Response to Halper: Aristotelian Dialectic, Doubt, and Ethical Progress

Abstract

The paper sets Bibago’s commentary on Met. B against the broader history of the reception of Aristotle’s dialectic by focusing on two aspects of Bibago’s account of the sense in which Met. B is dialectical: (1) Bibago’s view that dialectical practice is linked to or, perhaps, aimed at raising doubts (sefeqot); (2) the combination of ethical and epistemological considerations in the assessment of the value of dialectic itself.