Strategies of Polemics in Greek and Roman Philosophy

Book excerpt: Strategies of Polemics in Greek and Roman Philosophy brings together papers written by specialists in the field of ancient philosophy on the topic of polemics. Despite the central role played by polemics in ancient philosophy, the forms and mechanisms of philosophical polemics are not usually the subject of systematic scholarly attention. The present volume seeks to shed new light on familiar texts by approaching them from this neglected angle. The contributions address questions such as: What is the role of polemic in a philosophical discourse? What were the polemical strategies developed by ancient philosophers? To what extent did polemics contribute to the shaping of important philosophical doctrines or standpoint? Contributors are: Mauro Bonazzi, André Laks, Robert Lamberton, Carlos Lévy, Daniel Marković, Jozef Müller, Charlotte Murgier, Christopher Shields, Naly Thaler, Voula Tsouna, and Sharon Weisser.