The Notre Dame Centre for the History of Philosophy warmly invites you to this Research Seminar.
IN PERSON: University of Notre Dame Australia, Broadway/Sydney Campus, Moorgate Boardroom (NDS16) 10 Grafton St, Chippendale, NSW ONLINE: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDcyMzQ1MzQtN2U4Ny00ZWNmLWJmYzgtOTJhOTAzMTk1NWUx%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22c93ebcc3-e84c-45c4-9c7e-8607adc072ec%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22d57c9f6e-4977-4ef4-ab54-cde3631e83ed%22%7d PASSCODE: 9NK9kD6Z ________________________________ SPEAKER: Julia Kindt (The University of Sydney) TITLE: The Authority of the Prophetic Voice and the 'Discovery' of Truth in Classical Greece. BIO: Julia Kindt (FAHA) is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Sydney, a former Future Fellow of the Australian Research Council (2018–22), and a member of the Sydney Environment Institute. She has contributed to TLS, History Today, Meanjin, the Australian Book Review, The Conversation, and other magazines. The first woman appointed full professor in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Sydney, she is a historian of ancient Greece with a broad interest in the social, cultural, and intellectual history of the ancient world, and particular expertise in the history of ideas (including religion, historiography, and classical reception studies). ABSTRACT: In his landmark study Les Maîtres de vérité en Grèce ancienne (1967) rendered into English as The Masters of Truth in Archaic Greece (1996) the renowned French scholar Marcel Detienne observes a fundamental development in the intellectual landscape of Greece at the transition between the Archaic and the Classical period. He argues that significant changes in the status and meaning of alētheia (‘truth’) are central to a series of wider shifts and transformations affecting Greek thought at the transition from Archaic to Classical Greece. In earlier times, Detienne maintains, truth was something proclaimed by kings, oracles, and poets. As maîtres de vérité (‘masters of truth) they spoke absolute and unquestioned truths qua their position in society. This conception eventually gave way to an understanding of truth as an objective and rational concept – a common point of reference for all those who (for the right or wrong reasons) wished to make the case that their words aligned with the real and factual. My paper sets out to pursue two intertwined lines of enquiry: first and foremost, it explores the ramification of Detienne’s study for our understanding of the authority and standing of oracles and seers in Classical Greek thought and literature. More specifically, it asks a question that, despite its obvious significance for our understanding of Classical Greek thought and literature, has not yet received the scholarly attention it deserves: why did the prophetic voice retain such a prominent place in the intellectual landscape of Greece at a point in time when the Greek poleis increasingly conceived of truth not as something divinely ordained, but human made? Second (and embedded in this broader investigation) it offers a critical re-appraisal of Detienne’s line of reasoning. I argue that more than half a decade after its publication – and in the light of recent research on the Archaic period – Detienne’s conception of oracles, poets, and kings as ‘masters of truth’ appears too static to do justice to the ways in which prophetic truths were negotiated in the ancient Greek world. Moreover, the contrast Detienne draws between the Archaic and the Classical period is too sharp. It points back to – a now firmly outdated – scholarly view according to which Greek thought underwent a transition ‘from myth to reason’. As such, it is not fully able of capturing how the intellectual world of the Classical Greek poleis – and the conception of truth at their core – evolved out of the Archaic period. Overall, I show that a more nuanced understanding of the subtle – yet nonetheless profound – shifts that affected the intellectual landscape of ancient Greece at the transition of the Archaic to the Classical period opens up new ways in which Detienne’s study can still inspire new insights. New research calls for a revised account of how truth was derived during both the Archaic and the Classical periods; This revised account helps to explain why the inspired voice continued to resonate: In Classical Greek thought and literature the oracular voice continues to feature as an important mode of mediation between political and ritual power thus negotiating a tension that had always been central to the political and intellectual fabric of the classical Greek city. Differences between the Archaic and Classical Greek mentalitiés then concern the way in which these two forces are set out in relation to each other. Dr Catherine Wesselinoff Lecturer | School of Philosophy and Theology Lead, Strategic Programs and Partnerships | Institute for Ethics and Society (IES) The University of Notre Dame Australia. Book a meeting with me<https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/[email protected]?anonymous&ismsaljsauthenabled&ep=plink> <https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/[email protected]?anonymous&ismsaljsauthenabled&ep=plink> Recent Publications: "Beauty's Comeback", Debates in Aesthetics, Vol 19. No. 2, 2025, pp 35-45. "Apophatic Beauty in the Hippias Major and the Symposium", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 82, Issue 1, 2024, pp 36-44. The Revival of Beauty: Aesthetics, Experience, and Philosophy, Routledge, 2023. Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. 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