George E. Karamanolis
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199264568
- eISBN:
- 9780191603990
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199264562.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This introductory chapter addresses the question why Aristotle’s philosophy attracted so much attention by Platonists in late antiquity. The author argues that Platonic (that is, Plato’s) philosophy ...
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This introductory chapter addresses the question why Aristotle’s philosophy attracted so much attention by Platonists in late antiquity. The author argues that Platonic (that is, Plato’s) philosophy was subject to different reconstructions by Platonists, who often resorted to Aristotle in order to reconstruct parts of it. It then examines the main philosophical issues on which Platonists focused when discussing Aristotle’s philosophy and its relation to Platonic. Finally, it briefly reviews the evidence regarding the Peripatetic positions on how Aristotle’s philosophy compares with Plato’s.Less
This introductory chapter addresses the question why Aristotle’s philosophy attracted so much attention by Platonists in late antiquity. The author argues that Platonic (that is, Plato’s) philosophy was subject to different reconstructions by Platonists, who often resorted to Aristotle in order to reconstruct parts of it. It then examines the main philosophical issues on which Platonists focused when discussing Aristotle’s philosophy and its relation to Platonic. Finally, it briefly reviews the evidence regarding the Peripatetic positions on how Aristotle’s philosophy compares with Plato’s.
George E. Karamanolis
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199264568
- eISBN:
- 9780191603990
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199264562.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This chapter begins with a discussion of Numenius’ Pythagoreanism and his thesis on Aristotle’s philosophy. It then analyses the question of whether Pythagoreanism is incompatible with ...
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This chapter begins with a discussion of Numenius’ Pythagoreanism and his thesis on Aristotle’s philosophy. It then analyses the question of whether Pythagoreanism is incompatible with Aristotelianism. It is argued that Numenius does not show hostility to Aristotle, and does not even display much concern for his thought. However, existing evidence suggests that Numenius did voice a warning to Platonists to the effect that Aristotle’s philosophy is substantially different from that of Plato, and that any concession to his views on the assumption that he preserves Plato’s doctrines can cause sedition and secession from Plato’s actual philosophical spirit.Less
This chapter begins with a discussion of Numenius’ Pythagoreanism and his thesis on Aristotle’s philosophy. It then analyses the question of whether Pythagoreanism is incompatible with Aristotelianism. It is argued that Numenius does not show hostility to Aristotle, and does not even display much concern for his thought. However, existing evidence suggests that Numenius did voice a warning to Platonists to the effect that Aristotle’s philosophy is substantially different from that of Plato, and that any concession to his views on the assumption that he preserves Plato’s doctrines can cause sedition and secession from Plato’s actual philosophical spirit.
John M. Cooper
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691138602
- eISBN:
- 9781400842322
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691138602.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This is a major reinterpretation of ancient philosophy that recovers the long Greek and Roman tradition of philosophy as a complete way of life—and not simply an intellectual discipline. The book ...
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This is a major reinterpretation of ancient philosophy that recovers the long Greek and Roman tradition of philosophy as a complete way of life—and not simply an intellectual discipline. The book traces how, for many ancient thinkers, philosophy was not just to be studied or even used to solve particular practical problems. Rather, philosophy—not just ethics but even logic and physical theory—was literally to be lived. Yet there was great disagreement about how to live philosophically: philosophy was not one but many, mutually opposed, ways of life. Examining this tradition from its establishment by Socrates in the fifth century BCE through Plotinus in the third century CE and the eclipse of pagan philosophy by Christianity, the book examines six central philosophies of living: Socratic, Aristotelian, Stoic, Epicurean, Skeptic, and the Platonist life of late antiquity. The book describes the shared assumptions that allowed these thinkers to conceive of their philosophies as ways of life, as well as the distinctive ideas that led them to widely different conclusions about the best human life. Clearing up many common misperceptions and simplifications, the book explains in detail the Socratic devotion to philosophical discussion about human nature, human life, and human good; the Aristotelian focus on the true place of humans within the total system of the natural world; the Stoic commitment to dutifully accepting Zeus's plans; the Epicurean pursuit of pleasure through tranquil activities that exercise perception, thought, and feeling; the Skeptical eschewal of all critical reasoning in forming their beliefs; and, finally, the late Platonist emphasis on spiritual concerns and the eternal realm of Being.Less
This is a major reinterpretation of ancient philosophy that recovers the long Greek and Roman tradition of philosophy as a complete way of life—and not simply an intellectual discipline. The book traces how, for many ancient thinkers, philosophy was not just to be studied or even used to solve particular practical problems. Rather, philosophy—not just ethics but even logic and physical theory—was literally to be lived. Yet there was great disagreement about how to live philosophically: philosophy was not one but many, mutually opposed, ways of life. Examining this tradition from its establishment by Socrates in the fifth century BCE through Plotinus in the third century CE and the eclipse of pagan philosophy by Christianity, the book examines six central philosophies of living: Socratic, Aristotelian, Stoic, Epicurean, Skeptic, and the Platonist life of late antiquity. The book describes the shared assumptions that allowed these thinkers to conceive of their philosophies as ways of life, as well as the distinctive ideas that led them to widely different conclusions about the best human life. Clearing up many common misperceptions and simplifications, the book explains in detail the Socratic devotion to philosophical discussion about human nature, human life, and human good; the Aristotelian focus on the true place of humans within the total system of the natural world; the Stoic commitment to dutifully accepting Zeus's plans; the Epicurean pursuit of pleasure through tranquil activities that exercise perception, thought, and feeling; the Skeptical eschewal of all critical reasoning in forming their beliefs; and, finally, the late Platonist emphasis on spiritual concerns and the eternal realm of Being.
David Brown
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246120
- eISBN:
- 9780191600531
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246122.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
David Brown identifies three main types of approaches to artistic representations of the Trinity: triadic, societal, and incarnational forms. In each case, he stresses the need to judge art in ...
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David Brown identifies three main types of approaches to artistic representations of the Trinity: triadic, societal, and incarnational forms. In each case, he stresses the need to judge art in relation to the wider contemporary context. Triadic repetition is seen to have deep roots in paganism and in Neo‐Platonist assumptions at the time of the Renaissance, as well as being characteristic of today's art. Its function as an image of intensifying power is noted. Societal representations are distinguished from any automatic endorsement of a social analogy for trinitarian doctrine, and this is so in the case of Murillo's Two Trinities. Summary dismissal of incarnational types is shown to be often based on misunderstandings of what it is that the relevant artists were trying to achieve. Masaccio, for instance, deliberately placed the Father outside our spatial frame. In general, Brown appeals for art to be judged by its own distinctive criteria.Less
David Brown identifies three main types of approaches to artistic representations of the Trinity: triadic, societal, and incarnational forms. In each case, he stresses the need to judge art in relation to the wider contemporary context. Triadic repetition is seen to have deep roots in paganism and in Neo‐Platonist assumptions at the time of the Renaissance, as well as being characteristic of today's art. Its function as an image of intensifying power is noted. Societal representations are distinguished from any automatic endorsement of a social analogy for trinitarian doctrine, and this is so in the case of Murillo's Two Trinities. Summary dismissal of incarnational types is shown to be often based on misunderstandings of what it is that the relevant artists were trying to achieve. Masaccio, for instance, deliberately placed the Father outside our spatial frame. In general, Brown appeals for art to be judged by its own distinctive criteria.
Lloyd P. Gerson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801452413
- eISBN:
- 9780801469183
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801452413.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
Was Plato a Platonist? While ancient disciples of Plato would have answered this question in the affirmative, modern scholars have generally denied that Plato's own philosophy was in substantial ...
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Was Plato a Platonist? While ancient disciples of Plato would have answered this question in the affirmative, modern scholars have generally denied that Plato's own philosophy was in substantial agreement with that of the Platonists of succeeding centuries. This book argues that the ancients are correct in their assessment. The conclusion is reached through challenging fundamental assumptions about how Plato's teachings have come to be understood. The book shows that Platonism, broadly conceived, is the polar opposite of naturalism and that the history of philosophy from Plato until the seventeenth century was the history of various efforts to find the most consistent and complete version of “anti-naturalism.” The book contends that the philosophical position of Plato—Plato's own Platonism, so to speak—was produced out of a matrix he calls “Ur-Platonism.” Ur-Platonism is the conjunction of five “antis” that in total arrive at anti-naturalism: anti-nominalism, anti-mechanism, anti-materialism, anti-relativism, and anti-skepticism. Plato's Platonism is an attempt to construct the most consistent and defensible positive system uniting the five “antis.” It is also the system that all later Platonists throughout Antiquity attributed to Plato when countering attacks from critics including Peripatetics, Stoics, and Sceptics. In conclusion, the book shows that Late Antique philosophers such as Proclus were right in regarding Plotinus as “the great exegete of the Platonic revelation.”Less
Was Plato a Platonist? While ancient disciples of Plato would have answered this question in the affirmative, modern scholars have generally denied that Plato's own philosophy was in substantial agreement with that of the Platonists of succeeding centuries. This book argues that the ancients are correct in their assessment. The conclusion is reached through challenging fundamental assumptions about how Plato's teachings have come to be understood. The book shows that Platonism, broadly conceived, is the polar opposite of naturalism and that the history of philosophy from Plato until the seventeenth century was the history of various efforts to find the most consistent and complete version of “anti-naturalism.” The book contends that the philosophical position of Plato—Plato's own Platonism, so to speak—was produced out of a matrix he calls “Ur-Platonism.” Ur-Platonism is the conjunction of five “antis” that in total arrive at anti-naturalism: anti-nominalism, anti-mechanism, anti-materialism, anti-relativism, and anti-skepticism. Plato's Platonism is an attempt to construct the most consistent and defensible positive system uniting the five “antis.” It is also the system that all later Platonists throughout Antiquity attributed to Plato when countering attacks from critics including Peripatetics, Stoics, and Sceptics. In conclusion, the book shows that Late Antique philosophers such as Proclus were right in regarding Plotinus as “the great exegete of the Platonic revelation.”
David P. Kinloch
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198151838
- eISBN:
- 9780191672859
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198151838.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, 18th-century Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This chapter explores how the discovery in Renaissance Neoplatonism of ideas allowed Joseph Joubert to pursue these ideas, particularly those relating to the relationship between idea, image, and ...
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This chapter explores how the discovery in Renaissance Neoplatonism of ideas allowed Joseph Joubert to pursue these ideas, particularly those relating to the relationship between idea, image, and copy, into the realm of contemporary epistemology; how his reading of Charles Bonnet and Marsilio Ficino made it easier for him to take advantage of the sensualist philosophy of Etienne Bonnot de Condillac without becoming snared by materialism. Joubert's reading of Bonnet and Ficino undoubtedly helps to modify any view of him as a strict Platonist, more concerned with contemplation of a divine realm of archetypes or essences than their reflection in the world of perishable matter. In a pensée of 1798, which compares the merits of a pear's flesh with its pips or seeds, it is interesting to observe the emergence of a slight preference in Joubert's careful choice of vocabulary.Less
This chapter explores how the discovery in Renaissance Neoplatonism of ideas allowed Joseph Joubert to pursue these ideas, particularly those relating to the relationship between idea, image, and copy, into the realm of contemporary epistemology; how his reading of Charles Bonnet and Marsilio Ficino made it easier for him to take advantage of the sensualist philosophy of Etienne Bonnot de Condillac without becoming snared by materialism. Joubert's reading of Bonnet and Ficino undoubtedly helps to modify any view of him as a strict Platonist, more concerned with contemplation of a divine realm of archetypes or essences than their reflection in the world of perishable matter. In a pensée of 1798, which compares the merits of a pear's flesh with its pips or seeds, it is interesting to observe the emergence of a slight preference in Joubert's careful choice of vocabulary.
W. P. Stephens
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263630
- eISBN:
- 9780191682629
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263630.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, History of Christianity
The emphasis on the Spirit in Zwingli corresponds in part to the stress on Christ's divinity rather than his humanity. It reflects the emphasis on the centrality and sovereignty of God and the ...
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The emphasis on the Spirit in Zwingli corresponds in part to the stress on Christ's divinity rather than his humanity. It reflects the emphasis on the centrality and sovereignty of God and the contrast between God and man in Zwingli's theology. The central role of the Spirit is apparent in descriptions of his theology as spiritualist or pneumatological. His insistence on the divine origin and the authority of scripture can be seen in his controversies with Catholics and Anabaptists. It is in the relation of the Spirit to word and sacrament that Zwingli is often thought as a spiritualist, for dissociating Spirit from the word. Two elements are thought to contribute to this: the freedom of the Spirit, and a Platonist opposition of spirit and flesh in his understanding of man.Less
The emphasis on the Spirit in Zwingli corresponds in part to the stress on Christ's divinity rather than his humanity. It reflects the emphasis on the centrality and sovereignty of God and the contrast between God and man in Zwingli's theology. The central role of the Spirit is apparent in descriptions of his theology as spiritualist or pneumatological. His insistence on the divine origin and the authority of scripture can be seen in his controversies with Catholics and Anabaptists. It is in the relation of the Spirit to word and sacrament that Zwingli is often thought as a spiritualist, for dissociating Spirit from the word. Two elements are thought to contribute to this: the freedom of the Spirit, and a Platonist opposition of spirit and flesh in his understanding of man.
Peter Widdicombe
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199242481
- eISBN:
- 9780191697111
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199242481.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter discusses Origen's doctrine of revelation. Origen is certain that we may come to a saving knowledge of God's transcendent nature. But he distances himself from what he considers to be ...
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This chapter discusses Origen's doctrine of revelation. Origen is certain that we may come to a saving knowledge of God's transcendent nature. But he distances himself from what he considers to be the positive evaluation of human reason in Greek philosophy. He employs the sceptical arguments of his Middle Platonist contemporaries to bolster his contention that the human intellect cannot apprehend truth on its own merits unaided by God's grace. Only through the mediation of the Logos, the Holy Spirit, and the Scriptures may we come to know God's nature and to know his names.Less
This chapter discusses Origen's doctrine of revelation. Origen is certain that we may come to a saving knowledge of God's transcendent nature. But he distances himself from what he considers to be the positive evaluation of human reason in Greek philosophy. He employs the sceptical arguments of his Middle Platonist contemporaries to bolster his contention that the human intellect cannot apprehend truth on its own merits unaided by God's grace. Only through the mediation of the Logos, the Holy Spirit, and the Scriptures may we come to know God's nature and to know his names.
Eleni Kechagia
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199597239
- eISBN:
- 9780191731495
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199597239.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This chapter discusses the reasons and circumstances which led Plutarch to compose a detailed and systematic response to an otherwise unknown polemical book by Colotes, a relatively obscure Epicurean ...
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This chapter discusses the reasons and circumstances which led Plutarch to compose a detailed and systematic response to an otherwise unknown polemical book by Colotes, a relatively obscure Epicurean of the 3rd century bc. It offers a close reading of the prooemium of the Adversus Colotem in which Plutarch masterfully gives his own justification of his enterprise, both explicitly and through allusion to his Platonic pedigree. Prima facie the Adversus Colotem is presented as the written version of the oral refutation of Colotes which Plutarch was asked by his companions to give during one of the sessions in his school. At the same time, it transpires that responding to Colotes' polemic gave Plutarch the opportunity to engage in an exercise in the history of philosophy from the perspective of a Platonist teacher.Less
This chapter discusses the reasons and circumstances which led Plutarch to compose a detailed and systematic response to an otherwise unknown polemical book by Colotes, a relatively obscure Epicurean of the 3rd century bc. It offers a close reading of the prooemium of the Adversus Colotem in which Plutarch masterfully gives his own justification of his enterprise, both explicitly and through allusion to his Platonic pedigree. Prima facie the Adversus Colotem is presented as the written version of the oral refutation of Colotes which Plutarch was asked by his companions to give during one of the sessions in his school. At the same time, it transpires that responding to Colotes' polemic gave Plutarch the opportunity to engage in an exercise in the history of philosophy from the perspective of a Platonist teacher.
Eleni Kechagia
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199588954
- eISBN:
- 9780191728907
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588954.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter explores the role of philosophy in Plutarch's Table Talk. The emphatic presence and use of philosophical material throughout the sympotic conversations suggests that Table Talk can be ...
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This chapter explores the role of philosophy in Plutarch's Table Talk. The emphatic presence and use of philosophical material throughout the sympotic conversations suggests that Table Talk can be read as a lesson, aimed both at beginners and the philosophically initiated. The particular format Plutarch chose for this work – namely, the hybrid between Socratic symposium and problemata literature – and the topics discussed, show that Table Talk operates as two-tier philosophical instruction. On one level, through amicable and seemingly light-hearted zētēseis into quasi-scientific questions, Plutarch teaches uninitiated readers the basic tools of philosophical inquiry. On another level, the aporetic style of the zētēseis, and the plausible, but not certain, open-ended outcomes, invite the philosophically versed to reconsider the limits of Peripatetic sciences, and to opt for a Platonist approach to natural philosophy instead.Less
This chapter explores the role of philosophy in Plutarch's Table Talk. The emphatic presence and use of philosophical material throughout the sympotic conversations suggests that Table Talk can be read as a lesson, aimed both at beginners and the philosophically initiated. The particular format Plutarch chose for this work – namely, the hybrid between Socratic symposium and problemata literature – and the topics discussed, show that Table Talk operates as two-tier philosophical instruction. On one level, through amicable and seemingly light-hearted zētēseis into quasi-scientific questions, Plutarch teaches uninitiated readers the basic tools of philosophical inquiry. On another level, the aporetic style of the zētēseis, and the plausible, but not certain, open-ended outcomes, invite the philosophically versed to reconsider the limits of Peripatetic sciences, and to opt for a Platonist approach to natural philosophy instead.
Michail Peramatzis
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199588350
- eISBN:
- 9780191728877
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588350.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Chapter 4 addresses the negative issue of what, in Aristotle's view, natural forms should not be understood as: their essence is not like that of mathematical or Platonist forms. After comparing ...
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Chapter 4 addresses the negative issue of what, in Aristotle's view, natural forms should not be understood as: their essence is not like that of mathematical or Platonist forms. After comparing mathematical with natural forms, Chapter 4 asks how to differentiate between them, and how to determine the types of matter (if any) which are essential to natural forms but not essential to mathematical entities. The contrast between the objects studied by mathematical sciences and those examined by physics suggests that, while mathematical form is essentially independent of all perceptible types of matter (collectively), natural form should not be conceived in this fashion. Not only higher‐level mathematical branches but also applied/subordinate mathematical sciences deal with abstract mathematical forms which are essentially independent of matter, while physics studies forms which are essentially non‐abstract and non‐mathematical.Less
Chapter 4 addresses the negative issue of what, in Aristotle's view, natural forms should not be understood as: their essence is not like that of mathematical or Platonist forms. After comparing mathematical with natural forms, Chapter 4 asks how to differentiate between them, and how to determine the types of matter (if any) which are essential to natural forms but not essential to mathematical entities. The contrast between the objects studied by mathematical sciences and those examined by physics suggests that, while mathematical form is essentially independent of all perceptible types of matter (collectively), natural form should not be conceived in this fashion. Not only higher‐level mathematical branches but also applied/subordinate mathematical sciences deal with abstract mathematical forms which are essentially independent of matter, while physics studies forms which are essentially non‐abstract and non‐mathematical.
Michail Peramatzis
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199588350
- eISBN:
- 9780191728877
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588350.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Chapter 9 discusses an argument advanced in the Eudemian Ethics, 1217b10–15, which claims that Platonist Forms are thought to be ontologically prior to their perceptible instances. It is shown that ...
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Chapter 9 discusses an argument advanced in the Eudemian Ethics, 1217b10–15, which claims that Platonist Forms are thought to be ontologically prior to their perceptible instances. It is shown that Aristotle understands Platonist ontological priority as asymmetric existential independence. Platonist Forms are conceived as ontologically prior to their perceptible instances in that they exist (or can exist) without their perceptible instances existing but not the other way about. If this is correct, Aristotle cannot be favouring the existential construal of ontological priority. Hence, Aristotle's own notion of ontological priority, the one which applies to his substantial forms, must be distinct from the Platonist, existential construal of this notion.Less
Chapter 9 discusses an argument advanced in the Eudemian Ethics, 1217b10–15, which claims that Platonist Forms are thought to be ontologically prior to their perceptible instances. It is shown that Aristotle understands Platonist ontological priority as asymmetric existential independence. Platonist Forms are conceived as ontologically prior to their perceptible instances in that they exist (or can exist) without their perceptible instances existing but not the other way about. If this is correct, Aristotle cannot be favouring the existential construal of ontological priority. Hence, Aristotle's own notion of ontological priority, the one which applies to his substantial forms, must be distinct from the Platonist, existential construal of this notion.
Katerina Ierodiakonou, Paul Kalligas, and Vassilis Karasmanis (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- July 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198830993
- eISBN:
- 9780191868948
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198830993.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This volume of the ‘Symposium Aristotelicum’ constitutes a running commentary of the first book of Aristotle’s Physics, a central treatise of the Aristotelian corpus that aims at knowledge of the ...
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This volume of the ‘Symposium Aristotelicum’ constitutes a running commentary of the first book of Aristotle’s Physics, a central treatise of the Aristotelian corpus that aims at knowledge of the principles of physical change; it establishes that there are such principles and determines what they are and how many. After a general introduction, the ten chapters of the volume, written by distinguished scholars of ancient philosophy, comment on the entirety of the Aristotelian text and deal in detail with the philosophical issues raised in it. Aristotle is here in dialogue with the divergent doctrines of earlier philosophers, namely with the Eleatics’ monism, with Anaxagoras’ theory of mixture, and finally with the Platonist dyadism that posits the two principles of Form and the Great and Small. He employs the critical examination of his predecessors’ views in order to present and formulate his own theory of the principles of natural things, which are fundamental for the entire Aristotelian study of the natural world: form, privation and the substratum that underlies them. Moreover, Aristotle provides us with his own solution to the problem about coming to be and passing away, by distinguishing between coming to be in actuality and in potentiality. The exhaustive analysis of the Aristotelian doctrines as well as the critical discussion of the prevailing current views on their interpretation make this volume an obligatory reference work for Aristotle studies.Less
This volume of the ‘Symposium Aristotelicum’ constitutes a running commentary of the first book of Aristotle’s Physics, a central treatise of the Aristotelian corpus that aims at knowledge of the principles of physical change; it establishes that there are such principles and determines what they are and how many. After a general introduction, the ten chapters of the volume, written by distinguished scholars of ancient philosophy, comment on the entirety of the Aristotelian text and deal in detail with the philosophical issues raised in it. Aristotle is here in dialogue with the divergent doctrines of earlier philosophers, namely with the Eleatics’ monism, with Anaxagoras’ theory of mixture, and finally with the Platonist dyadism that posits the two principles of Form and the Great and Small. He employs the critical examination of his predecessors’ views in order to present and formulate his own theory of the principles of natural things, which are fundamental for the entire Aristotelian study of the natural world: form, privation and the substratum that underlies them. Moreover, Aristotle provides us with his own solution to the problem about coming to be and passing away, by distinguishing between coming to be in actuality and in potentiality. The exhaustive analysis of the Aristotelian doctrines as well as the critical discussion of the prevailing current views on their interpretation make this volume an obligatory reference work for Aristotle studies.
David Sedley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520253643
- eISBN:
- 9780520934368
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520253643.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
Aristotle was Plato's student for two decades before founding his own school. Aristotle is the ultimate teleological thinker of antiquity, and his teleology takes us to the very heart of his physics, ...
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Aristotle was Plato's student for two decades before founding his own school. Aristotle is the ultimate teleological thinker of antiquity, and his teleology takes us to the very heart of his physics, his biology, his metaphysics, and his ethics. Aristotle cures the twin issues of creation and administration in strict parallel to each other. The world, along with its resident species, is not the product of an intelligent act of creation, for the simple reason that it had no beginning at all but has always existed as a thesis he defends by appeal to the essential of the heaven's circular motion. Aristotle is more Platonist than Plato. He too (Nicomachean ethics X 7–8) holds that the kind of happiness that can come from leading a virtuous civic life, although of great value, is instant, best likened to the godlike happiness of pure detached contemplation. Aristotle improves Plato to the extent that he seeks to make his own theology consistent with the same ranking of different brands of happiness.Less
Aristotle was Plato's student for two decades before founding his own school. Aristotle is the ultimate teleological thinker of antiquity, and his teleology takes us to the very heart of his physics, his biology, his metaphysics, and his ethics. Aristotle cures the twin issues of creation and administration in strict parallel to each other. The world, along with its resident species, is not the product of an intelligent act of creation, for the simple reason that it had no beginning at all but has always existed as a thesis he defends by appeal to the essential of the heaven's circular motion. Aristotle is more Platonist than Plato. He too (Nicomachean ethics X 7–8) holds that the kind of happiness that can come from leading a virtuous civic life, although of great value, is instant, best likened to the godlike happiness of pure detached contemplation. Aristotle improves Plato to the extent that he seeks to make his own theology consistent with the same ranking of different brands of happiness.
Elizabeth DePalma Digeser
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801441813
- eISBN:
- 9780801463969
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801441813.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter examines how Plotinus took Ammonius Saccas's ideas to Rome and how he brought into sharp focus the role that Platonist philosophy played in the third-century public sphere. It first ...
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This chapter examines how Plotinus took Ammonius Saccas's ideas to Rome and how he brought into sharp focus the role that Platonist philosophy played in the third-century public sphere. It first considers the careers of Plotinus and Porphyry of Tyre before discussing the extent to which Plotinus incorporated Ammonius's teaching into his own classroom. It argues that the exegetical practices, charismatic pedagogy, asceticism, and deep commitment to the teachings of Plato so apparent in Plotinus's circle can be attributed to the eleven years he spent as Ammonius's student in Alexandria. It also explores Plotinus's desire to found a community of philosophers in Campania and Porphyry's belief that he ought to help craft imperial legislation that would emulate divine law.Less
This chapter examines how Plotinus took Ammonius Saccas's ideas to Rome and how he brought into sharp focus the role that Platonist philosophy played in the third-century public sphere. It first considers the careers of Plotinus and Porphyry of Tyre before discussing the extent to which Plotinus incorporated Ammonius's teaching into his own classroom. It argues that the exegetical practices, charismatic pedagogy, asceticism, and deep commitment to the teachings of Plato so apparent in Plotinus's circle can be attributed to the eleven years he spent as Ammonius's student in Alexandria. It also explores Plotinus's desire to found a community of philosophers in Campania and Porphyry's belief that he ought to help craft imperial legislation that would emulate divine law.
John Bolender
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262014441
- eISBN:
- 9780262289238
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262014441.003.0007
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Research and Theory
This chapter argues that the relational models are not brain states resulting from self-organization in neural activity but are, rather, abstract objects akin to numbers and sets. However, even if ...
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This chapter argues that the relational models are not brain states resulting from self-organization in neural activity but are, rather, abstract objects akin to numbers and sets. However, even if this turns out to be true, it would not invalidate the naturalism of earlier chapters. This chapter addresses the compatibility of biophysical approach and Platonism. It considers the empirical approach for discrete infinity of social structures. It illustrates that the relational models constitute an infinite collection of abstract objects. It also suggests that Platonist linguistics corresponds to the deepest level of necessity, with regard to the study of language. Biolinguistics corresponds to a somewhat more shallow level of necessity.Less
This chapter argues that the relational models are not brain states resulting from self-organization in neural activity but are, rather, abstract objects akin to numbers and sets. However, even if this turns out to be true, it would not invalidate the naturalism of earlier chapters. This chapter addresses the compatibility of biophysical approach and Platonism. It considers the empirical approach for discrete infinity of social structures. It illustrates that the relational models constitute an infinite collection of abstract objects. It also suggests that Platonist linguistics corresponds to the deepest level of necessity, with regard to the study of language. Biolinguistics corresponds to a somewhat more shallow level of necessity.
Irving Singer
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262512725
- eISBN:
- 9780262315111
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262512725.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter discusses erotic idealization based on Platonist and realist theories. According to the former, all attempts to describe eros as the child of earthly rather than heavenly Aphrodite can ...
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This chapter discusses erotic idealization based on Platonist and realist theories. According to the former, all attempts to describe eros as the child of earthly rather than heavenly Aphrodite can only lead to a misreading of love’s spiritual intent; the latter theory states that all love must be reducible to a basic organic condition, such as sexuality. Both theories, however, acknowledge the involvement of human desire, which points back to love as valuation through determination of how something can satisfy desire. The ultimate goal remains to be knowledge—warranted assertions regarding the nature of man, his wants, and what will satisfy those wants. This is the reason why most of Western philosophy presupposes the eros approach when theorizing about love, despite the fact that it generally seeks to be scientific.Less
This chapter discusses erotic idealization based on Platonist and realist theories. According to the former, all attempts to describe eros as the child of earthly rather than heavenly Aphrodite can only lead to a misreading of love’s spiritual intent; the latter theory states that all love must be reducible to a basic organic condition, such as sexuality. Both theories, however, acknowledge the involvement of human desire, which points back to love as valuation through determination of how something can satisfy desire. The ultimate goal remains to be knowledge—warranted assertions regarding the nature of man, his wants, and what will satisfy those wants. This is the reason why most of Western philosophy presupposes the eros approach when theorizing about love, despite the fact that it generally seeks to be scientific.
Sarah Broadie
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- July 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198830993
- eISBN:
- 9780191868948
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198830993.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter examines Aristotle’s rejection of a Platonist theory positing two principles: Form and the Great and Small. He complains that, under the latter, privation is not distinguished from the ...
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This chapter examines Aristotle’s rejection of a Platonist theory positing two principles: Form and the Great and Small. He complains that, under the latter, privation is not distinguished from the subject of coming to be. This chapter discusses the background for this dyadic theory in the Philebus and the Timaeus. It suggests that Aristotle’s opposition only makes sense if Platonists were proposing to extend it to cover comings to be such as biological reproduction. It also discusses whether, dialectically, Aristotle wins against Platonism within Physics I 9, and in the wider context of his biology. The chapter notes that when the explanandum is eternal motion, the triad of principles is useless, because there is no distinct principle of privation. So, Aristotle himself is chained to a Platonist-style dyadism. The chapter concludes by drawing a connection between this theory and Aristotle’s first mover as both final and efficient cause of eternal motion.Less
This chapter examines Aristotle’s rejection of a Platonist theory positing two principles: Form and the Great and Small. He complains that, under the latter, privation is not distinguished from the subject of coming to be. This chapter discusses the background for this dyadic theory in the Philebus and the Timaeus. It suggests that Aristotle’s opposition only makes sense if Platonists were proposing to extend it to cover comings to be such as biological reproduction. It also discusses whether, dialectically, Aristotle wins against Platonism within Physics I 9, and in the wider context of his biology. The chapter notes that when the explanandum is eternal motion, the triad of principles is useless, because there is no distinct principle of privation. So, Aristotle himself is chained to a Platonist-style dyadism. The chapter concludes by drawing a connection between this theory and Aristotle’s first mover as both final and efficient cause of eternal motion.
Michael J. Griffin
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198724735
- eISBN:
- 9780191792267
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198724735.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
There are strong traces of interest in Aristotle’s ten categories – and the treatise Categories – in Pythagorean circles roughly contemporary with Andronicus, beginning with Eudorus of Alexandria. ...
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There are strong traces of interest in Aristotle’s ten categories – and the treatise Categories – in Pythagorean circles roughly contemporary with Andronicus, beginning with Eudorus of Alexandria. This interest seems broadly similar in temperament to Andronicus’, treating the ten categories as a crucial aid in transcending the vagueness of particulars and arriving at the more precise knowledge of intelligibles, but with a new, Pythagorean emphasis on the symbolism of the number ten and the recognition of the distinction of the intelligible world from the sensible. This chapter briefly traces this interest, and contrasts its motives and outcomes with Andronicus of Rhodes, as seen in the previous chapter.Less
There are strong traces of interest in Aristotle’s ten categories – and the treatise Categories – in Pythagorean circles roughly contemporary with Andronicus, beginning with Eudorus of Alexandria. This interest seems broadly similar in temperament to Andronicus’, treating the ten categories as a crucial aid in transcending the vagueness of particulars and arriving at the more precise knowledge of intelligibles, but with a new, Pythagorean emphasis on the symbolism of the number ten and the recognition of the distinction of the intelligible world from the sensible. This chapter briefly traces this interest, and contrasts its motives and outcomes with Andronicus of Rhodes, as seen in the previous chapter.
Michael J. Griffin
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198724735
- eISBN:
- 9780191792267
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198724735.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter argues that Lucius, a critic of the Categories named by Simplicius, criticized the Categories as an inadequate treatment of ontology, and that his criticisms attracted a response from ...
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This chapter argues that Lucius, a critic of the Categories named by Simplicius, criticized the Categories as an inadequate treatment of ontology, and that his criticisms attracted a response from Boethus of Sidon. It also attempts to show that the criticisms offered by Lucius and Nicostratus – two figures often conflated by Simplicius – can be at least provisionally distinguished from one another.Less
This chapter argues that Lucius, a critic of the Categories named by Simplicius, criticized the Categories as an inadequate treatment of ontology, and that his criticisms attracted a response from Boethus of Sidon. It also attempts to show that the criticisms offered by Lucius and Nicostratus – two figures often conflated by Simplicius – can be at least provisionally distinguished from one another.
