Conférence : Naissance de la philosophie en Grèce

François L'Yvonnet, philosopher and editor, has edited, in the bilingual "Classiques en poche" collection published by Les Belles Lettres, two dialogues by Plato (Apology of Socrates and Symposium) and Latin texts (Seneca and Suetonius). Following Ernest Renan, the birth in Greece in the 5th century BC of a new, rational form of thought—philosophy—has been described as a "miracle." This occurred within a very specific political context: the establishment, within the framework of the City-State, of an original political experiment: democracy. Another word of Greek origin. During this period, the Hellenic world experienced exceptional intellectual ferment and inventiveness: the rise of the sciences, the formation of new fields of knowledge such as history, and new literary genres such as tragedy. Yet more words of Greek origin. We are the distant heirs of this great century.

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