Mailing List


Introduction

The Aristotle/Plato Mailing List is an e-mail discussion and news group devoted to the study of Ancient Greek philosophy and its later commentators. All interested persons are welcomed to subscribe. Subscribers can raise any topic with direct or indirect bearing on Greek philosophy at any time.

 

Although scholars have found in the list a useful forum to discuss their research and try out new ideas, expertise is not assumed and subscribers should not be afraid to ask ‘stupid questions’ or propose half-baked interpretations.

 

It is possible to use the list for special projects, such as coordination with a college course or for leading an extended discussion of a particular text. Make arrangements with the list owner beforehand.


How to subscribe

To subscribe, go to the Aristotle/Plato mailing list site at Google Groups. Inquiries can be addressed to the list owner, Paul Bullen.

 

Upon subscribing please introduce yourself, preferably to the whole list, but at least to the list owner. It is useful to know if we have among us, for example, an expert on the Greek language, biology, Plato, or Macedonian politics. Subscriber messages are sent to Aristotle/Plato mailing list.


Brief history

When the list began in 1994 it was devoted to the study of Aristotle’s Politics. Later it expanded to cover the Ethics and then to all of Aristotle. In 1998 the list was again expanded to include Plato and the Sophists. Although there continues to be some emphasis on Aristotle, the list now covers Greek philosophy in general, as well as its later commentators. Among notable past activities was a close study of the draft of Richard Kraut’s Clarendon Aristotle Series commentary on Politics VII & VIII, a debate between David Reeve and Peter Simpson on translating the Politics, a public airing of the draft of Reeve’s introduction to and translation of the Politics, and discussions with David Keyt about his recent Clarendon Aristotle Series translation of and commentary on Politics V & VI and with Joe Sachs about his translation of the Metaphysics. In recent years we have compared Aristotle's ideas with those of social psychologist/pragmatic philosopher George Herbert Mead and with the founding ideology of the Boy Scouts. Later, there were discussions of Aristotle's De Anima hosted by University of Chicago professor of psychology Eugene Gendlin and of Aristotle's Rhetoric and its relation to dialectic and analytics. On the latter topic, we sponsored a debate with Edward Schiappa. We have had subscribers from at least 30 nations. When moving to the new location, the name was changed to Arisotle/Plato mailing list.