Simplicius the Neoplatonist in Light of Contemporary Research

Simplicius the Neoplatonist in Light of Contemporary Research PDF Author: Ilsetraut Hadot
Publisher:
ISBN: 9782503588476
Category :
Languages : ar
Pages : 260

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Book Description
This book presents a critical overview of contemporary research on the life of the Neoplatonist philisopher Simplicius and on three of his five commentaries (on the Encheiridion of Epictetus, Aristotle's De anima, and Aristotle's Categories). The first part of the work brings out the historical role of Simplicius, who was originally from the province of Cilicia in Asia Minor, studied in Alexandria and Athens, and - so the evidence suggests - spent the last years of his life as head of a philosophical school specialized in mathematics in Syria, close to the Persian frontier. His role in the history of thought is as an intermediary between Greco-Roman philosophy and philosophy in the Syriac language, which in turn became an important source for the beginnings of Arabic philosophy. The second part of the book is devoted to questions of doctrine and authenticity; its goal is to reveal the educational programme and methods used by the Neoplatonist commentators, which are too often neglected by modern interpreters.

Simplicius the Neoplatonist in Light of Contemporary Research

Simplicius the Neoplatonist in Light of Contemporary Research PDF Author: Ilsetraut Hadot
Publisher:
ISBN: 9782503588476
Category :
Languages : ar
Pages : 260

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book presents a critical overview of contemporary research on the life of the Neoplatonist philisopher Simplicius and on three of his five commentaries (on the Encheiridion of Epictetus, Aristotle's De anima, and Aristotle's Categories). The first part of the work brings out the historical role of Simplicius, who was originally from the province of Cilicia in Asia Minor, studied in Alexandria and Athens, and - so the evidence suggests - spent the last years of his life as head of a philosophical school specialized in mathematics in Syria, close to the Persian frontier. His role in the history of thought is as an intermediary between Greco-Roman philosophy and philosophy in the Syriac language, which in turn became an important source for the beginnings of Arabic philosophy. The second part of the book is devoted to questions of doctrine and authenticity; its goal is to reveal the educational programme and methods used by the Neoplatonist commentators, which are too often neglected by modern interpreters.

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.1-4

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.1-4 PDF Author: Simplicius,
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 178093906X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
In chapter 1 of On the Heavens Aristotle defines body, and then notoriously ruptures dynamics by introducing a fifth element, beyond Plato's four, to explain the rotation of the heavens, which, like nearly all Greeks, Aristotle took to be real, not apparent. Even a member of his school, Xenarchus, we are told, rejected his fifth element. The Neoplatonist Simplicius seeks to harmonise Plato and Aristotle. Plato, he says, thought that the heavens were composed of all four elements but with the purest kind of fire, namely light, predominating. That Plato would not mind this being called a fifth element is shown by his associating with the heavens the fifth of the five convex regular solids recognised by geometry. Simplicius follows Aristotle's view that one of the lower elements, fire, also rotates, as shown by the behaviour of comets. But such motion, though natural for the fifth elements, is super-natural for fire. Simplicius reveals that the Aristotelian Alexander of Aphrodisias recognised the need to supplement Aristotle and account for the annual approach and retreat of planets by means of Ptolemy's epicycles or eccentrics. Aristotle's philosopher-god is turned by Simplicius, following his teacher Ammonius, into a creator-god, like Plato's. But the creation is beginningless, as shown by the argument that, if you try to imagine a time when it began, you cannot answer the question, 'Why not sooner?' In explaining the creation, Simplicius follows the Neoplatonist expansion of Aristotle's four 'causes' to six. The final result gives us a cosmology very considerably removed from Aristotle's.

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.10-12

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.10-12 PDF Author: Simplicius,
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1472501373
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
In the three chapters of On the Heavens dealt with in this volume, Aristotle argues that the universe is ungenerated and indestructible. In Simplicius' commentary, translated here, we see a battle royal between the Neoplatonist Simplicius and the Aristotelian Alexander, whose lost commentary on Aristotle's On the Heavens Simplicius partly preserves. Simplicius' rival, the Christian Philoponus, had conducted a parallel battle in his Against Proclus but had taken the side of Alexander against Proclus and other Platonists, arguing that Plato's Timaeus gives a beginning to the universe. Simplicius takes the Platonist side, denying that Plato intended a beginning. The origin to which Plato refers is, according to Simplicius, not a temporal origin, but the divine cause that produces the world without beginning.

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.3-4

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.3-4 PDF Author: Simplicius,
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1472501705
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
This is the first English translation of Simplicius' responses to Philoponus' Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World. The commentary is published in two volumes: Ian Mueller's previous book in the series, Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.2-3, and this book on 1.3-4. Philoponus, the Christian, had argued that Aristotle's arguments do not succeed. For all they show to the contrary, Christianity may be right that the heavens were brought into existence by the only divine being and one moment in time, and will cease to exist at some future moment. Simplicius upholds the pagan view that the heavens are eternal and divine, and argues that their eternity is shown by their astronomical movements coupled with certain principles of Aristotle. The English translation in this volume is accompanied by a detailed introduction, extensive commentary notes and a bibliography.

'Simplicius': On Aristotle On the Soul 3.1-5

'Simplicius': On Aristotle On the Soul 3.1-5 PDF Author: H.J. Blumenthal
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472558529
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
In On the Soul 3.1-5, Aristotle goes beyond the five sense to the general functions of sense perception, the imagination and the so-called active intellect, the of which was still a matter of controversy in the time of Thomas Aquinas. In his commentary on Aristotle's text, ‘Simplicius' insists that the intellect in question is not something transcendental but the human rational soul. He denies both Plotinus' view that a part of the soul has never descended from uninterrupted contemplation of the Platonic Forms, and Proclus' view that the soul cannot be changed in its substance through embodiment. He also denies that imagination sees things as true or false, which requires awareness of one's own cognitions. He thinks that imagination works by projecting imprints. In the case of mathematics, it can make the imprints more like shapes taken on during sense perception or more like concepts, which calls for lines without breadth. He acknowledges that Aristotle would not agree to reify these concepts as substances, but thinks of mathematical entities as mere abstractions. Addressing the vexed question of authorship, H. J. Blumenthal concludes that the commentary was written neither by Simplicius nor Priscian. In a novel interpretation, he suggests that if Priscian had any hand in this commentary, it might have been as editor of notes from Simplicius' lectures.

Historical Dictionary of Ethics

Historical Dictionary of Ethics PDF Author: Daniel Bonevac
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 153817572X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 717

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Book Description
Historical Dictionary of Ethics, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 600 cross-referenced entries on the important terms, concepts, theories, and thinkers from all areas and eras of the history of ethics.

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.2-3

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.2-3 PDF Author: Simplicius,
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1472501667
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
One of the arguments in Aristotle's On the Heavens propounds that the world neither came to be nor will perish. This volume contains the pagan Neoplatonist Simplicius of Cilicia's commentary on the first part of this this important work. The commentary is notable and unusual because Simplicius includes in his discussion lengthy representations of the Christian John Philoponus' criticisms of Aristotle along with his own, frequently sarcastic, responses. This is the first complete translation into a modern language of Simplicius' commentary, and is accompanied by a detailed introduction, extensive explanatory notes and a bibliography.

Philosophy and Exegesis in Simplicius

Philosophy and Exegesis in Simplicius PDF Author: Han Baltussen
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1472521463
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 494

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Book Description
This is the first book-length study in English of the interpretative and philosophical approach of the commentaries of Simplicius of Cilicia (c. AD 530). Simplicius' work, marked by doctrinal complexity and scholarship, is unusually self-conscious, learned and rich in its sources, and he is therefore one of those rare authors who is of interest to ancient philosophers, historians and classicists alike. Here, Han Baltussen argues that our understanding of Simplicius' methodology will be greatly enhanced if we study how his scholarly approach impacts on his philosophical exegesis. His commentaries are placed in their intellectual context and several case studies shed light on his critical treatment of earlier philosophers and his often polemical use of previous commentaries. "Philosophy and Exegesis in Simplicius" not only clarifies the objectives, pre-suppositions and impact of Simplicius' work, but also illustrates how, as a competent philosopher explicating Aristotelian and Platonic ideas, he continues and develops a method that pursues philosophy by way of exegetical engagement with earlier thinkers and commentators. The investigation opens up connections with broader issues, such as the reception of Presocratic philosophy within the commentary tradition, the nature and purpose of his commentaries, and the demise of pagan philosophy.

Neoplatonism and Contemporary Thought

Neoplatonism and Contemporary Thought PDF Author: R. Baine Harris
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791452752
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
Leading scholars relate Neoplatonism to contemporary science and philosophy.

Simplicius the Neoplatonist in Light of Contemporary Research

Simplicius the Neoplatonist in Light of Contemporary Research PDF Author: Ilsetraut Hadot
Publisher: Academia Verlag
ISBN: 9783896658944
Category : Neoplatonism
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Dieses Buch bietet, erstmals in englischer Sprache, eine Zusammenschau der modernen Forschung zu Simplikios' Leben und drei seiner funf Kommentare: Zu Epictetus' Encheiridion, zu Aristoteles' De anima und zu Aristoteles' Kategorien. Der biografische Teil bringt die historische Rolle dieses neoplatonischen Philosophen ans Licht. Geboren in Kilikien, Kleinasien, studierte er in Alexandria und Athen und beendete offenbar sein Leben in Syrien an der Grenze zwischen dem byzantinischen und sassanidischen Reich. Er war ein Vermittler zwischen der griechisch-romischen und der syrischen Philosophie, die die arabische Philosophie zu Beginn nahren sollte. Der zweite Teil des Buches, der sich mit Fragen der Lehre und der Autorschaft befasst, widmet sich auch dem zugrunde liegenden padagogischen Curriculum und den Methoden, die neoplatonischen Kommentaren eigen sind, die moderne Interpretation in Studien uber Simplicius und andere Neoplatonisten nur zu gerne ubersehen.