The first hour was devoted to a general introduction focusing on the notions of contagion and compassion, presented in Problemata VII, 7 by the pseudo-Aristotle, and on the formulation of the "Aristotelian" problem of the "synalgia" or "sharing" of suffering, taken up in the Middle Ages in the commentary on the Problemata by Pierre d'Abano (1250-1316). We recalled the Aristotelian theorem that determined all medieval philosophical analyses: "action and passion reside in the patient", and revisited the subjective principle of action (PSA) that accompanied it until the Classical Age: " actiones sunt suppositorum ", "actions belong to the suppositors". We have shown the role of PSA in the Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes, notably in discussions on French as the language of thought (the thesis of the "Moderns" being that the order of French words is that of thought), using the example of Avantages de la langue française sur la langue latine by Louis Le Laboureur (1669), to whom we owe the formula assuring that "the Romans thought in French, then spoke in Latin". On the other hand, we recall the medieval Viennese debates on the poverty of German, a "wild and latecomer" language, then show how the controversy resurfaced in the 20thcentury , analyzing Martin Heidegger's interview with Spiegel (1966), presenting the Romanization of Greek thought as having "opened up the void beneath Western thought, which henceforth deprives it of any foundation".
17:00 - 18:00
