2 thoughts on “The only discussion of stochastic arts (nonrationalistic-trial-and-error) I can find in history, so far, στόχαστικὴ τέχνη, a very brief one, in Alexander of Aphrodisias, of all things, a commentator on Aristotle.http://www.amazon.com/Quaestiones-2-16-3-15-Ancient-Commentators-Aristotle/dp/0715626159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290425843&sr=1-1See Veronique Boudon, Katerina Ierodiakonou, etc.”

1. Gerald Owen February 3, 2011 at 3:07 pm

   The first sentence of Aristotle’s Politics says that every community (or association) aims at — stochazetai– some good. It’s true he doesn’t call politics a techne.
   And Socrates in Gorgias is distinguishes empeiriai which aim, are stochastic, from technai, which are precise.
2. Gerald Owen February 3, 2011 at 3:09 pm

   p.s. I interpret empeiria and empeiriai as meaning trial-and-error in the Gorgias — empirical in an old sense (e.g. “base empirics” in Shakespeare.