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CommentsontheSourcesofGreekPhilosophicalCriticism
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Today,criticismisdefinedratherbroadly.
Firstly,itisconceivedofasagroupoftraitsco-definingtheunique
orientationofone’sreflection,including,inparticular,one’sneedtomake
multi-facetedreferencestoexistingfactsandtoconfrontthesefacts
withone’sownconvictions,whichinturn,leadstotherecognition
ofthenecessitytoreconsidertheoriginalreasonswhytheseconvictions
hadbeenembracedinthefirstplace.Thesetraitsunderlythepotential
ofcriticalreflectiontoopenspaceforrevisionsofone’sviews.
Secondly,itisdefinedasacognitiveapproachinoppositiontodogma-
tismmanifestingitself,forexample,asskepticismintheaforementioned
understanding.Suchanapproachcallsforaninquiryintothegrounds
for,andlimitsof,knowledge.
Thirdly,inepistemology,criticismisunderstoodasastanceadopt-
ingwhichonedeclaresthatallphilosophicalreflectionmustbebased
on,andprecededby,aninquiryintothetheoryofcognition,i.e.asacrit-
icalinquiryofepistemologicalcharacter.
Bearinginmindtheimportanceofthusunderstoodcriticism
forthedevelopmentofcontemporaryacademicreflectionandallother
aspectsofhumanintellectualactivitytoday,itisworthretracingitshis-
torybacktoitsrootsandtosystematicallyanalyzethepresenceofcer-
tainelementsofthecriticalstanceinearlyGreekthoughtwiththeview
toopeningspacetoreflectionuponcontinuityandchangeintheevolu-
tionofcriticisminwesternculture.
InordertoofferamoredetailedreflectiononearlyGreekcriti-
cism,and,consequently,aninsightintothehistoricalsourcesofwest-
erncriticismingeneral,weshouldreturntothemanifestationsofthis
conceptasdocumentedinworks(orextantfragmentsofthewritings)
bythethinkersofthatperiod.Itiscommonsensetoassumethat
therecognitionofthescopesofthesemanticfieldsofcategoriesunder
discussionwillbetantamounttotherecognitionoftheuniqueness
ofthepastmetanarratives,which,historically,woulddeterminethe
understandingofthenotionofourinterest.Suchrecognition,atleast
