Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.10-12

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.10-12
Author: Simplicius,
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2014-04-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1472501373

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 2.10-14

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 2.10-14
Author: Simplicius,
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2014-04-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1472501152

Aristotle believed that the outermost stars are carried round us on a transparent sphere. There are directions in the universe and a preferred direction of rotation. The sun, moon and planets are carried on different revolving spheres. The spheres and celestial bodies are composed of an everlasting fifth element, which has none of the ordinary contrary properties like heat and cold which could destroy it, but only the facility for uniform rotation. But this creates problems as to how the heavenly bodies create light, and, in the case of the sun, heat. The topics covered in this part of Simplicius' commentary are: the speeds and distances of the stars; that the stars are spherical; why the sun and moon have fewer motions than the other five planets; why the sphere of the fixed stars contains so many stars whereas the other heavenly spheres contain no more than one (Simplicius has a long excursus on planetary theory in his commentary on this chapter); discussion of people's views on the position, motion or rest, shape, and size of the earth; that the earth is a relatively small sphere at rest in the centre of the cosmos.

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.1-4

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.1-4
Author: Simplicius,
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2014-04-10
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 178093906X

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.

On Aristotle on the Heavens 2.10-14

On Aristotle on the Heavens 2.10-14
Author: Simplicius (of Cilicia.)
Publisher: Ancient Commentators on Aristo
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2005
Genre: Science
ISBN:

"Aristotle believed that the outermost stars are carried round us on a transparent sphere. There are directions in the universe and a preferred direction of rotation. The sun, moon and planets are carried on different revolving spheres. The spheres and celestial bodies are composed of an everlasting fifth element, which has none of the ordinary contrary properties like heat and cold which could destroy it, but only the facility for uniform rotation. But this creates problems as to how the heavenly bodies create light, and, in the case of the sun, heat." "The topics covered in this part of Simplicius' commentary on On the Heavens are the speeds and distances of the stars; that the stars are spherical; why the sun and moon have fewer motions than the other five planets; why the sphere of the fixed stars contains so many stars whereas the other heavenly spheres contain no more than one (Simplicius has a long excursus on planetary theory in his commentary on this chapter); discussion of people's views on the position, motion or rest, shape, and size of the earth; and that the earth is a relatively small sphere at rest in the centre of the cosmos."--BOOK JACKET.

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.2-3

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.2-3
Author: Simplicius,
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2014-04-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1472501667

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.

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.3-4

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 1.3-4
Author: Simplicius,
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2014-04-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1472501705

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 Heavens 3.1-7

Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 3.1-7
Author: Simplicius,
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 191
Release: 2014-04-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1472501616

The subject of Aristotle's On the Heavens, Books 3-4, is the four elements of earth, air, fire and water, which exist below the heavens. Book 3, in chapters 1 to 7, frequently criticizes the Presocratic philosophers. Because of this, Simplicius' commentary is one of our main sources of quotations of the Presocratics. Ian Mueller's translation of this commentary gains added importance by enabling us to see the context which guided Simplicius' selection of Presocratic texts to quote. Simplicius also criticizes the lost commentary of the leading Aristotelian commentator, Alexander, and thereby gives us important information about that work. The English translation in this volume is accompanied by a detailed introduction, extensive commentary notes and a bibliography.

On Aristotle on the Heavens 1.10-12

On Aristotle on the Heavens 1.10-12
Author: Simplicius (of Cilicia.)
Publisher: Bristol Classical Press
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2006
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN:

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 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 on which Plato refers is, according to Simplicius, not a temporal origin, but the divine cause that produces the world without beginning.

Ancient Logic, Language, and Metaphysics

Ancient Logic, Language, and Metaphysics
Author: Andrea Falcon
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 407
Release: 2019-07-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000022374

The late Mario Mignucci was one of the most authoritative, original, and influential scholars in the area of ancient philosophy, especially ancient logic. Collected here for the first time are sixteen of his most important essays on Ancient Logic, Language, and Metaphysics. These essays show a perceptive historian and a skillful logician philosophically engaged with issues that are still at the very heart of history and philosophy of logic, such as the nature of predication, identity, and modality. As well as essays found in disparate publications, often not easily available online, the volume includes an article on Plato and the relatives translated into English for the first time and an unpublished paper on De interpretatione 7. Mignucci thinks rigorously and writes clearly. He brings the deep knowledge of a scholar and the precision of a logician to bear on some of the trickiest topics in ancient philosophy. This collection deserves the close attention of anyone concerned with logic, language, and metaphysics, whether in ancient or contemporary philosophy.

Alexander of Aphrodisias: On Aristotle Metaphysics 1

Alexander of Aphrodisias: On Aristotle Metaphysics 1
Author: E.W. Dooley
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2014-04-10
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1780933630

Alexander of Aphrodisias was the greatest exponent of Aristotelianism after Aristotle, and his commentary on Metaphysics 1-5 is the most substantial commentary on the Metaphysics to have survived from antiquity. The commentary on book 1 has the further interest that over half of it is devoted to Aristotle's discussion of Plato. Aristotle's battery of objectives to the theory of Ideas is spelled out with fragmentary quotations and paraphrases from four of Aristotle's lost works, and we are given an extended account of Plato's 'unwritten doctrines' according to which the Ideas are numbers, namely the One and Indefinite Dyad. The deliberations for and against the theory of Ideas recorded by Alexander are more detailed than anything in Plato's dialogues and tell us more than any other source how they were conceived in Plato's most developed theory.