Prolepsis (philosophy)
The term prolepsis ( Greek πρόληψις [ Prolepsis ]; German anticipation , acceptance , English preconception , anticipation ), literally the "anticipation", goes back to Epicurus , who, sparsely handed down, names a concept necessary in the context of his definition of truth. In ancient Epicureanism of Greek philosophy, prolepsis denotes the general term formed from several perceptions, in the Stoa , developed in parallel, the term formed directly from perception (due to an innate ability).
Origin of the term
Epicurus defines ' truth' using criteria from three different areas and in this context coined the term prolepsis as “anticipation” (or “general term” or “primary concept”), which he used alongside feeling (Greek πάθος [ páthos ], “passion”) ) and aesthetics (Greek άισθήσεις [ aísthesis ], "perception"). This "anticipation" is latinized and called anticipation . In Epicurus, prolepsis is defined as “an idea of a topic anticipated in the soul, without which one cannot understand, ask and discuss anything”.
The late antique Diogenes Laertius, on the other hand, understands prolepsis as a “reminder of what often appeared from the outside” and thus as an empirically comprehensible term.
According to the tradition by Cicero in De natura deorum , his contemporary Gaius Velleius, as a representative of the later Epicurean school, defined prolepsis as “innate” and in this agrees with the Stoa.
Remarks
- ↑ For more details, see L. Kugelmann in Antizipation: Eine Conceptgeschichtliche Studium , Göttingen 1986, p.110 ff .