In the spirit of the ancient Greek “agon,” our genre of “Agonistic Orientations” is designed to spark philosophical competition among the different authors and their essays focusing on a specific philosophical theme. Readers are likewise welcome to partake in this competition by submitting their essays of similar length (4,000-8,000 words) to reinhard.mueller@hfpo.com. The best essays will also be printed in special issues by the Orientations Press.
For more information or questions, please email: reinhard.mueller@hfpo.com
October 2020
Plato: A Philosopher, Not a Dramatist — A Second Reply to Enrico Mueller
By Carlin Romano
I’m nonetheless happy to see that Mueller, in his latest contribution to our back-and-forth, acknowledges a fundamental balance in ancient Greek culture between competition and cooperation. He writes now, “Every form of human coexistence and thus every culture of course depends on cooperation.” He says that what he described in his opening essay is a “cooperative agon.” If I’ve managed to nudge Mueller toward that somewhat oxymoronic conception of ancient Greek culture, I’m content.