Analytic Philosophy in Greece

Stelios VIRVIDAKIS

The definition of analytic philosophy and the specification of its main

charateristics, as it has evolved from its origins in the late 19th century to the
present, are the subject of an ongoing controversy. Naturally, we cannot here
engage in the study of such issues. It is enough for the purposes of this short
paper to refer to a narrow and to a broad conception of analytic philosophy.
According to the former, following a recent formulation by Michael Dum-
mett, what distinguishes analytic philosophy in its various aspects from other
philosophical trends is the conviction that a philosophical analysis of language
may lead to a philosophical explanation of thought and the conviction that
this is the only way to arrive at a global explanation. The latter, based on a
rather formal or stylistic approach that was recently defended by Frangois
RCcanati, can be summarized in the simple affirmation of criteria such as the
goal of clarity, the insistence on explicit argumentation and the demand that
any view be exposed to the rigours of critical evaluation and discussion by
ones peers. In fact, it should be noted that this general characterization
mentions essential features of good philosophizing that have only become
prominent within the analytic tradition. In the historical sketch that follows, I

University of Athens
Michael Dummett, Les origines de laphilosophie analytique, (trad. de Iallemandpar
Mane-Anne Lescouret) Pans: Gallimard, 1991, 13. (Origins of Analytical Philosophy, Lon-
don: Duckworth, 1993). See also his The Philosophy of Thought and the Philosophy of Lan-
guage, in Fondation Signer-Pollignac,Mtrites et limites des rnbthodes logiques en Philosophie,
Paris: Win, 1986,141-155. For an effort to specify the characteristicsof the so-called linguis-
tic philosophy, including semantic ascent and methodological nominalism, see Richard
Rorty (ed.) The Linguistic Turn,Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1967,
1-39.
ESAP, Statement announcing the formation of the European Society for Analytic Phil-
osophy, in a pamphlet issued by the Society. See FranGois RBcanati, Pour la philosophieanaly-
tique, Critique444, (mai 1984), 362-83, and La philosophie analytique est-elle dkpasske?,
Philosophie35, (ktk 1992), 55-64.

Dialectica Vol. 51, No 2 (1997)

136 Stelios Virvidakis

shall be drawing on both the broad and the narrow conceptions as they are
exemplified in the work of Greek analytic philosophers.
Philosophy in Greece before 1970was largely determined by non-analytic
German and French influences. Apart from such exceptions as the courses of-
fered at the National Technical University of Athens by the Oxford trained
Professor Dimitrios Nianias, occasional references to Russell and Wittgen-
stein by Elli Lambridi and Evangelos Papanoutsos, as well as the usual cur-
sory dismissalsby some Marxists, phenomenologists and existentialists,there
is little indication that analytic philosophy was known or practiced. Only ab-
road, especially in the U.S.A., do we encounter Greeks recognized interna- .
tionally for their contribution to analytic scholarship, mainly in the field of
Classical Greek philosophy. Here, one could mention Raphael Demos and
Gregory Vlastos, John Anton, Gerasimos Santas, Alexander Mourelatos,
George Anagnostopoulos and Jason Xenakis who also taught in Athens, at
the American College of Greece. This tradition is continued today by a num-
ber of philosophers and scholars, including Alexander Nehamas and Theo-
dore Scaltsas, and, among the younger generation, Katerina Ierodiakonou
and Voula Tsouna-McKirahan.
Indeed, the first substantial works introducing analytic topics and tech-
niques appeared in the 70s. Constantine Boudouris published Z theoria tou
noematos en ti filosofia tou Ludwig Wittgenstein[The Theory of Meaning in
the Philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein](Athens, 1972), as well as his lectures
at the University of Athens, Theoria tis gnoseos [Theory of Knowledge] (At-
hens, 1976), Analytike filosofia [Analytic Philosophy] (Athens, 1977), and
edited Anthologion analytikon filosofon [Readings in Analytic Philosophy]
(Athens, 1977), a collection of translations, including Russells On Denot-
ing and Strawsons On Referring. A translation of the Tractatus Logico-
Philosophicus by Thanassis Kitsopoulos, with an introduction by Zissimos
Lorentzatos, appeared in 1971, while a translation of the Philosophical Zn ves-
tigations, with an introduction, by Pavlos Christodoulidis, followed in 1977.
During the same period, Myrto Dragona-Monachou, a scholar specializing in
Hellenistic philosophy, published a series of papers on the metaethical the-
ories of G.E. Moore and R.M. Hare.
We also witness a growing interest in epistemology and the philosophy of
science. Works such as Zprovlematike tou dedomenou sti filosofia tou neoterou

Nianiasdoctoral dissertation, Symvole is tin ereunan tou antikeimenou tis noeseos kai
tou logou [Contribution to the Study of the Object of Thought and Language], approved by the
PhilosophyDepartementof the Universityof Athens in 1965, providesan early systematictreate-
ment of issues in analytic epistemology,philosophyof language and philosophicallogic. Unfor-
tunately, it doesnt seem to have attracted the attention it deserved.
 Analytic Philosophy in Greece 137

empirismou [The Problematic of the Given in the Philosophy of Modern Em-

pirism] (Thessaloniki, 1978) by Nicos Avgelis and Z exegese stin episteme kai i
ennia tou modelou [Explanation in Science and the Concept of a Model]
(Thessaloniki, 1979) by Christodoulidis have constituted the background for
further developments.
At this point, one should take into account the significant role of the Phil-
osophy Research Center, an independent philosophical association. The
Center sponsored free lectures and seminars for the public and invited young
scholars to contribute to various areas of philosophical research. Some of the
most prominent Greek analytic philosophers taught there and contributed
original papers to Deucalion, the Journal edited by the center. During its first
two periods of publication (1970-1 and 1974-85), directed by Kitsopoulos
and Christodoulidis, Deucalion facilitated the promotion of philosophical
discussion in many fields. Without dictating the adoption of a particular style
or method, it did encourage the practice of analytic philosophy in the broad
sense and established contacts with the international philosophical com-
munity. Thus, it is to the members of the Center and to the contributors to
Deucalion that John Passmore may be referring when he includes Greece
among the countries where there are active groups of analytic philoso-
phers,. The Journal resumed its publication in 1992, again with Kitsopoulos
as the Editor-in-Chief, and analytic philosophy well represented in the Edi-
torial Board.
Since 1980 there has been a continuous development of the interest in the
study and the application of analytic methods. Philosophers with an analytic
training and degrees mainly from British and American academic institutions
have returned to Greece and occupied teaching and research positions in
Greek Universities. They have organized post-graduate programmes and
superved translations of books and papers, as well as doctoral dissertationson
authors such as Frege and Wittgenstein. Boudouris, Dragona-Monachou and
Christodoulidis were elected presidents of the Greek Philosophical Society
and have been instrumental in the promotion of analytic philosophy through
conferences and colloquia, while also encouragingrelevant publications in the
Greek Philosophical Review, the official Journal of the Society. Moreover,
other already established periodicals, such as the international quarterly Phil-
osophical Inquiry, now edited by Dimitris Z. Andriopoulos of the University
of Thessaloniki, author of Sense and Perception in Greek Philosophy (W.
Green, 1974), have provided an international forum for analytic philosophy
in Greece. One should also mention Axiologika, a journal devoted to the

John Passmore, Recent Philosophers, London: Duckworth, 1985, 128.

138 Stelios Virvidakis

study of ethics and social and political philosophy and Neusis, specializing in
the history and philosophy of science.
Here, I shall not undertake the detailed presentation and assessment of all
the major works produced by Greeks, writing in Greek, who could qualify as
analytic philosophers according to the narrow or the broad sense of analytic
philosophy specified above. I will simply try to offer a quick survey of areas
and topics recently covered by them by referring to what I regard as their most
characteristic contributions. These include:
a) In the philosophy and history of science, Orthologikoteta kai episte-
monikeproodos [Rationality and Scientific Progress] (Thessaloniki, 1983) by
Vassilis Kalfas, translator of Kuhns The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
(Thessaloniki, 1981), To provlima tis epagogikes logikes [The Problem of Zn-
ductive Logic](Thessaloniki, 1993)by Philip Kargopoulos, Filosofia kai isto-
ria tis epistemes [Philosophy and History of Science](Athens, 1993) by Nicos
Avgelis, and several papers, in the history of Greek logic by Dimitris Had-
jopoulos, on pragmatist approaches to the philosophy of science, by Dimitra
Sfendoni-Mentzou, on Plato, in the history of Greek mathematics and in the
philosophy of technology by Vassilis Karasmanis, on Descartes and the
growth of modern science by Thanos Raftopoulos, on the relations between
the natural sciences and the humanities by Ekaterini Kaleri; b) in the philos-
ophy of mathematics, the Zsagoge sti filosofia ton mathematikon [Zntroduc-
tion to the Philosophy of Mathematics](Athens, 1985) by Dionysios Anapoli-
tanos, and the writings of Pavlos Christodoulides and Georg Roussopoulos,
translator of Freges Grundlagen der Arithmetik (Athens, 1990); c) in the
philosophy of language, analytic epistemology and metaphysics, Empiria kai
pragmaticoteta [Experience and Reality](Athens, 1982,1988) by Theodosios
Pelegrinis, Noema kai Praxi [Meaning and Action] (Athens, 1991), - on
Quine and Davidson -, by Ioli Pateli, the papers on realism and contempor-
ary theories of meaning by Pantazis Tselemanis, defending and promoting the
narrow conception of analytic philosophy, on relativism by Stavroula Tsi-
norema and on Wittgenstein and Putnam by Maria Venieri; d) in the philos-
ophy of mind Anthropi, zoa, mechanes [Human Beings, Animals, Machines]
(Athens, 1985), by Pelegrinis and the papers on functionalism by Kargopou-
10s; e) in moral and social philosophy, Filosofia kai anthropina dikaiomata
[Philosophy and Human Rights](Athens, 1985) and Synchrone ethikefiloso-
fia [Contemporary Moral Philosophy] (Athens, 1996) by Dragona-Mon-
achou, Z themeliosi tou ethikou viou [The Foundation of Moral Life](Athens,
1986) by Pelegrinis, Pseudologia kai ethike [Lying and Morality] (Thessa-
loniki, 1994)by Filimon Peonidis, and several papers in metaethics by Sotiria
Drakopoulou, Anthony Hadjimoysis, Helen Kalokairinou, Stavroula Tsi-
 Analytic Philosophy in Greece 139

norema and Stelios Virvidakis, in applied ethics by Katerina Markesini,

George Papagounos and Filimon Peonidis and on analytic Marxism by Anna
Lazou; f ) in political philosophy, Enantia sto reuma [Against the Current] (At-
hens, 1988)by Dimitris Dimitracos, Politikos Skeptikismos [Political Scepti-
cism] (Athens, 1991) by Emilios Metaxopoulos and Z poZitike dynatoteta tis
dikaiosynes [The Political Possibility of Justice] by Constantine Papageor-
giou; g) in aesthetics, Z grammatike tou aesthetikou logou [The Grammar of
Aesthetic Discourse] (Athens, 1985), one of the first analytic doctoral disser-
tations accepted by the University of Athens, by Costis Coveos, a Wittgen-
stein scholar and translator, who also argues for an orthodox interpretation
and practice of Wittgenstein therapeutic analysis in his Filosofikesperiegesis
[A Philosophical Itinerary](Athens, 1988), and more recently Ta kriteria kai
o kakos lykos, [Criteria and the Bad WoEfl (Athens, 1992) by Regina Argy-
raki; h) in the philosophy of religion, extensive discussions in the works of
Pelegrinis; i) in philosophy of law, Kratos Dikaiou :Dikaiokratia i nomokra-
ria [The Rechtsstaat:Rule of Justice or Rule of Law/! (Athens, 1988) by
Xenophon Papanigopoulos, Justi atque Znjusti Scientia (Athens-Komitini,
1995) by Pavlos Sourlas, and a number of papers by younger jurists and phil-
osophers pursuing academic careers in Greece and5 abroad, including Con-
stantine Papageorgiou, Emilios Christodoulidis, Michalis Roumeliotis, Nicos
Stavropoulosand Pavlos Elefteriadis;j) in the philosophy of education, Phil-
osophy of Education (Thessaloniki, 1992),by Anastasios Kazepides, who has
taught in Greek and Canadian Universities and papers by Anna Cacoullos,
also known for her work on Plato.
One must also take into account the work of philosophers approachingthe
analytic tradition primarily through a continental perspective, involving her-
meneutics or Marxism and Neo-Marxism, especially of the Frankfurt School.
Hence, one should not fail to mention Pandelis Basakos, Dimitris Markis,
Costas Stamatis and Theophilos Veikos (died in 1995) who elaborated his
critical stance in his introductory Analytike Filosofia [Analytic Philosophy]
(Athens, 1990). Moreover, it is noteworthy that besides the presence of ana-
lytic philosophers in almost all Greek universities, (Universities of Athens,
Thessaloniki, Ioannina, Patras, Crete and Thessaly) there are departments
which could be characterized as predominantly analytical, such as the Depart-
ment of Humanities and Social Sciences of the National Technical University
of Athens and the newly created Department of Philosophy and History of
Science of the University of Athens. The two departments offer an advanced,
joint post-graduate programme in the history and philosophy of science and
technology and employ a group of more or less analytically oriented histo-
rians of science and philosophers, namely Costas Gavroglu, Aristidis Baltas,
140 Stelios Virvidakis

Costas Crimbas, Petros Gemtos, Dionysios Anapolitanos, Dimitris Dimitra-

cos, SteliosVirvidakis, Pandelis Nicolacopoulos, Aris Koutoungos, Vassilis Ka-
rasmanis, Katerina Ierodiakonou and Constantine Antonopoulos. Similarly,
the Department of Philosophy of the American College of Greece, with in-
structors such as Vasso Kindi, Stephanos Lazaridis, Pericles Vallianos and Fay
Zika, who succeeded Jason Xenakis and Anna Cacoullos, has developped a
well balanced undergraduate curriculum, conforming to American standards
and providing an analytic training in most areas. The dissertationsby Kindi on
Wittgenstein and Kuhn (to be published in English translation by Chicago
University Press) and by Zika on the Ontology and Semantics of Colour in
Contemporary Analytic Philosophy, respectively submitted to the National
Technical University of Athens and to Aristotle University of Thessaloniki are
clear examples of analytic work produced in Greek academic institutions.
In fact, the philosophers of the National Technical University in collabora-
tion with the late Yorgos Goudaroulis, who taught at the University of Thess-
aloniki before moving to the University of Athens in 1992, successfuly or-
ganized international congresses and colloquia and published volumes
presenting the recent research of Greek historians and philosophers of
science. Also local conferences, such as the Wittgenstein Symposium, or-
ganized by the Department of Philosophy of the University of Crete in 1989,
and the conference on anthropocentrism co-organized in Delphi in 1996 by
the University of Athens, the National Technical University and the Univer-
sity of Pittsburgh testify to the potential of Greek analytic philosophers.
Finally, one should not underestimate the contributions of analytically
oriented scholars in other disciplines in the Humanities and in the Social
Sciences, including political scientists, such as Thanassis Diamantopoulos,
author of Z ennia tis exousias sti synchronepolitike episteme [The Concept of
Power in ContemporaryPoliticalScience](Athens, 1985) and Paschalis Kitro-
milidis, author of Neoteri Politike Theoria [Modern Political Theory](Athens,
1992),economists and jurists such as Petros Gemtos, who works on the meth-
odology of the Social Sciences, and linguists, including Yorgos Babiniotis of
the University of Athens and Sawas Tsochatzidisof the University of Thessa-
loniki, who has already achieved international recognition for his publications
in the areas of semantics and pragmatics.
Now it would be very difficult to do justice to the claims defended and the
arguments elaborated in the works cited above. It should be observed that

See among others, Costas Gavroglu, Yorgos Goudaroulis, Pandelis Nicolacopoulos

(eds.), Imre Lakatos and Theories of Scientific Change, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publi-
shers, 1990, and Pandelis Nicolacopoulos (ed.), Greek Studies in the Philosophy of Science,
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991.
 Analytic Philosophy in Greece 141

Greek analytic philosophers have tried to follow developmentsand take sides

in a number of important contemporary debates. To offer just an idea of the
range of interests, the topics discussed and the methods employed, one could
perhaps refer to a representative sample of positions, mostly concerning ana-
lytic philosophy in the narrow sense. Boudouris, following the ordinary lan-
guage tradition espoused a common sense realism, Antonopoulos employed
Austins methods of linguistic analysis, Pelegrinis and Dragona originally en-
dorsed Hares prescriptivism. More recently Dragona has shifted to the ela-
boration of a rights-based moral theory. Christodoulidis, after a critical exam-
ination of anti-realist views in the philosophy of science and the philosophy of
mathematics, has concentrated on the study of analytic aesthetics. Dimitracos
defends Poppers critical rationalism in epistemology and in political philos-
ophy, while Metaxopoulos draws upon Rortys writings in order to build a
pragmatist basis for his post Marxist sceptical stance. Kazepides develops his
ordinary language approach to problems in the philosophy of education. Pap-
ageorgiou offers a careful reading of Rawls theory of justice. Peonidis argues
for an egalitarian version of liberalism and explores the implications of auton-
omy regarded as a higher-order justificatory principle.
Tselemanis constructs sophisticated arguments in the theory of meaning,
which he believes, following Dummett, could provide the key to the solution
of most philosophical problems. However, he rejects Dummetts anti-realism
and defends a series of Neo-Aristotelian realist claims. Pateli attacks David-
son for what she considers as the unacceptable idealistic implications of his
overall approach, while Virvidakis investigatesthe potential of transcendental
argumentation and pursues the elaboration of a moderate form of moral real-
ism. Tsinorema engages in a thorough critique of different versions of relativ-
ism and opts for a clearly realist reading of Wittgenstein, opposing a series of
anti-realist, transcendental and quietist construals. Coveos, on the other
hand, proposes the extensive application of Wittgensteinian therapeutic tech-
niques to the dissolution of philosophical problems and is ready to adopt a
quietist attitude. Koutoungos focuses on the formalization of principles of ra-
tional communication and on the assessment of pragmatist perspectives for
the adjudication of epistemologicalissues. Baltas concentrates on the study of
the formation and function of technical concepts in science and attempts par-
allel readings of analytic and continental thinkers.

Here, a special bibliographical study would be required to cover all the relevant Greek
and foreign publications, even for this small sample. Detailed bibliographical references and
some papers by the authors listed in this presentation are included in the books mentioned in
the previous notes.
142 Stelios Virvidakis

Of course, Greek analytic philosophers are confronted by a dilemma fam-

iliar to their colleagues in most European countries: They must choose be-
tween concentrating primarily on the presentation and the explication of re-
cent technical developments, through translations,commentariesand exposi-
tory works backing up their teaching, which directly address the needs of the
Greek philosophicalpublic, and trying not only to catch up but also to partici-
pate actively in such developments through original contributions. Although
some manage to do both, it has to be admitted that Greek analyticauthors as a
whole have not yet produced considerable publications of international inter-
est. This is mainly due to the fact that they are to an important extent isolated
and work in Greek. However, not only do they sometimes publish in demand-
ing technical journals and participate in important conferences all over the
world, they also earn international recognition for their work and particular
distinctions, such as the honourable mention awarded to Anapolitanos in
1986, by the Johnsonian Prize Committee, for his doctoral dissertation on
Leibniz, (Representation, Continuity and the Spatiotemporal) accepted by the
University of Pittsburgh.
Indeed, I believe that the brief account attempted in this paper proves that
analytic philosophy is now well rooted in Greece. Relevant research in aca-
demic institutions, exchanges and cooperation with foreign colleagues, the ela-
boration of the necessary technical terminology, largely through the use of the
resources of the Greek language and the publication of more and more works in
Greek, will definitely provide the essential background for further growth.
Moreover, several graduate students from Greek Universities and from prestig-
ious philosophy departments all over the world shall most probably add a new
vitality to the developing analytic movement in the country. Greece, lacking a
strong indigenous philosophical tradition in the modern era, has long suffered
from continental influences which enhanced an empty and pompous rhetoric
and promoted obcurity in the guise of metaphysical profundity. It was about
time that clarity and vigorous argumentation returned to the land of Aristotle.

To quote Pascal Engel, writingabout analytic philosophy is one thing, practicing it is

another thing. See his ContinentalInsularity: ContemporaryAnalytical French Philosophy,
in A. Phillips-Griffiths (ed.), Contemporary French Philosophy, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1987, 1-20, 21.
An earlier version of this paper was presented at a conference of the Balkan Philoso-
phical Societies, organized by the Greek Philosophical Society which took place in Delphi,
Greece, in May 1992 and was published in Greek in its Proceedings (Athens, 1993). I would
like to thank Professors Myrto Dragona-Monachou,Theresa Pentzopoulou-Valala,Arda Den-
kel and FranGois RCcanati as well as Drs Dimitra Papazoglou and Filimon Peonides for their
helpful questions and suggestions.

Dialectica Vol. 51, NO2 (1997)