invitation to two philosophy talks

The CEU Philosophy Department and the Center for Hellenic Traditions cordially invite you to two talks (as part of the Philosophy Departmental Colloquium series) by Glenn Most (University of Chicago) on The Contingency of Causal Relations Monday,8 December, 5.30 PM, Zrinyi 14, Room 412 ABSTRACT: How do people tend to conceive the relation between a person's childhood experiences and his adult character? Beginning with a comparison between Homer's epic _Iliad_ and Salman Rushdie's novel _Fury_, the paper explores two different models by which this relation has often been conceived, of which one was dominant in Greco-Roman antiquity and the other in our own culture. and by James Allen (University of Pittsburgh) on 'Why there are ends of both goods and evils in ancient ethical theory' Tuesday,9 December, 5.30 PM, Zrinyi 14, Room 412 ABSTRACT: This talk's point of departure is Cicero's De finibus bonorum et malorum (On the ends of goods and evils). This work is probably our most important source of information about Hellenistic ethical theory, but its title has long been a puzzle. One renaissance scholar chalked it up to an error on Cicero's part. Although this solution to the problem has not won many adherents, talk of ends of both goods and evils remains mysterious. This paper begins with a review of the history of the question and attempts at a solution. I then present evidence from Cicero and, especially, Greek authors before proposing an account of ends of goods and evils that relates the meaning of this phrase to the more familiar sense of the end as that for the sake of which. Kriszta Biber Department Coordinator Philosophy Department Tel: 36-1-327-3806 Fax: 36-1-327-3072 E-mail: biberk(a)ceu.hu