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Ancient FallaciesDurham, 21-23 September 2011Department of Classics and Ancient History, Ritson RoomAn international conference organised by Dr Luca Castagnoli and Dr Valentina Di Lascio, with the sponsorship of the Leverhulme Trust and the Department of Classics and Ancient History of Durham University.Greek philosophers ‘invented’ the discipline known as ‘logic’, the study and classification of valid forms of argument and inference (the ‘invention’ is usually attributed to Aristotle, but less systematic reflections on logical issues can be traced back at least to Plato). Since its beginning and throughout antiquity, this inquiry remained intimately connected to the investigation, diagnosis and classification of forms of argument that are invalid or otherwise unsound, and especially of those forms of argument which, despite their invalidity, somehow appear to be valid and thus can easily induce in error. To be able to spot and unmask ‘fallacies’ in someone else’s argument was particularly crucial in a context in which philosophy itself had an intrinsic dialectical nature, and fallacy was often used consciously or ‘sophistically’ to win the debate or put one’s rival into a corner. The conference will investigate ancient theories of fallacies and sophisms, practices and examples of fallacious argumentation, and philosophical attitudes towards them.Provisional Programme21 September9.00-9.30           Welcome, Registration and Coffee9.30-9.45           Introduction9.45-10.45         P. Crivelli (Oxford) – Plato, Meno 87c11-89a7: the Interweaving of Arguments10.45-11.45       M. M. McCabe (KCL) – First chop your logos ... - Ambiguity in Plato's Euthydemus11.45-12.00       Coffee break12.00-13.00       M. Burnyeat (Cambridge) – The exchange between Socrates and Polemarchus in Plato’s Republic I13.00-15.00       Lunch Break15.00-16.00       N. Denyer (Cambridge) – Megarics, Dialecticians, and the Use of Fallacy16.00-16.30       Coffee break16.30-17.30       P. Horky (Durham) – Fallacies in Inquiry (Historia)17.30-18.30       L.-A. Dorion (Montreal) – Can the dialectician use sophisms? The case of Socrates and that of Aristotle19.30                 Dinner22 September9.15-10.15         C. Rapp (Munich) – ‘Aristotle on sound and deceptive sign arguments’10.15-10.45       Coffee break10.|45-11.45      A. Schiaparelli (Oxford) – Fallacies in Aristotle’s Topics VI11.45-12.45       P. Fait (Padova) – The Third Man Argument in Aristotle’s Sophistical Refutations 2212.45-15.15       Lunch break / Cathedral tour15.15-16.15       P. S. Hasper (Munich) – Understanding Aristotle's Theory of Fallacy16.15-16.30       Coffee break16.30-17.30       J.-B. Gourinat (Paris) – The Place of Fallacies in Stoic Dialectic17.30-18.30       W. Cavini (Bologna) – The ΟΥΤΙΣ Fallacy19.30                 Dinner23 September9.15-10.15         L. Castagnoli &#38; E. V. Di Lascio (Durham) – Different Approaches to Fallacy in Antiquity10.15-10.45       Coffee break10.45-11.45       S. Ebbesen (Copenhagen) – Aristotle’s Sophistical Refutations in the Medieval Tradition11.45-12.45       A. M. Mora (Copenhagen) – Meaning and Equivocation in the 13th century12.45                 Conclusion and buffet lunchTo register for the conference please fill and send the registration form at http://www.dur.ac.uk/classics/events/upcoming_events/?eventno=10391 by 10 September 2011.For more information about the conference please contact the organisers, Dr Luca Castagnoli (luca.castagnoli@durham.ac.uk) and Dr Valentina Di Lascio (e.v.di-lascio@durham.ac.uk)