The Ancient Philosophy Research Group

The Ancient Philosophy Research Group

 

The Philosophers Mosaic. Photo.

The Ancient Philosophy Research Group at NTNU provides a forum for the reading and discussion of ancient texts, as well as a network of support for the development of new work on or inspired by ancient ideas.

We are a group of philosophers in Trondheim, Ålesund, and Bergen, always interested in strengthening our numbers, also from NTNU's student body.

We are particularly interested in the Greco-Roman tradition, from early Greek philosophy through Plato and Aristotle to Hellenistic philosophy, on topics from ethics, political philosophy, and moral psychology to cognitive theory, epistemology, and ontology. 

Activities

Activities

The Ancient Philosophy Research Group meets on a regular basis (every second or third week) to discuss various ancient texts and present work in progress. In WS24 and SS25 the group focused mainly on Plato’s Theaetetus.

Events

14/8, 2025     

Miquel Solans Blasco (Universidad de Navarra): “The Stranger in Question: The Philosopher between Theatetus and Sophist”: 

This paper examines the philosophical and dramatic continuity between Plato’s Theaetetus and Sophist, focusing on the enigmatic figure of the Eleatic Stranger. While the thematic linkage between the two dialogues has long been acknowledged, the philosophical implications of introducing a new interlocutor have received less attention. The study challenges the assumption that the Stranger is straightforwardly presented as a philosopher, arguing instead that the Sophist prologue poses his philosophical status as a question to be resolved through the dialogue itself. By rereading the initial exchange between Socrates and Theodorus in light of the Theaetetus, the paper highlights dramatic and conceptual parallels that problematize Theodorus’s authority to identify the Stranger as a philosopher and introduce the main concepts that should direct the questioning of the Stranger's status: refutation, measure, philosophy. I claim that the Sophist not only continues the thematic agenda of the Theaetetus, but it also deepens its reflection on the method of philosophical inquiry.

14-5/5, 2025  “Knowledge, Expertise, and Politics in Plato’s Theaetetus”. Workskop/conference on Plato’s Theaetetus. Invited Keynote speaker: Marta Jiménez (Complutense University of Madrid)."

 

Download programme (PDF)