf of his astronomical theories, yet many today are unacquainted with the kinds of argument that became a focal point in his famous trial. The authors combine their vast knowledge of rhetoric, history, and philosophy to explain the background of the dispute between science and religion. They present an engaging discussion of the prevailing modes of rhetorical and scientific arguments in Northern Italy during the Renaissance. They display primary texts on the arts of rhetoric and dialectic by authors whose thought was known to Galileo.

This study of Theophrastus' much neglected De sensibus offers a new interpretation of the treatment of the Presocratic and Platonic views on sense perception, and provides new insight into Theophrastus' exegetical procedure by using Peripatetic dialectic as a heuristic tool.

This study of Theophrastus' much neglected "De sensibus" offers a new interpretation of the treatment of the Presocratic and Platonic views on sense perception, and provides new insight into Theophrastus' exegetical procedure by using Peripatetic dialectic as a heuristic tool.

Does competitive process constitute an autonomous societal value or is it a means for achieving more meritorious goals: welfare, growth, integration, and innovation? The hypothesis of The Normative Foundations of European Competition Law is that the former is the case. This insightful book analyses the phenomenon of competition from philosophical, legal and economic perspectives demonstrating exactly why competitive process should not be viewed only as an instrument. It consolidates various normative theories of freedom, market and competition, and explains how exactly they can be operationalized effectively in the matrix of the EU competition policy.