No. 53 (2017): Julio-diciembre
Articles

Critique of the Figure of Protagoras in Book Γ of Aristotle’s Metaphysics

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  • Diego Tabakian
Diego Tabakian
Universidad de Buenos Aires
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21555/top.v0i53.813

Published 2017-07-01

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Tabakian, D. (2017). Critique of the Figure of Protagoras in Book Γ of Aristotle’s Metaphysics. Tópicos, Revista De Filosofía, (53), 373. https://doi.org/10.21555/top.v0i53.813
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Abstract

When positing the principle of non-contradiction (PNC) (Metaph. Γ. 4-6 & 8), Aristotle discusses with a number of interlocutors, from the Pre-Socratics to Protagoras, being the latter well-known in Antiquity for subverting the concept of truth (ἀλήθεια) with his doctrine of the “homo mesura”, stating the impossibility of false discourse. I think that a careful reading of Book Γ that rescues the figure of the Abderite could show how the critique of the Sophist would be the key when developing the Aristotelian thought on the question of truth. In the first section (§1) I shall offer some considerations concerning the PNC that are relevant in order to understand the motivations underlying the Aristotelian critique against this sophist. Next (§2) I shall analyze two Aristotelian arguments against those adversaries who discuss in bad faith: on the one hand, the “refutation” in Metaph. Γ. 4 and, on the other hand, the “argument of the contrary appearances” in Metaph. Γ. 5. My hypothesis is that some of the theoretical arguments sketched in Γ. 4 allow us to reconstruct a serious Aristotelian critique against Protagoras in Γ. 5. Finally (§3) I shall present a synthesis of the path traced within the article and offer some conclusions.

 

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