Papers by Paulo Butti de Lima
Anabases. Traditions et réceptions de l’Antiquité, Apr 1, 2018
Ritratto del tiranno come attore, 2023
Studies of ancient tyranny often overlook a main theme of analysis: Plato’s and Aristotle’s descr... more Studies of ancient tyranny often overlook a main theme of analysis: Plato’s and Aristotle’s description of the tyrant as an actor playing non-tyrannical roles. The understanding of tyranny as an imitation of other political regimes creates considerable difficulties for historical and political inquiries. These difficulties concern the naming and recognition of monarchical forms of power, as well as the nature of political (self-) representation. For Plato, tyrannical actions take place under the sign of mimesis. To escape the difficulties that arise from defining a political regime according to the
parameter of imitation, Plato introduces two paradoxical figures in the dialogues: the powerless tyrant (in the Republic) and the virtuous tyrant (in the Laws).
I democratici rivoluzionari ateniesi (epilogo), 2023
The modern and contemporary reception of Athenian democracy illustrates how Athens became revolut... more The modern and contemporary reception of Athenian democracy illustrates how Athens became revolutionary, only to have its revolutionary nature forgotten, or its violent nature eliminated. The suppression or whitewashing of the tumultuous aspects of democracies paves the way for the emergence of aggressive democracies. The reception of democratic Athens is intertwined with this historical narrative.
Heródoto e a invenção do outro, 2024
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the relationship between Herodotus and democracy has oft... more Since the beginning of the 20th century, the relationship between Herodotus and democracy has often been discussed. In this essay, we look at the different ways in which this relationship has been approached: from a biographical, theoretical‑political, and narrative, or from an ethnic and cultural point of view. In order to understand the problem of democracy in Herodotus, it is necessary to consider these various ways of reading his work. It is possible to distinguish three moments in the history of studies on this subject: (1) Germany and the debate on nationalism at the beginning of the 20th century; (2) the discussion, after the end of the Second World War, on the existence of a Greek democratic theory of democracy; (3) finally, the geopolitical analyses at the end of the 20th century.
Il contagio rivoluzionario, 2024
The theme of the sick city has been a prevalent topic in ancient Greek literature and has been re... more The theme of the sick city has been a prevalent topic in ancient Greek literature and has been reinterpreted in various forms over the centuries. Another related yet distinct image focuses not only on the nature of the disease and the decline of the social and political body but also on the spread and acquisition of the evil. This image, emphasized during the modern age, portrays political disease as a contagious evil, reworking the concepts of revolution, contagion, and democracy. Since the events of the French Revolution, modern authors have often linked these ideas together. Three aspects of this representation of the 'sick city' can be distinguished: the ‘contagion of the revolution’, the ‘contagion of the masses’, and the ‘contagion of democracy’.
Storia del Pensiero Politico, 2022
The reception of Athenian democracy is the subject of many studies and of a recent Companion. It ... more The reception of Athenian democracy is the subject of many studies and of a recent Companion. It is a key topic in the field of the reception studies and a main aspect in the history of democratic ideas. In this essay, we raise some general questions about it, related to why and how Athenian democracy is remembered from Middle-Ages until now. A better understanding of the reception of Athenian democracy can be reached only when non-democratic Athens or other ancient (and primitive) democracies are adequately considered. The reception of the Athenian democracy should be seen from the perspective of our appropriation of the ancient political vocabulary, without ignoring the competitive views on the origins of our multiple «democratic» traditions.
A República de Platão, 2022
Civilization Global Histories of a Political Idea, 2022
The word ‘democracy’ plays an ambivalent role in the work of geopolitical writers at the end of t... more The word ‘democracy’ plays an ambivalent role in the work of geopolitical writers at the end of the twentieth century. Its traditional use as a source of universal expectations and as a revolutionary slogan becomes a hindrance when cultural, ethnic, or even religious distinctions are introduced as political parameters. The democratic tradition is called into question when concepts such as civilization, religion or race are incorporated anew in a geopolitical and purportedly democratic point of view. This essay aims to recall some views on the origins of democracy held by classicists and the role of this appeal in the work of geopolitical thinkers in the United States after the end of the Cold War.
Antiquorum Philosophia, 2020
Viewing and Listening in Thucydides’ Narrative · Contrary to what is sometimes assumed, Thucydide... more Viewing and Listening in Thucydides’ Narrative · Contrary to what is sometimes assumed, Thucydides admits the possibility of writing about distant past events and often emphasises the limits of historical autopsy. To understand Thucydides’ inquiry, it is necessary to account for what is said to have been seen and heard by the characters of the narration. But the historian’s aim is to register not only what is seen and heard by people participating in the events, but also what is beyond their perception. Moreover, the historian discloses what cannot be seen and what is deliberately conceale
Enunciação. Revista do programa de Pós-Graduação em Filosofia da UFRRJ, 2020
Abstract: the law on stasis ascribed to Solon became the subject of a debate in Roman times, due ... more Abstract: the law on stasis ascribed to Solon became the subject of a debate in Roman times, due to its paradoxical nature. Its ancient interpretations allow us to discern different views on the nature of political participation, calling into question the distinction between Ancients and Moderns, the basis of a long tradition of liberal thought.
Resumo: a lei sobre a stásis atribuída a Sólon tornou-se objeto de discussão em época romana, devido a seu caráter paradoxal. Suas interpretações antigas nos permitem vislumbrar diferentes concepções da natureza da participação política e põem em questão a distinção entre antigos e modernos na qual se baseou uma longa tradição de pensamento liberal.
Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia, 2021
In the first book of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle describes the Good as perfect (teleion) an... more In the first book of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle describes the Good as perfect (teleion) and self-sufficient (autarkes). He adds that the notion of self-sufficiency (autarkeia) must be considered not from the point of view of the single man, but of the community. This argument seems incoherent: is self-sufficiency to be attributed to the Good or to the community? In order to answer this question, we can ask initially if it is the same to say that the Good or the community is self-sufficient. Secondly, if the individual is not self-sufficient, how could he search by himself the self-sufficient Good, without having to follow what is determined by the community? Aristotle, in his ethical treatises and in Politics, is concerned with the relation between self-sufficiency (autarkeia), and community (koinonia). But the philosopher tries to show, in his Ethics, that there can be an ideal of self-sufficiency for each human being, independently or in spite of his life in the polis. The aim of this paper is to discuss the meaning and relevance of the reference to autarkeia, in the first book of Nicomachean Ethics, to the Aristotelian view on the practical Good.
Methexis, 2021
The discussion on the authenticity of Plato's Seventh Letter should consider its distinct parts, ... more The discussion on the authenticity of Plato's Seventh Letter should consider its distinct parts, some incongruences between them and the editorial process of Plato's later works. The number of times Plato has given advice and the number of travels to Sicily are differently indicated in the letter. These incongruences could be a sign of different Platonic texts being assembled by an 'editor,' becoming a relevant matter for the analysis of the text and its authorship.
Storia del Pensiero Politico, 2021
The Seventh Letter is our main document on Plato’s political activities and offer new
perspectiv... more The Seventh Letter is our main document on Plato’s political activities and offer new
perspectives to the interpretation of the philosopher’s political views. Two recent contributions on the Seventh Letter address again the problem of the letter’s authenticity.
In this article, we consider the main arguments adduced by these new studies and ask
how to read today Plato’s political theory through this old discussion. Can our political
interpretation of the Seventh Letter go beyond the problem of its attribution?
Antico e non antico. Scritti multidisciplinari offerti a Giuseppe Pucci, 2018
Storie di testi e tradizione classica per L. Canfora (a cura di R. Otranto e P.M. Pinto), 2018
Una nuova rappresentazione di Tucidide si afferma in Germania negli anni ’30 del ventesimo secolo... more Una nuova rappresentazione di Tucidide si afferma in Germania negli anni ’30 del ventesimo secolo. In vari studi si sottolinea allora la natura di riflessione politica dell’opera dello storico ateniese, in contrapposizione ai suoi aspetti più propriamente storici e narrativi. Lontani gli anni della Grande guerra e gli interessi dei suoi Gelehrten, questa nuova interpretazione annovera Tucidide tra i « pensatori della politica1 ». La
moderna parabola ateniese, riscontrata nei percorsi della Germania contemporanea, non lascia più dubbi, sulla disfatta e sulla guerra civile : lo storico di Atene può quindi diventare maestro di politica e di etica statale per chi sente mancare l’ethos alla nazione senza l’Impero. I riferimenti analogici alla situazione attuale o pregressa della Germania sono mediati dai temi universali della politica, tra i i quali non tarderà a porsi, in posizione
privilegiata, il rapporto tra il capo e la comunità.
This article analyses the use of lists in Herodotus' Histories. In the first part, the different ... more This article analyses the use of lists in Herodotus' Histories. In the first part, the different contents, forms and functions of lists in the Herodotean narrative are discussed, on the basis of a general 'theory' of lists. In the second part, it is seen how these lists are usually indicated by Herodotus with the verb katalégein. This verb can have a political meaning when it is used by the actors of the narrative, revealing a process of deliberation according to knowledge and power. When it is used by the narrator, it stresses the particularity of his enunciation, linking 'history' and katálogov.
The concept of a Platonic «political philosophy» is paradoxical. No other
place reveals more clea... more The concept of a Platonic «political philosophy» is paradoxical. No other
place reveals more clearly this paradox than the image of the cave in the Republic.
A true discourse about the polis should express the knowledge of the shades,
once the philosopher becomes habituated to the darkness. However, it is possible
to distinguish a double «descent» of the philosopher among the prisoners: in a first
moment, he becomes the object of mockery and violence; in a second moment, he
is equipped with political power. Political theory seems to be justified by the philosophical
activity of government (the second descent), so it is necessary to ask about
the meaning of a theory developed by someone who is just an observer of the polis,
having no political power (the first descent). This is the position of Socrates, when
describing the image of the cave. This is also the position of Plato as the author of
The Republic.
The utopian character of Plato's city in The Republic has been a main subject of discussion, cent... more The utopian character of Plato's city in The Republic has been a main subject of discussion, centred especially on the characteristics of the proposed community and its incoherencies when assumed as a concrete political project. The aim of this paper is to analyse which parameters are used by Plato in his view of the best constitution and how these parameters became the criteria assumed by Aristotle in his general classification of political thought. Through Plato's representation of Socrates' activity when describing the city of the Republic it is possible to trace a genealogy of the modern concept of utopia.
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Papers by Paulo Butti de Lima
parameter of imitation, Plato introduces two paradoxical figures in the dialogues: the powerless tyrant (in the Republic) and the virtuous tyrant (in the Laws).
Resumo: a lei sobre a stásis atribuída a Sólon tornou-se objeto de discussão em época romana, devido a seu caráter paradoxal. Suas interpretações antigas nos permitem vislumbrar diferentes concepções da natureza da participação política e põem em questão a distinção entre antigos e modernos na qual se baseou uma longa tradição de pensamento liberal.
perspectives to the interpretation of the philosopher’s political views. Two recent contributions on the Seventh Letter address again the problem of the letter’s authenticity.
In this article, we consider the main arguments adduced by these new studies and ask
how to read today Plato’s political theory through this old discussion. Can our political
interpretation of the Seventh Letter go beyond the problem of its attribution?
moderna parabola ateniese, riscontrata nei percorsi della Germania contemporanea, non lascia più dubbi, sulla disfatta e sulla guerra civile : lo storico di Atene può quindi diventare maestro di politica e di etica statale per chi sente mancare l’ethos alla nazione senza l’Impero. I riferimenti analogici alla situazione attuale o pregressa della Germania sono mediati dai temi universali della politica, tra i i quali non tarderà a porsi, in posizione
privilegiata, il rapporto tra il capo e la comunità.
place reveals more clearly this paradox than the image of the cave in the Republic.
A true discourse about the polis should express the knowledge of the shades,
once the philosopher becomes habituated to the darkness. However, it is possible
to distinguish a double «descent» of the philosopher among the prisoners: in a first
moment, he becomes the object of mockery and violence; in a second moment, he
is equipped with political power. Political theory seems to be justified by the philosophical
activity of government (the second descent), so it is necessary to ask about
the meaning of a theory developed by someone who is just an observer of the polis,
having no political power (the first descent). This is the position of Socrates, when
describing the image of the cave. This is also the position of Plato as the author of
The Republic.
parameter of imitation, Plato introduces two paradoxical figures in the dialogues: the powerless tyrant (in the Republic) and the virtuous tyrant (in the Laws).
Resumo: a lei sobre a stásis atribuída a Sólon tornou-se objeto de discussão em época romana, devido a seu caráter paradoxal. Suas interpretações antigas nos permitem vislumbrar diferentes concepções da natureza da participação política e põem em questão a distinção entre antigos e modernos na qual se baseou uma longa tradição de pensamento liberal.
perspectives to the interpretation of the philosopher’s political views. Two recent contributions on the Seventh Letter address again the problem of the letter’s authenticity.
In this article, we consider the main arguments adduced by these new studies and ask
how to read today Plato’s political theory through this old discussion. Can our political
interpretation of the Seventh Letter go beyond the problem of its attribution?
moderna parabola ateniese, riscontrata nei percorsi della Germania contemporanea, non lascia più dubbi, sulla disfatta e sulla guerra civile : lo storico di Atene può quindi diventare maestro di politica e di etica statale per chi sente mancare l’ethos alla nazione senza l’Impero. I riferimenti analogici alla situazione attuale o pregressa della Germania sono mediati dai temi universali della politica, tra i i quali non tarderà a porsi, in posizione
privilegiata, il rapporto tra il capo e la comunità.
place reveals more clearly this paradox than the image of the cave in the Republic.
A true discourse about the polis should express the knowledge of the shades,
once the philosopher becomes habituated to the darkness. However, it is possible
to distinguish a double «descent» of the philosopher among the prisoners: in a first
moment, he becomes the object of mockery and violence; in a second moment, he
is equipped with political power. Political theory seems to be justified by the philosophical
activity of government (the second descent), so it is necessary to ask about
the meaning of a theory developed by someone who is just an observer of the polis,
having no political power (the first descent). This is the position of Socrates, when
describing the image of the cave. This is also the position of Plato as the author of
The Republic.
Com a tradução dos textos de Aristóteles no século XIII, o termo grego
“democracia” foi introduzido na língua latina e se tornou um elemento
central para a compreensão dos fenômenos políticos modernos. A
inclusão de “democracia” no latim medieval e, em seguida, nas várias
línguas da Europa moderna permitiu designar com esse termo realidades
completamente diversas daquelas pensadas originalmente. Não apenas
se começou a falar de “democracia” e de “democrático” a partir de fenômenos e personagens do mundo moderno e contemporâneo, mas foi
assim denominado o momento inicial da vida política, ou certas realidades
primitivas, distantes da Grécia antiga. Na época das revoluções e no período
de difusão das ideias socialistas, o termo assumiu uma função polêmica,
antes de se consolidar no âmbito da reflexão política entre os séculos XIX e
XX. As tentativas reiteradas de conferir novos significados ao conceito de
democracia, até os dias atuais, colocam em evidência o caminho distinto
seguido por esse termo, por entre os vocábulos políticos de origem antiga,
e o processo ininterrupto de “invenção dos antigos” – de construção da
tradição e de definição de nossa herança política. Esse volume permite
compreender a construção ideológica de uma continuidade democrática
pensada como europeia e ocidental.
Traduzione port.: Platão. Uma poética para a filosofia. São Paulo: Perspectiva, 2004.