John Philoponus' Criticism of Aristotle's Theory of Aether
Author: Christian Wildberg
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Published: 1988
Total Pages: 300
ISBN-13: 9783110104462
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: Christian Wildberg
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Published: 1988
Total Pages: 300
ISBN-13: 9783110104462
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: Christian Wildberg
Publisher:
Published: 1988-01-01
Total Pages: 274
ISBN-13: 9780899254456
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: Uwe Michael Lang
Publisher: Peeters Publishers
Published: 2001
Total Pages: 282
ISBN-13: 9789042910249
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →On the eve of the Council of Constantinople in 553, John Philoponus, the Alexandrian philosopher and prolific commentator on Aristotle, entered the controversy over the Chalcedonian definition of faith. By clarifying the terms of the debate, he intended to lay the groundwork for a defence of miaphysitism as the appropriate way of understanding the Incarnation. This monograph elucidates the argument of Philoponus' Arbiter by locating it within the Christological discussions of the fifth and sixth centuries and by highlighting its indebtedness to the Neoplatonic commentators on Aristotle. The Christian reception of an Aristotelian philosophy in the sixth century facilitated the emergence of a 'scholastic' theology, of which Philoponus is an important representative. The reader will also find here a treatment of a number of philological and historical issues concerning Philoponus' Christological writings, an English translation of the Arbiter, and a critical edition of newly discovered Greek fragments of this work.
Author: Mark Edwards
Publisher: A&C Black
Published: 2014-04-10
Total Pages: 225
ISBN-13: 1780934351
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Book 3 of Aristotle's Physics primarily concerns two important concepts for his theory of nature: change and infinity. Change is important because, in Book 2, he has defined nature - the subject-matter of the Physics - as an internal source of change. Much of his discussion is dedicated to showing that the change occurs in the patient which undergoes it, not in the agent which causes it. Thus Book 3 is an important step in clearing the way for Book 8's claims for a divine mover who causes change but in whom no change occurs. The second half of Book 3 introduces Aristotle's doctrine of infinity as something which is always potential, never actual, never traversed and never multiplied. Here, as elsewhere, Philoponus the Christian turns Aristotle's own infinity arguments against the pagan Neoplatonist belief in a beginningless universe. Such a universe, Philoponus replies, would involve actual infinity of past years already traversed, and a multiple number of past days. The commentary also contains intimations of the doctrine of impetus - which has been regarded, in its medieval context, as a scientific revolution - as well as striking examples of Philoponus' use of thought experiments to establish philosophical and broadly scientific conclusions.
Author: Philoponus,
Publisher: A&C Black
Published: 2014-04-22
Total Pages: 231
ISBN-13: 147250139X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Until the launch of this series over fifteen years ago, the 15,000 volumes of the ancient Greek commentators on Aristotle, written mainly between 200 and 600 AD, constituted the largest corpus of extant Greek philosophical writings not translated into English or other European languages. This text by Philoponus rejects accounts of soul, or as we would say of mind, which define it as moving, as cognitive, or in physical terms. Chapter 3 considers Aristotle's attack on the idea that the soul is in motion. This was an attack partly on his teacher, Plato, since Plato defines the soul as self-moving. Philoponus agrees with Aristotle's attack on the idea that a thing must be in motion in order to cause motion. But he offers what may be Ammonius' interpretation of Plato's apparently physicalistic account of the soul in the Timaeus as symbolic. What we would call the mind-body relation is the subject of Chapter 4. Plato and Aristotle attacked a physicalistic theory of soul, which suggested it was the blend, ratio, or harmonious proportion of ingredients in the body.Philoponus attacked the theory too, but we learn from him that Epicurus had defended it. In Chapter 5, Philoponus endorses Aristotle's rejection of the idea that the soul is particles and of Empedocles' idea that the soul must be made of all four elements in order to know what is made of the same elements. He also rejects, with Aristotle, definitions of the soul as moving or cognitive as ignoring lower forms of life. He finally discusses Aristotle's rejection of Plato's localisation of parts of the soul in parts of the body, but asks if new knowledge of the brain and the nerves do not require some kind of localisation.
Author: Philoponus,
Publisher: A&C Black
Published: 2014-04-22
Total Pages: 145
ISBN-13: 1472501683
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Aristotle's Meteorology influenced generations of speculation about the earth sciences, ranging from atmospheric phenomena to earthquakes. The commentary of John Philoponus (6th century AD) on the opening three chapters of Meteorology is here translated for the first time into English by Dr Inna Kupreeva, building on the work of L.G. Westerink. Philoponus, who today is increasingly respected as a philosopher in his own right, here engages critically with Aristotle's views about the building-blocks of our world, its size and relationship to other heavenly bodies, and reception of warmth from the sun. The translation in this volume is accompanied by a detailed introduction, extensive commentary notes and a bibliography.
Author: C.J.F. Williams
Publisher: A&C Black
Published: 2014-04-10
Total Pages: 206
ISBN-13: 1780938683
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The first five chapters of Aristotle's De Generatione et Corruptione distinguish creation and destruction from mere qualitative change and from growth. They include a fascinating debate about the atomists' analysis of creation and destruction as due to the rearrangement of indivisible atoms. Aristotle's rival belief in the infinite divisibility of matter is explained and defended against the atomists' powerful attack on infinite divisibility. But what inspired Philoponus most in his commentary is the topic of organic growth. How does it take place without ingested matter getting into the same place as the growing body? And how is personal identity preserved, if our matter is always in flux, and our form depends on our matter? If we do not depend on the persistence of matter why are we not immortal? Analogous problems of identity arise also for inanimate beings. Philoponus draws out a brief remark of Aristotle's to show that cause need not be like effect. For example, what makes something hard may be cold, not hard. This goes against a persistent philosophical prejudice, but Philoponus makes it plausible that Aristotle recognized this truth. These topics of identity over time and the principles of causation are still matters of intense discussion.
Author: Liba Taub
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2017-04-03
Total Pages: 211
ISBN-13: 110813260X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →We access Greek and Roman scientific ideas mainly through those texts which happen to survive. By concentrating only on the ideas conveyed, we may limit our understanding of the meaning of those ideas in their historical context. Through considering the diverse ways in which scientific ideas were communicated, in different types of texts, we can uncover otherwise hidden meanings and more fully comprehend the historical contexts in which those ideas were produced and shared, the aims of the authors and the expectations of ancient readers. Liba Taub explores the rich variety of formats used to discuss scientific, mathematical and technical subjects, from c.700 BCE to the sixth century CE. Each chapter concentrates on a particular genre - poetry, letter, encyclopaedia, commentary and biography - offering an introduction to Greek and Roman scientific ideas, while using a selection of ancient writings to focus on the ways in which we encounter them.
Author: David Sedley
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2003-07-31
Total Pages: 416
ISBN-13: 9780521775038
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Philosophy is a wide-ranging 2003 introduction to the study of philosophy in the ancient world. A team of leading specialists surveys the developments of the period and evaluates a comprehensive series of major thinkers, ranging from Pythagoras to Epicurus. There are also separate chapters on how philosophy in the ancient world interacted with religion, literature and science, and a final chapter traces the seminal influence of Greek and Roman philosophy down to the seventeenth century. Practical elements such as tables, illustrations, a glossary, and extensive advice on further reading make it an ideal book to accompany survey courses on the history of ancient philosophy. It will be an invaluable guide for all who are interested in the philosophical thought of this rich and formative period.