Aither is a double-blind peer review, Open Access online academic journal. It is indexed at ERIH+ and Scopus. It is published by the Faculty of Arts of the Palacký University in Olomouc in cooperation with the Philosophical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. It comes out twice a year. Every second issue is international and contains foreign-language articles (mainly in English, but also in German and French). The journal is registered under the number ISSN 1803-7860.
Aither 25/2021:4-37 | DOI: 10.5507/aither.2021.003 
The main aim of this paper is to thoroughly analyse Plato’s simile of the cave. Since it is closely tied to two previous smiles (namely the Sun and the Line), the first section of the paper is devoted to a brief recapitulation of the content of these similes and their relation to the Cave. Then, the simile of the cave itself is being scrutinized. It is argued that in order to understand the simile properly, one must distinguish between different contexts in which Plato applies it. It is claimed that although they are mutually non-transferable (and so, as many scholars think, a consistent interpretation of the whole simile cannot be given), they...
Aither 25/2021:38-49 | DOI: 10.5507/aither.2021.004
Lorenzo Valla’s dialogue On Free Will is the first explicit critique of Boëthius’ Consolation of Philosophy, more precisely of it’s the fifth book which deals with the issue of the harmony between God’s prescience and human free decision. Valla refuses Boëthius’ philosophical solution as too dependent on pagan philosophyand instead of rationalistic argument proposes rhetoric argument. The article analyzes principles and strategies of Valla’s humanistic approach that aims to show the absurdity of the issue if it is solved by means of philosophical tools.
Aither 25/2021:50-68 | DOI: 10.5507/aither.2021.002
The use of teleological language in biology is burdened with many difficulties. Speakers in everyday and scientific discourse confuse functions with purposes and misunderstand functionality, finality, and intentionality. The paper is structured into three sections. In the first part the difference between Platonic supranatural and Aristotelian quasi-natural account of teleology will be explained, with examples from the history of philosophy of biology. The second part will present the Darwinian approach to etiology that constitutes a more sound alternative to the teleological explanation. In the last section I will briefly introduce the teleological...
Aither 25/2021:70-73 | DOI: 10.5507/aither.2021.001
