Nature and the Best Life

Exploring the Natural Bases of Practical Normativity in Ancient Philosophy. Edited by Gabriela Rossi.

Ten papers (six of them in english, four in french, spanish or italian) discuss various aspects of the relation between nature and practical normativity in Antiquity, from the Presocratic period to Neoplatonism. Leaving aside the question how much of contemporary naturalism is present in Ancient Philosophy, and whether that much is sufficient for finding traces of it in ancient naturalism, one may still ask the historical question of whether or not this is a feature that all ancient ethics share. To this effect, the following pages offer a palette of readings that provide diverse analyses and diagnoses about the manner, the extent, and the success with which the appeal to nature can be identified as a strategy for founding practical normativity in Ancient Philosophy. With contributions by André Laks, Linda M. Napolitano, Iván de los Ríos, Marco Zingano, Alberto Ross, Gabriela Rossi, Marcelo D. Boeri, Daniel Doyle, Pierre-Marie Morel and José María Zamora. 300 Seiten, broschiert (Reason and Normativity; Vol. 6/Olms Verlag 2013)