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King's College , Cambridge Annual REport:
Samuel Scolnicov (1969) was Emeritus Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a leading expert on Ancient Greek philosophy who specialised in the writings of Plato. A true scholar in the Platonic mould, he moved naturally among different languages, cultures and academic approaches, and believed passionately in the teaching of philosophical thought outside the narrow world of universities. Samuel was born on 11 March 1941 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and moved toIsrael in 1958. Here he attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,obtaining a BA in philosophy and Hebrew language and literature in 1964.The following year, he married Hanna Bergman, who also became a distinguished professor, teaching Theatre Arts. In 1967, Samuel was awarded his MA in philosophy for a thesis on the epistemological significance of Plato’s theory of ideal numbers, completed under the supervision of Shlomo Pines.He was also awarded a high school teaching diploma by the university, marking the start of a lifelong interest in education. In 1969, Samuel won a British Council Scholarship and came to King’s to study Classics as a graduate student. He studied under the direction of Bernard Williams, and received his PhD in 1974 for a dissertation on ‘The Hypothetical Method in the Mature Dialogues.’ With his international background, Samuel was exceptional among his cohort for being very well- versed in continental philosophy compared to those trained in the English-speaking analytical tradition. He was thus able to make valuable contributions to his seminars on Ancient Greek philosophy, although at times his interventions had to be translated back into German or French and then paraphrased into English once more to be understood by the other participants. The years spent in Cambridge made vivid impression upon him, and he maintained a strong affection for the university and its ancient traditions, later in life often spending sabbaticals here with his wife Hanna, herself a Life Member of Clare Hall. Samuel particularly loved the architecture and music of King’s, and after a tour from John Saltmarsh, became an expert on the Chapel, enjoying acting as a guide for friends who came to visit. He was often to be encountered strolling across the front court in the summer, or dining in the Hall as an honoured member of High Table. After completing his PhD, Samuel returned to his old alma mater, taking up a post as lecturer in philosophy and philosophy of education in the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University. Over the years, he rose steadily through academic ranks until appointed as a full Professor in2005, and Emeritus Professor in 2010. His research focussed above all onAncient Greece, especially Plato and his predecessors Heraclitus and Parmenides, with a particular interest in theories of education and the hypothetical method. Among his many publications were monographs on Plato’s Metaphysics of Education (1989), Greek Philosophy (1997) and Euthydemus: Ethics and Language (2013), as well as a co-edited volume entitled New Images of Plato: Dialogues on the Idea of the Good (2002), which sprang from a colloquium he organised in Gaflei, Lichtenstein. A prolific and driven scholar, he translated and edited many complex Ancient Greek texts, contributed multiple entries on philosophy to the Hebrew Encyclopaedia, wrote numerous articles, and carried out extensive work on the philosophy of education and the place of humanities within both the university and the wider world. To the field of education, in fact, he devoted just as much energy, holding additional posts at the Hebrew University’s School of Education as Head of the Pedagogic Department (1992-1994), Head of the Section of Philosophy and History of Education (1996-2004) and Head of the Educational Thought Section (1996-2001). Alongside Lazarus Weinrib, he developed an Open University course on Greek philosophy, and between1975 and 1991 sat as the Chair of a committee dedicated to developing curricula in philosophy for high schools in Israel. The Ministry of Education and Culture itself recognised his expertise, appointing him Inspector of Philosophy in high schools from 1989 to 1991, and afterwards Chair of the Philosophy Supervisory Committee. A real polyglot, Samuel was Visiting Professor at prestigious universities all over the world, giving lectures in the country’s native tongue no matter whether it was Sicily, Brazil, Canada, England, Mexico, France or North America. Although most known for his research in English, he also produced celebrated works in Portuguese and Hebrew. He also made significant contributions to the fabric of academic culture, being a founding member of the Israel Philosophical Association in 1973 and the International Plato Society in 1989, which now has over three hundred members worldwide. As President of the Society from 1998 to2001, he hosted the triennial Symposium in Jerusalem, where the widespread respect held for him as a person was key to the conference’s success amidst the political instability caused by a fresh outbreak of hostilities. After his retirement, he continued to support the Society’s events, even attending the 2013 Symposium in Pisa, where the only sign of frailty was his regretful refusal to ascend the Leaning Tower.Friends and colleagues remember Samuel for his warmth and wit, his openness and friendliness, and his ability to be the life and soul of the party, especially in his native Portuguese. He was a committed and inspiring teacher, a true Humanist, and passionately argumentative about the ideas that interested him – familiar to everyone was the turn of his body and head when a question caught his attention, with a discussion guaranteed to follow. The rigorous pursuit of clarity and ethics inherent in philosophy was not simply of purely academic interest to him, but a practice that informed his everyday life and supported his unselfish, cosmopolitan ideals. Samuel died on 13 August 2014, aged 73, from complications related to diabetes. He is survived by his wife Professor Hanna Scolnicov, daughter Anat, sons Ariel and Haggai, and six grandchildren. paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
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International Plato Society
τῶν κρειττόνων τινὸς ἔκλειψις γέγονεν,
(Plutarch, Moralia 419f)
Samuel (Shmuel) Scolnicov, Professor of Philosophy (Emeritus) and a former President of the International Plato Society, died on August 13, 2014 at his home in Israel, owing to complications related to diabetes. Samuel was born on March 11, 1941 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, immigrating to Israel in 1958. After a year spent studying chemistry, Samuel earned a B.A. in philosophy and Hebrew language and literature from Hebrew University in 1964 and an M.A. in philosophy in 1967, with a thesis on the epistemological significance of Plato’s theory of ideal numbers, written under the direction of Shlomo Pines. In 1967, Samuel was also awarded a B.A. in high school teaching. In 1974, he received a PhD from Cambridge University under the direction of Bernard Williams, with a dissertation on Plato’s method of hypothesis in the middle dialogues.
In 1974, Samuel was appointed lecturer in philosophy and philosophy of education in the Faculty of Humanities at Hebrew University. He moved through the academic ranks until his appointment as full Professor in 2005. He was made Emeritus in 2010. He was visiting professor at numerous universities all over the world, including Catania, Sicily, Sao Paolo, Brazil, Toronto, Canada, Cambridge, England, Mexico City, Paris, and the University of California at Irvine.
Most member’s of the Society will be most familiar with his substantial contributions to Plato studies, including Plato’s Metaphysics of Education (1988), Plato’s Parmenides (2003), Euthydemus: Ethics and Language(2013), and his co-edited volumes New Images of Plato: Dialogues on the Idea of the Good (2002) and Plato’sLaws: From Theory into Practice (2003). But this covers only a part of Samuel’s extraordinary scholarly productivity and very few will be personally familiar with its full breadth, since he wrote not only in English, but also in his native Portuguese and in his adopted language, Hebrew. He wrote monographs on Plato and the Pre-Socratics, textbooks on the history of ancient Greek philosophy and translations of ancient Greek philosophical texts (in Hebrew), not to mention scores of articles on virtually all aspects of Plato’s philosophy. His passionate interest in the theory and practice of education also led him to publish in monographs, reports, and scholarly articles his extensive work on the philosophy of education and on the place of the humanities in the university. From 1975-1991, Samuel served as the chair of a committee dedicated to developing curricula in philosophy for high schools in Israel.
Samuel was one of a small group of international Plato scholars who founded the International Plato Society in 1989, now having more than 300 members worldwide. He served on its Executive from 1995 to 2004, and as its President from 1998-2001, hosting the triennial Symposium (on Plato’s Laws, not his own choice) in Jerusalem in 2001, and having to handle a difficult situation politically after hostilities had sadly broken out again. Widespread respect for Samuel as a person was undoubtedly a factor in that Symposium’s success. He continued supporting the Society’s events up to and including the 2013 Symposium in Pisa. The only sign of frailty at that time was the wise if regretful decision not to ascend the Leaning Tower.
It is difficult to think of any scholar who embodied the ideals of the IPS more than did Samuel Scolnicov. Moving easily among numerous languages and cultures, and among the various approaches to Platonic studies, Samuel found it completely natural to combine the detailed philosophical and philological exegesis of Plato with the promotion of the humanities in schools and in the wider culture. Those who knew him personally will recall not only his great warmth and wit but also his love of teaching and engagement with his academic colleagues. Samuel is survived by his wife, Hanna Scolnicov, Professor Emerita of Drama at Tel Aviv University, his daughter Anat, his two sons Ariel and Haggai, and six grandchildren.
Lloyd Gerson
Harold Tarrant
Addendum:
Thomas M. Robinson who preceded him as President and worked with him on the IPS Executive over six years has written as follows:
My most vivid memories of Samuel Scolnicov are of conversations between us—seven or eight of them—at various conferences over the years, some of them meetings of the International Plato Society in different parts of the world, others meetings of the International Association for Greek Philosophy, in Samos and other parts of Greece. From the time I first met him till the time I last saw him he came across as a philosopher for whom ideas were the core of life. Each conversation was conducted at white heat, with a passion to get at the truth of the topic at issue. Philosophy was his profession, but it was also deeply felt deeply by him as a life to be lived, and that living was never more evident than when he was arguing a case for education, the great driving force of his life. Sit terra levis illi, animae naturaliter Socraticae.
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