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May 1

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Rousseau and Aristotle

I’m working on a paper on politeuma, a Greek word sometimes translated as government and sometimes translated as constitution, in Aristotle.  Some ancient scholars argue that sometimes Aristotle means government by the term and sometimes he means constitution by the term.  I think that drawing that distinction is a uniquely modern way of thinking about the relation and we might be well-served to consider the dual meaning of the term without trying to distinguish those meanings.

I’m also teaching a class on Rousseau this semester where we’ve been reading Rousseau’s Discourse on Inequality as well as On Social Contract.  I began to make an argument as a sidenote in the paper on Aristotle distinguishing Rousseau from Aristotle when I drew up short and realized that their positions might be so very close together that the differences between them might shed some light on the relationship between government and constitution in Aristotle and Rousseau.  In the spirit of public philosophy, I’m presenting that argument here.  I’m keen to hear your thoughts. Read more

Apr 29

Ancient Philosophy Society Meeting, 2014 Storify

View the story “Ancient Philosophy Society Meeting, 2014” on Storify

Apr 24

APS Comment On Emanuela Bianchi’s Work

On April 27, 2014, I will be commenting on Emanuela Bianchi’s essay, “The Aristotelian Organism and Aleatory Matter.”  I’m posting my comments here for those of you who won’t be attending the Ancient Philosophy Society in Tampa, FL April 24-27. I’ll be live tweeting at #APS14, follow me @adrieltrott.

A note on the photograph: Emma took this photo of my husband and I in Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy in 2012.  At the time, we’d only been married for three weeks.  She later posted it with the caption, “Marriage: Italian Style.”  I think this it’s particularly apropos given the dispute that she and I have over the role of the feminine in Aristotle’s work.

Comments

It is a pleasure for me to comment on Emma Bianchi’s work, not only in the spirit of friendship, but also in the spirit of true and earnest disagreement with a friend with whom I share many philosophical commitments.  This project seems to be drawing together some elements of Bianchi’s previous work, and as such, I find her formulations and concerns to be helpful in my own thinking on Aristotle.  So I’d like to express my gratitude to her for keeping these questions and concerns about Aristotle at the fore.  These are questions and concerns that I share, questions that I thank Bianchi for forcing me to think about more carefully in Aristotle. They are important questions whose ramifications extend beyond the confines of Aristotle and Aristotle scholarship.  Bianchi encourages us to critically consider the implications of the standard of substance as a unified and hegemonic totality.  Read more

Apr 22

The Trott Line

A trot line is a fishing line that is set up across an span of water with a staging area every few feet from which you drop a line.  On the end of each staging line is a hook that you tie your bait to during the day, let the sun go down, and come back in the morning to see what’s been caught.  Some call it lazy.

I like this idea of fishing, of just letting the fish come to you when they’re ready.  Lazy?  Maybe, but it takes patience, and too, attentiveness.  There’s something  about the way the trot line gathers the things of the water without prejudice: your trot line could catch old rope, plastic bags and snakes as likely as fish.  Thinking is kind of like this: ideas come by and get caught on your staging.  Some of them are worth keeping, some of them you throw back, some of them are a cause for celebration, some of them you’d rather never have seen, some of them don’t mean that much to you, but someone else is glad you caught it.  This blog is my trot line.   Read more

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