Thinking being : introduction to metaphysics in the classical tradition /
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In Thinking Being , Eric Perl articulates central ideas and arguments regarding the nature of reality in Parmenides, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, and Aquinas. He shows that, throughout this tradition, these ideas proceed from and return to the indissoluble togetherness of thought and being, first clearly expressed by Parmenides. The emphasis throughout is on continuity rather than opposition: Aristotle appears as a follower of Plato in identifying being as intelligible form, and Aquinas as a follower of Plotinus in locating the first principle "beyond being". Hence Neoplatonism, itself a coherent development of Platonic thought, comes to be seen as the mainstream of classical philosophy. Perl's book thus contributes to a revisionist understanding of the fundamental outlines of the western tradition in metaphysics.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004265769 :
1871-188X ;
Collected Papers (1962-1999) /
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The papers collected in this volume deal mainly with ancient Greek or Roman philosophy. They range chronologically from the 5th century BC to the 6th century AD, and in them the evidence is fully presented and discussed. They are concerned mainly with the Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, the Early Academy, the Platonic and Aristotelian traditions, especially as represented by Neoplatonism. In addition, there are a few more general articles. The first deals with the saying "Amicus Plato sed magis amica veritas" and studies the different forms of this proverb from the time of Plato and Aristotle to Cervantes in the 17th century. Another one discusses the rather complex transmission of Plato's alleged epitaph. A third one deals in detail with an incomplete but interesting allegorical interpretation of Heliodorus' Aethiopica .
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004453289
9789004123045
Aesthetic value in classical antiquity /
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How do people respond to and evaluate their sensory experiences of the natural and man-made world? What does it mean to speak of the 'value' of aesthetic phenomena? And in evaluating human arts and artifacts, what are the criteria for success or failure? The sixth in a series exploring 'ancient values', this book investigates from a variety of perspectives aesthetic value in classical antiquity. The essays explore not only the evaluative concepts and terms applied to the arts, but also the social and cultural ideologies of aesthetic value itself. Seventeen chapters range from the 'life without the Muses' to 'the Sublime', and from philosophical views to middle-brow and popular aesthetics. Aesthetic value in classical antiquity should be of interest to classicists, cultural and art historians, and philosophers.
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Title from PDF title page (viewed on Oct. 2, 2012). :
1 online resource (484 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004232822 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Acheloios, Thales, and the origin of philosophy : a response to the neo-Marxians /
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Through careful analysis of the archaeological record, close reading of ancient sources, and deep investigations into the languages of our past, this study demonstrates the importance of the influence of the cult of Acheloios on Thales, fundamentally changing our understanding of the origin of the philosophical experience in 6th century Ionia.
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Also issued in print: 2022. :
1 online resource (x, 238 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour). :
Specialized. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9781803270876 (PDF ebook) :
A textual history of Cicero's Academici libri /
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This book addresses the problems surrounding Cicero's Academici Libri , including why the work exists in two different editions, why and when the work became fragmentary, and how it managed to survive. It achieves this by tracing the history and influence of the work from Antiquity to the present day. The main part of the book studies the manuscript tradition of the work. All extant manuscripts are fully described and their textual relationships are established. Historical information is assessed in order to show the part which manuscripts played in intellectual life, conclusions are reached on the archetype of the work and a full stemma of the tradition is built. The book contains a wealth of bibliographical information and will serve as a base for further study in the transmission of Cicero's works.
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1 online resource (xv, 341 pages, 4 pages of plates) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 299-305) and indexes. :
9789004351493 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Theoria, praxis, and the contemplative life after Plato and Aristotle /
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Studies of the notion of theoria and of the contemplative life have often been restricted to Plato and Aristotle. This volume shows that aspirations to contemplation and the life of the intellect survived long after the classical period, turning into topics of heated debates, powerful arguments and original applications throughout the Hellenistic, imperial, and late antique periods. The introduction attempts to reconstruct all the problems pertaining to the contemplative life in Antiquity, and the twelve papers, written by distinguished scholars, offer a thorough study of the appropriation, criticism and transformation of Plato's and Aristotle's positions on the contemplative life, including its epistemological and metaphysical foundation. The volume ranges from Theophrastus to the end of Antiquity, including Jewish and Christian authors, with a focus on Platonism from Cicero to Damascius.
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1 online resource (306 pages) :
9789004230040 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Syntax of Time : The Phenomenology of Time in Greek Physics and Speculative Logic from Iamblichus to Anaximander /
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The fourth century Neoplatonist Iamblichus, interpreting Plotinus on the topic of time, incorporates a 'diagram of time' that bears comparison to the figure of double continuity drawn by Husserl in his studies of time. Using that comparison as a bridge, this book seeks a phenomenological recovery of Greek thought about time. It argues that the feature of motion that the word 'time' designates in Greek differs from what most modern scholarship has assumed, that the very phenomenon of time has been misidentified for centuries. This leads to corrective readings of Plotinus, Aristotle, Parmenides, and Heraclitus, all looking back to the final phrase of the fragment of Anaximander, from which this volume takes its title: "according to the syntax of time.".
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047408390
9789004147126
Epicurean meteorology : sources, method, scope and organization /
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In Epicurean Meteorology Frederik Bakker discusses the meteorology as laid out by Epicurus (341-270 BCE) and Lucretius (1st century BCE). Although in scope and organization their ideas are clearly rooted in the Peripatetic tradition, their meteorology sets itself apart from this tradition by its systematic use of multiple explanations and its sole reliance on sensory evidence as opposed to mathematics and other axiomatic principles. Through a thorough investigation of the available evidence Bakker offers an updated and qualified account of Epicurean meteorology, arguing against Theophrastus' authorship of the Syriac meteorology , highlighting the originality of Lucretius' treatment of mirabilia , and refuting the oft-repeated claim that the Epicureans held the earth to be flat.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004321588 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Brill's companion to Leo Strauss' writings on classical political thought /
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Brill's Companion to Leo Strauss' Writings on Classical Political Thought offers clear, accessible essays to assist a new generation of readers in their introduction to Strauss' writings on the ancients, and to deepen the understanding of those who have already benefitted from his work. Strauss rediscovered esoteric writing. His careful explications of works by classical thinkers- of Socratic political philosophy, pre-Socratic philosophers, and of poets tragic and comic-have therefore opened those works up in a way that had been lost for centuries. Yet Strauss' writings, especially his later works, make considerable demands on any reader. These essays are written by scholars who bring to bear on their reading of Strauss many years of study.
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1 online resource (xiii, 480 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004299832 :
2213-1426 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Heresiography in context : Hippolytus' Elenchos as a source for Greek philosophy /
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The study of the Elenchos (c. 225 CE) involves the whole range of ancient interpretative traditions concerned with Greek Philosophy, from Aristotle to the Late Neoplatonists. The present inquiry places Hippolytus' important reports about the Greek philosophers in the context of these traditions and so is able to illuminate not only what he has to offer but also to increase our knowledge of the traditions he depends on. For him the Pythagoreanizing current in Pre-Neoplatonism is of paramount importance. Accordingly, he constructs a succession ( diadoche ) starting with Pythagoras and including Empedocles, Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics, and argues that the diadoche of the Gnostic heresiarchs is parasitical on its Pythagorean predecessor. A new assessment of the sources used - the first serious attempt since that of Diels in 1879 - hinges on an analysis of Hippolytus' method of presentation, which is a blend of cento and exegesis geared to his anti-Gnostic purpose.
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1 online resource (xvii, 391 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 332-357) and index. :
9789004320765 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Pleasure and the good life : Plato, Aristotle, and the Neoplatonists /
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This volume deals with the general theory of pleasure of Plato and his successors. The first part describes the two paradigms between which all theories of pleasure oscillate: Plato's definition of pleasure as the repletion of a lack, and Aristotle's view that pleasure is the perfect performance of an activity. After an excursus on Epicureans and Stoics, the book concentrates on Neoplatonism, opposing the 'standard Neoplatonic view' of Plotinus and Proclus to the original viewpoint of Damascius' commentary on Plato's Philebus . The volume sheds light on the discussion between hedonists and anti-hedonists, by concentrating on the 'crucial point' at which any philosophical analysis of the good life (hedonistic or other) ought to argue that the life of the philosopher is the most desirable, and thus truly pleasurable, life.
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1 online resource (x, 207 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-194) and indexes. :
9789004321106 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Meister Eckharts Rezeption im Nationalsozialismus : Studien zur ideologischen Ambivalenz der ›deutschen‹ Mystik /
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Wohl kein mittelalterlicher Autor hat im Laufe der Jahrhunderte eine größere Faszination auf seine Leser ausgeübt als Meister Eckhart. Die besondere Universalität und Weite seines mystisch-theologischen Denkens hat ihn jedoch auch immer wieder zur Projektionsfläche für ideologisch motivierte Interpretationen aller Art gemacht. Der vorliegende Band beleuchtet die Rezeption, die Eckharts Mystik in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus erfahren hat. Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei die verschiedenen und teilweise widersprüchlichen Versuche, Eckhart zum Begründer eines "germanischen Christentums" bzw. eines "deutschen Glaubens" zu stilisieren und ihn in polemischer Weise gegen das Judentum, aber auch gegen die Katholische Kirche in Stellung zu bringen. Meister Eckhart is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating medieval authors, who has appealed to a wide audience across the centuries. At the same time, the extraordinary universality and openness of his mystical-theological approach has repeatedly made him the object of all kinds of ideological projections and misinterpretations. The present volume examines the reception of Eckhart's mysticism in the era of National Socialism. The main focus is put on the different and sometimes contradictory attempts to present Eckhart as the founder of "Germanic Christianity" or "German faith" and as a visceral opponent of both Judaism and the Catholic Church.
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Der vorliegende Sammelband analysiert die diversen Formen einer ideologisch motivierten Instrumentalisierung von Meister Eckharts Mystik in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus und bietet darüber hinaus auch ganz neues, bislang noch unveröffentlichtes Quellenmaterial zu den institutionellen Hintergründen der Eckhart-Rezeption im Dritten Reich.This volume analyses the various forms of ideological instrumentalization Meister Eckhart's mysticism has been subject to during the era of National Socialism. Furthermore, the volume includes hitherto unpublished source material concerning the institutional background of Eckhart's reception in the Third Reich. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004519343
9789004517622
At the crossroads of Greco-Roman history, culture, and religion : papers in memory of Carin M.C. Green /
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'At the Crossroads of Greco-Roman History, Culture, and Religion' brings together recent research from a range of upcoming and well-established scholars to demonstrate the richness of the cross-cultural exchange of ideas around the ancient Mediterranean along with the reception of and continuing dialogues with these ideas in the medieval and modern worlds. The crossroads theme both honours the memory of our late colleague and friend Carin M.C. Green, who published an important text on the cult of Diana - one of whose aspects was Trivia, the goddess of crossroads - and emphasises how each encounter of new topic or genre forces the reader to pause and think before proceeding down the new path.
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Festschrift for Carin M.C. Green.
Previously issued in print: 2018. :
1 online resource (xxiv, 276 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour) :
Specialized. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9781789690149 (ebook) :
Assent and argument : studies in Cicero's Academic books : proceedings of the 7th Symposium Hellenisticum (Utrecht, August 21-25, 1995) /
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Cicero's philosophical works are a rich source for the understanding of Hellenistic philosophy, and his Academic Books are of critical importance for the study of ancient epistemology, especially the central debate between the Academic sceptics and the Stoics. This volume makes Cicero's challenging work accessible to philosophers and historians of philosophy and represents the best current work in both fields. The ten papers published here are the work of leading authorities from North America, England and Europe; they were presented and discussed at the seventh Symposium Hellenisticum at Utrecht, August 1995, and deal with every aspect of the Academic Books , historical, literary and philosophical. Several papers make major contributions to the understanding of ancient scepticism and sceptical arguments, to the role of Socrates in later Greek thought, to the history of the Academy as an institution, and to the philosophical stance of Cicero himself.
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1 online resource (xi, 326 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004321014 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Time's Causal Power : Proclus and the Natural Theology of Time /
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This is the first monograph dedicated entirely to Proclus' theory of time, showing the roots of his obscure claim that time is a god and a cause in his reception of Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics and Plotinus. Proclus' theory of time appears as a natural theology, a reasoned ascent to divine principles starting from natural phenomena (in particular, from natural cycles and their synchronization). This theological approach to time develops the pioneering psychological approach of Proclus' predecessor Plotinus, anchoring time not in the world soul, but in the divine unchanging source of the world soul's life.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004466685
9789004466678
Wort und Wandlung : Senecas Lebenskunst /
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The most important medium of Seneca's Lebenskunst is language. We first change the meaning of words through philosophical reflection; then we can change ourselves through language. Each chapter in this book takes linguistic or stylistic observations in texts as starting point (e.g. metaphors from the domains of health, finance, and sea-faring). Topics are man's self-definition in time and place and his relation to property, learning, and tradition. Single words and rhetorical patterns guide us in constructing an inner world and to find our own identity. Texts in Latin and in translation document Seneca's importance for modern, Christian Europe.
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1 online resource (236 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [221]-229) and index. :
9789047413998 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Olympiodorus of Alexandria : Exegete, Teacher, Platonic Philosopher /
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This is the first collected volume dedicated to the work of the 6th-century CE philosopher Olympiodorus of Alexandria. His Platonic commentaries are rare witnesses to ancient views on Plato's Socratic works. As a pagan, Olympiodorus entertained a complex relationship with his predominantly Christian surroundings. The contributors address his profile as a Platonic philosopher, the ways he did and did not adapt his teaching to his Christian audience, his reflections on philosophical exegesis and communication and his thinking on self-cognition. The volume as a whole helps us understand the development of Platonic philosophy at the end of antiquity.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004466708
9789004466692
The regime of Demetrius of Phalerum in Athens, 317-307 BCE : a philosopher in politics /
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Erudite and urbane, a scion of the Peripatos, Demetrius of Phalerum dominated Athenian political life for a decade (317-307 B.C.E.) with Macedonian support. Viewed by some as the embodiment of the longed-for 'philosopher-king', Demetrius has been seen a test case for the interplay of philosophical training and political praxis in antiquity. This book, through a close re-examination of the fragmentary and diffuse testimonia for Demetrius' decade, argues that such a view misunderstands his legislative, constitutional and financial reforms, which should rather be seen within the context of Macedonian suzerainty, Athenian self-interest, and contemporary social changes. Such a context also affords a better understanding of the dynamic relations between the Macedonian generals and the preeminent Greek city at the dawn of the Hellenistic era.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047441236 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.