ZBORNIK - Matica srpska

who marked that everyone was born into the world either a Platonist
or an Aristotelian. Plato is peculiarly for those who feel the
light that never was on sea or land, for those who are hungry that
light be realized somehow, even if a little clouded, amid the affairs
of men." 29 The last question raised Professor Anton concerns the future
of Naturalism and of Greek philosophy.
Naturalism had done its work; the excitement was gone; other
related concerns subsided with it, and so was the creative role of
Greek Philosophy. The age of analysis marched forward calmly
after taking over the bastions of truth and became the new scholasticism.
American naturalism has been transformed into a heritage
and a tradition, available to anyone who comes to study it, revive it,
and perchance use it when the waves of irrationalism threaten the
calms of the seas. 30 He adds, however, that a complete picture of
the place of Greek philosophy and its role in the development of
American thought is still a vast subject for investigation. Without
such a close study it is difficult to specify with precision what may
be called, even in a loose sense, “influence". Be that as it may, the
academic interest has grown to the point where American scholarship
in this field is now internationally recognized. As for the cultural
role of Greek philosophy and its influence as “a way of life",
that remains an open issue.
Anton's final remarks point to the complementary solution
through an East-West interaction suggested by Wang at the first
part of this paper. It is a favorable response to the efforts that the
Olympic Center for Philosophy and Culture makes the last years to
create an amphidromous route between the two ways of philosophizing,
especially the Platonic one. Plato's writings and thought offers
the best opportunity for an effective mediation. The participation of
the two representatives of East and West, K. Wang and J. Anton, in
the forthcoming 19 th International of Olympia — Pyrgos is expected
to give flesh and bones to such cooperation and complementary solution
to the bifurcation of the two worlds and cultures.
Leonidas Bargeliotes is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at
the University of Athens. He received the degrees of Theology and
of Philosophy Schools from the University of Athens and also from
the American Universities of Norman (M&A) and of Emory (Ph.
D). Since 1975 he has been teaching philosophy at the Philosophy
Department at the University of Athens. He is the author, among
29 Edman, Uses of Philosophy, p. 54.
30 American Naturalism and Greek Philosophy, op. cit., p. 301.
93