The letter before the spirit : the importance of text editions for the study of the reception of Aristotle /
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The Letter before the Spirit contains original articles based on the papers given at the Huygens ING (The Hague, 2009) on the importance of text editions for the study of the transmission of Aristotle's works in the Semitico-Latin translations and their commentary tradition in the medieval world. Authors underline this importance in general overviews and theoretical outlines and present their own work on various text editions, ranging from Syriac and Arabic to Hebrew and (Graeco) Latin, and from Aristotle, Avicenna and Averroes to Plotinus, Michael Scot, William of Moerbeke, Judah ha-Kohen, Barhebraeus and Albertus Magnus. Editors are further encouraged to cross boundaries between disciplines and study the translation tradition of Aristotle's works in its entirety.
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1 online resource (xxi, 516 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004235083 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Plato and myth : studies on the use and status of platonic myths /
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This volume seeks to show how the philosophy of Plato relates to the literary form of his discourse. Myth is one aspect of this relation whose importance for the study of Plato is only now beginning to be recognized. Reflection on this topic is essential not only for understanding Plato's conception of philosophy and its methods, but also for understanding more broadly the relation between philosophy and literature. The twenty chapters of this volume, contributed by scholars of diverse backgrounds and approaches, elucidate the various uses and statuses of Platonic myths in the first place by reflecting on myth per se and in the second place by focusing on a specific myth in the Platonic corpus.
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1 online resource (488 pages) :
9789004224360 :
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 :
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Studies on Plato, Aristotle, and Proclus : collected essays on ancient philosophy of John Cleary /
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John J. Cleary (1949-2009) was an internationally recognised authority in many aspects of ancient philosophy. As well as penetrating and original studies of Plato, Aristotle, and Proclus, he was particularly interested in the philosophy of mathematics, and ancient theories of education. The essays included in this collection display Cleary's range of expertise and originality of approach. Cleary was especially attentive to the problems involved in the interpretation of a philosophical text: in his reading of Plato he recognised the special status of dialogue as a privileged mode of philosophical writing. His underlying concern was the open-ended character of philosophy itself, to be pursued with intellectual rigour and respect both for the question and one's interlocutor. These collected essays are representative of John Cleary's philosophical life's work.
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Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 20, 2013). :
1 online resource (xxix, 609 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004247840 :
1871-188X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Iamblichus and the foundations of late platonism /
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Iamblichus of Chalcis (c. 240-c. 325 C.E.), successor to Plotinus and Porphyry, gave new life to Neoplatonism with his many philosophical and religious refinements. Once regarded as a religio-magical quack, Iamblichus is now seen as a philosophical innovator who harmonized not only Platonic philosophy with religious ritual but also Platonism with the ancient philosophical and religious tradition. Building on recent scholarship on Iamblichean philosophy, the ten papers in this volume explore various aspects of Iamblichus' oeuvre. These papers help show that Iamblichus re-invented Neoplatonism and made it the major school of philosophy for centuries after his death.
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Includes index. :
1 online resource. :
9789004230118 :
1871-188X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
L'aporie ou l'expérience des limites de la pensée dans le Péri Archôn de Damaskios.
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The radical aporetism of the treatise on first principles written by the Neoplatonic philosopher Damascius may be understood as a unique approach to understand, in different ways and on an extremely high and abstract level, not only these principles but also ourselves as thinkers. In the quest to grasp ultimate reality, this treatise is also a deep reflection on the processes and limitations of human thought in relation to supreme principles. Damascius uncovers the many concealed snares of language, the limitations of our cognitive apparatus, and the common misconceptions about first principles, thereby revealing the underlying reasons for our aporias as well as their protreptic meaning and redeeming function. This study offers a new and positive reading of Damascius' equally extreme and fascinating aporetic philosophy. L'aporétique radicale du traité des Principes Premiers du néoplatonicien Damaskios doit être comprise comme étant l'unique voie d'accès vers une compréhension différente, supérieure et purifiée des principes premiers et de nous-mêmes. Autant qu'une quête des réalités primordiales, ce traité est une réflexion sur les processus et les limites de la pensée humaine dans ses rapports avec les principes premiers. Ce présent livre montre les raisons du surgissement de telles apories, leur sens et leur rôle paradoxalement salvateur en dénonçant les plus hautes imperfections de nos discours, les pièges insoupçonnés de nos mécanismes cognitifs et l'inadéquation funeste de nos conceptions concernant les premiers principes. Le résultat est un regard neuf et une compréhension dédramatisée de cette aporétique extrême et fascinante.
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1.1. Statut et position de la connaissance. :
1 online resource (530 pages) :
9789004216129 :
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Protagoras of Abdera : the man, his measure.
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Protagoras of Abdera, Socrates' older contemporary, is regarded as one of the most prominent representatives of the so-called sophistic movement. Instead of simply accepting the biased reports given by Plato and Aristotle about this sophist, the contributors to this volume review the complicated doxographical situation and make a case for Protagoras as a philosopher in his own right. Two major themes of this volume are Protagoras' relativism and his case for a moral and political ideal, both of which are contrasted with the metaphysical idealism of his future opponents in the Academy and the mundane conventionalism typically associated with the sophists. It turns out that rather than a parasitic force of intellectual subversion, Protagoras may have been a prolific and original thinker aiming at a coherent and comprehensive view of man's place in the world.
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1 online resource (344 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004251243 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Plutarch in the religious and philosophical discourse of late antiquity /
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The works of Plutarch, notably his Moralia , provide us with exceptional evidence to reconstruct the spiritual and intellectual atmosphere of the first centuries CE. As a priest of Apollo at Delphi, Plutarch was a first range witness of ancient religious experience; as a Middle Platonist, he was also actively involved in the developments of the philosophical school. Besides, he also provided a more detached point of view both regarding numerous religious practices and currents that were permeating the building of ancient pagan religion and the philosophical views of other schools. His combining the insider and the sensitive observer's perspectives make Plutarch a crucial starting point for the understanding of the religious and philosophical discourse of Late Antiquity.
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Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 3, 2012).
Papers from the XI Congress of the International Plutarch Society held June 2010. :
1 online resource (xv, 304 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004236851 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.