One more time : views on Aristotle's pholosophy and intercultural philosophy

Abstract

In my view a philosopher is a person of wisdom who produces a guide to life, providing us with some tools for dealing with practical problems and survival issues on at least five adaptation domains. These are a) metaphysics: man’s relationship to the cosmos; b) politics: man’s relationship with others; c) ethics: man’s relationship with himself and his behaviour toward others; d) epistemology: man’s relationship with his mind and his method of thinking; and e) aesthetics: man’s relationship with and appreciation of beauty. This paper is destined to mainly present an unshackled response to the informed and well-versed papers by Anastasios Ladikos titled Revisiting the virtue of courage in Aristotle; and Murray Hofmeyer: The Promise and Problems of Intercultural Philosophy; (Phronimon – Journal of the South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities –Volume 5(2) 2004). My concern with Aristotle’s ideas stems from the fact that his propositions are connected to ancient battlefield circumstances and conditions, as well as the Spartan Culture of his time. If juxtaposed with scenes of violence in our time we can draw many parallel behavioral patterns that can pass as valid and reliable characteristics of modern-day soldiers in mortal, face-to-face combat or victims of crime in violent confrontation with rapists, murderers and assaulters.