The Many and the Wise: And Grice

--- By JLS
-------- for the GC

---- IN A COMMENT ON THIS BLOG, elsewhere, Kramer referred to 'hoi polloi' vis a vis the high-class, etc. Kennedy rephrased his own example in terms of the 'historical avant garde'. Since I cannot conceptualise the high class too much (they seem to be onto shootin', huntin' and fishin' more than culture, etc.) I can say a few (words) on 'hoi polloi'. I don't know about ALL the uses of this in Greek, but Grice was particularly interested in ONE use by Aristotle. Aristotle distinguishes between:

-- the many (hoi polloi)

and

(one would expect the 'few', hoi olligoi, but no)

-- the wise!

-- With the first, 'hoi polloi', Aristotle identifies 'ta legomena'. The things said, but also the things 'opined'. It was the topic of philosophy, with which Grice identified, that Aristotle correlated, bless his soul, the 'wise'. (I disagree, and think that the 'wise' are NOT the philosophers. The philosophers are better regarded as the LOVERS of wisdom, but hardly the wise themselves).

Grice found this of interest because he aimed at comparing Athenian dialectic -- where 'ta legomena' gets analysed from the received opinion of the many onto the self-entrenched dogma of the wise, as it were -- with the Oxonian dialectic he was a part of. (WoW:RE).

This is pretty reactionary -- hardly pomo -- etc -- but one would expect that much from a conservative irreverent chap as Grice enjoyed self-labelling as. Etc.