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In this paper, I compare the two conceptions of the "lawgiver" in the Platonic dialogue Cratylus. I present both the idea that words constitute imitations of things (resemblance naturalism) and the claim that names are tools which "separate" and "teach" being (the tool analogy). Then I examine the respective figures of the lawgiver (nomothetes) appearing in each of them. These are the lawgiver of the tool analogy (one who makes names on the model of a craftsman producing tools), and that of the lawgiver who introduces names constituting phonetic imitations of things. I argue that with respect to name giving, the former is in a much better position than the latter, and that mimetic naturalism faces the insuperable "paradox of institution." My main claim is that, read in conjunction with the tool analogy, the notion of ... introduced in 434e, offers a helpful framework for successfully overcoming the challenge of establishing the first names. Furthermore, the adoption of this perspective by Socrates allows him to navigate a complex position. This is a position that steers clear of both Cratylus's "resemblance naturalism" and Hermogenes's unadulterated conventionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the claim that Ibn Rushd of Cordoba ("Averroës," 12th century B.C.) is a precursor of the Enlightenment and a source of inspiration for the emancipation of contemporary Islamic societies. The paper critically discusses the fascination that Ibn Rushd has exercised on several thinkers, from Ernest Renan to Salman Rushdie, and highlights the problem of literalism in Qur'anic interpretation. Based on Ibn Rushd's Decisive Treatise (Fasl al-maqal), the paper investigates Ibn Rushd's proposed division of (Muslim) society into three distinct classes. The main question here is whether there is a substantial link between the people of the Muslim community, given the three distinct kinds of assent (tasdiq) introduced by Ibn Rushd. I argue that if such a link cannot be supplied, then it is hard to see in Ibn Rushd an enlightened social model for today's Muslim societies. Furthermore, that the great majority of people are prevented from having any contact with non-literal interpretation of the Scripture and non-revealed ways of thinking. The latter position, though, does not seem to bring Ibn Rushd close to the Enlightenment. My analysis of religious language is inspired by Wittgenstein's position that the meaning of a term cannot be detached from its use. I suggest that given the different lives of people belonging to Ibn Rushd's different classes, the terms they use can mean quite different things. This argument in fact weakens Ibn Rushd's association with the Enlightenment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]