The Philosophy of the Commentators, 200-600 AD: Physics

The Philosophy of the Commentators, 200-600 AD: Physics
Author: Richard Sorabji
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 428
Release: 2005
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780801489884

Physics in Neoplatonist thought, the subject which occupies the second volume of this sourcebook, was innovative: the world of space and time was causally ordered by a nonspatial, nontemporal world, and this view required original thinking

The Philosophy of the Commentators, 200-600 AD: Physics

The Philosophy of the Commentators, 200-600 AD: Physics
Author: Richard Sorabji
Publisher: Bristol Classical Press
Total Pages: 428
Release: 2004
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN:

This is a sourcebook that draws upon the 400 years of transition from ancient Greek philosophy to the medieval philosophy of Islam and the West. Philosophy was then often written in the form of commentaries on the works of Plato and Aristotle. Many ideas wrongly credited to the Middle Ages derive from this period, e.g. that of impetus in dynamics and intentional objects in philosophy of mind. The later Neoplatonist commentators fought a losing battle with Christianity, but inadvertently made Aristotle acceptable to Christians by ascribing to him belief in a Creator God and human immortality. They also provided a panorama of up to 1000 years of preceding Greek philosophy, much of it otherwise lost. They serve as the missing link essential for understanding the history of Western philosophy. The physics of the commentators was innovatory. The Neoplatonists among them thought that the world of space and time was causally ordered by a non-spatial, non-temporal world, and this required original thinking. Of the sixth-century Neoplatonists, Simplicius considered his teacher's ideas on space and time to be unprecedented, and Philoponus revised Aristotelianism, to produce a new physics built around the Christian belief in God's creation of the world. The Middle Ages borrowed from Philoponus and other commentators, the proofs of a finite past, the idea of degrees of latitude in change and mixture, and in dynamics the idea of impetus and the defence of motion in a vacuum. All sources appear in English translation and are carefully linked and cross-referenced by editorial comment and explanation.

The Philosophy of the Commentators, 200-600 AD: Psychology (with ethics and religion)

The Philosophy of the Commentators, 200-600 AD: Psychology (with ethics and religion)
Author: Richard Sorabji
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 452
Release: 2005
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780801489877

The third volume of this invaluable sourcebook covers three main subject areas. First, the metaphysics of Aristotle's logical works: the concepts of universal and particular underwent surprising transformations in this period, which gave rise to debates, still raging today, on personal survival after an interruption such as death. Second, logic in a more conventional sense: perhaps the most impressive debate was on the existence of the subject in singular and universal statements. There was also debate about the very different Aristotelian and Stoic conceptions of syllogism, of modal logic, of induction, of the nature of mathematics, and of philosophy of language. Third, the higher metaphysics of the Neoplatonists taught Augustine, and indirectly Descartes, to look for truth within themselves. The Neoplatonists struggled with the question whether our higher intellectual selves have distinct individuality, and thus they fed both sides in the great medieval debate between Aquinas and the followers of Averroes on individual human immortality. All sources appear in English translation and are carefully linked and cross-referenced by editorial comment and explanation. Bibliographies are provided throughout.

The Ancient Commentators on Plato and Aristotle

The Ancient Commentators on Plato and Aristotle
Author: Miira Tuominen
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2016-09-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317492587

In late antiquity the works of Plato and Aristotle were subject to intense study, which eventually led to the development of a new literary form, the philosophical commentary. Until recently these commentaries were understood chiefly as sources of information for the masters - Plato and Aristotle - they commented upon. However, in recent years, it has become increasingly acknowledged that the commentators themselves - Aspasius, Alexander, Themistius, Porphyry, Proclus, Philoponus, Simplicius and others - even though they worked in the Platonist - Aristotelian framework, contributed to this tradition in original, innovative and significant ways such that their commentaries are philosophically important sources in their own right. This book provides the first systematic introduction to the 'philosophy' of the commentators: their way of doing philosophy and the kind of philosophical problems they found interesting.Although there was no philosophy of the commentators in the sense of a definite set of doctrines, Tuominen shows how the commentary format was nevertheless a vehicle for original philosophical theorizing and argues convincingly that the commentators should take their place alongside other philosophers of antiquity in the history of western philosophy.

Philoponus: On Aristotle Physics 4.10-14

Philoponus: On Aristotle Physics 4.10-14
Author: Philoponus,
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 143
Release: 2014-04-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1472501713

Philoponus' commentary on the last part of Aristotle's Physics Book 4 does not offer major alternatives to Aristotle's science, as did his commentary on the earlier parts, concerning place, vacuum and motion in a vacuum. Aristotle's subject here is time, and his treatment of it had led to controversy in earlier writers. Philoponus does offer novelties when he treats motion round a bend as in one sense faster than motion on the straight over the same distance in the same time, because of the need to consider the greater effort involved. And he points out that in an earlier commentary on Book 8 he had argued against Aristotle for the possibility of a last instant of time. This volume contains an English translation of Philoponus' commentary, as well as a detailed introduction, extensive explanatory notes and a bibliography.

Mathematical Commentaries in the Ancient World

Mathematical Commentaries in the Ancient World
Author: Karine Chemla
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2022-06-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1108880932

This is the first book-length analysis of the techniques and procedures of ancient mathematical commentaries. It focuses on examples in Chinese, Sanskrit, Akkadian and Sumerian, and Ancient Greek, presenting the general issues by constant detailed reference to these commentaries, of which substantial extracts are included in the original languages and in translation, sometimes for the first time. This makes the issues accessible to readers without specialized training in mathematics or in the languages involved. The result is a much richer understanding than was hitherto possible of the crucial role of commentaries in the history of mathematics in four different linguistic areas, of the nature of mathematical commentaries in general, of the contribution that the study of mathematical commentaries can make to the history of science and to the study of commentaries in general, and of the ways in which mathematical commentaries are like and unlike other kinds of commentaries.

Themistius: On Aristotle Physics 1-3

Themistius: On Aristotle Physics 1-3
Author: Themistius,
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2014-04-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1472501691

Themistius' treatment of Books 1-3 of Aristotle's Physics presents central features of Aristotle's thought about principles, causation, change and infinity. The tradition of synthesising and epitomising exegesis is here raised to a new level by the innovative method of paraphrase pioneered by Themistius. Taking a selective, but telling, account of the earlier Peripatetic and Presocratic tradition, Themistius creates a framework that can still be profitably used in the study of Aristotle. This volume contains the first English translation of Themistius' commentary, accompanied by a detailed introduction, extensive explanatory notes and a bibliography.

Natural Final Causality and Scholastic Thought

Natural Final Causality and Scholastic Thought
Author: Corey Barnes
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2024-08-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1040113192

This book examines scholastic conceptions of final causality through the methods and concerns of historical theology. It argues the history of final causality is most profitably understood according to the interplay of regularity, order, and intentionality as interpretive categories. Within this analytic framework, the author explores the history and theological implications of final causality from Aristotle to Nicole Oresme, utilizing shifts in the dominant interpretive category to clarify how final causality could change from one of four co-equal explanatory strategies in Aristotle to the cause of causes in Avicenna to a merely metaphorical cause in Walter Chatton. Theological debates – ranging from questions of creation, the relationship of primary and secondary causality and of the ultimate good to secondary goods, the autonomy or instrumentality of nature, and the compatibility of chance with providence – motivated many of these changes. The chapters examine final causality in Aristotle and the commentorial tradition from late antiquity to medieval Arabic sources and then consider in detail various scholastic understandings and uses of final causality. The book will be of particular interest to scholars of historical theology, systematic theology, scholastic thought, and medieval philosophy.

Mulla Sadra and Eschatology

Mulla Sadra and Eschatology
Author: Eiyad S. Al-Kutubi
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2014-09-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1317639065

The book explains Sadrā’s theory of the nature of afterlife. It presents Sadrā’s philosophical premises concerning the nature of human beings and their physical and psychological developments through which Sadrā shows how the afterlife is intimately connected to the nature of the human being and how it is a natural stage of the evolution of each individual in which a corporeal body has no role. Presenting Mullā Sadrā in a new light, the aim of this book is to investigate Sadrā’s metaphysical principles of the Return (al-ma‘ād) that have been either partially presented or misunderstood in most of the existing secondary literature. Focusing on Sadrā’s philosophical works, specifically the Asfār and his commentary on the Quran, this study demonstrates how Sadrā is a philosopher able to carry the premises of the previous philosophical theories to radically different conclusions. Mullā Sadrā and Eschatology demonstrates the manner in which Sadrā explains the Return as presented in the Quran and Hadith, but also shows how he presents the Return as a natural stage of the evolution of human beings in which a corporeal body has no role. Thus, Sadrā offers a plausible philosophical explanation to the problem of bodily resurrection that had occupied Muslim philosophers for centuries. Explaining Mullā Sadrā ‘s distinctive method of "doing" philosophy, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Islamic Philosophy, Religion and Islamic Studies more broadly.

Encyclopedia of Medieval Philosophy

Encyclopedia of Medieval Philosophy
Author: Henrik Lagerlund
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 1448
Release: 2010-12-07
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 140209728X

This is the first reference ever devoted to medieval philosophy. It covers all areas of the field from 500-1500 including philosophers, philosophies, key terms and concepts. It also provides analyses of particular theories plus cultural and social contexts.