Soul and Mind in Greek Thought. Psychological Issues in Plato and Aristotle

252 Pages·2018·3.27 MB·English

by  Marcelo D. Boeri

Studies in the History of Philosophy of Mind 20
Marcelo D. Boeri · Yasuhira Y. Kanayama 
Jorge Mittelmann E ditors
Soul and Mind in
Greek Thought.
Psychological
Issues in Plato
and Aristotle
Studies in the History of Philosophy of Mind
Volume 20
Series Editors
Henrik Lagerlund, The University of Western Ontario, Canada
Mikko Yrjönsuuri, Academy of Finland and University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Board of Consulting Editors
Lilli Alanen, Uppsala University, Sweden
Joël Biard, University of Tours, France
Michael Della Rocca, Yale University, U.S.A.
Eyjólfur Emilsson, University of Oslo, Norway
André Gombay, University of Toronto, Canada
Patricia Kitcher, Columbia University, U.S.A.
Simo Knuuttila, University of Helsinki, Finland
Béatrice M. Longuenesse, New York University, U.S.A.
Calvin Normore, University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/6539
Marcelo D. Boeri • Yasuhira Y. Kanayama
Jorge Mittelmann
Editors
Soul and Mind in Greek
Thought. Psychological
Issues in Plato and Aristotle
Editors
Marcelo D. Boeri Yasuhira Y. Kanayama
Instituto de Filosofía Graduate School of Humanities
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Nagoya University
Santiago, Chile Nagoya, Japan
Jorge Mittelmann
Instituto de Filosofía
Universidad de los Andes
Santiago, Chile
Studies in the History of Philosophy of Mind
ISBN 978-3-319-78546-2 ISBN 978-3-319-78547-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78547-9
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Contents
1 General Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Marcelo D. Boeri and Yasuhira Y. Kanayama
Part I Plato
2 The Influence of the ‘Honeyed Muse’ (ἡδυσμένη Μοῦσα)
Over the Soul in Plato’s Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Barbara Botter
3 Socrates on Punishment and the Law: Apology 25c5-26b2 . . . . . . . . . 37
Thomas C. Brickhouse and Nicholas D. Smith
4 Why Didn’t Socrates Escape? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Mariko Kanayama
5 Plato’s Wax Tablet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Yasuhira Y. Kanayama
6 Politics of the Soul in Plato’s Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Iván de los Ríos
Part II P lato, Aristotle, and Commentators on Aristotle
7 Platonic Souls in the Cave: Are They Only Rational? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Ivana Costa
8 Plato and Aristotle On What Is Common to Soul
and Body. Some Remarks on a Complicated Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Marcelo D. Boeri
9 The Causal Structure of Emotions in Aristotle:
Hylomorphism, Causal Interaction between
Mind and Body, and Intentionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Gabriela Rossi
v
vi Contents
10 Another Dissimilarity between Moral Virtue and Skills:
An Interpretation of Nicomachean Ethics II 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Javier Echeñique
11 To Be Handled with Care: Alexander on Nature
as a Passive Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Jorge Mittelmann
12 Themistius on the Human Intellect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Manuel Correia
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
List of Abbreviations
Adv. Iul. Galen, Against Julian
APo. Aristotle, Posterior Analytics
Cat. Aristotle, Categories
Chrm. Plato, Charmides
Cra. Plato, Cratylus
Cri. Plato, Crito
de An. Aristotle, On the Soul
de An. Alexander of Aphrodisias, de Anima libri Mantissa
EE Aristotle, Eudemian Ethics
EN Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
Euthphr. Plato, Euthyphro
GA Aristotle, On the Generation of Animals
GC Aristotle, On the Generation and Corruption
Grg. Plato, Gorgias
In de An. Ps. Philoponus, Commentary on Aristotle’s On the Soul
In de An. Ps. Simplicius, Commentary on Aristotle’s On the Soul
In de An. Sophonias, Paraphrases on Aristotle’s On the Soul
In de An. Themistius, Paraphrases on Aristotle’s On the Soul
In Sens. Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Aristotle’s On sense
Insomn. Aristotle, On Dreams
Juv. Aristotle, On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death
Leg. Alleg. Philo, Allegorical Interpretation
Lg. Plato, Laws
M Sextus Empiricus, Against the Professors
MA Aristotle, On Movement of Animals
Metaph. Aristotle, Metaphysics
PA Aristotle, On Parts of Animals
Ph. Aristotle, Physics
Phd. Plato, Phaedo
Phlb. Plato, Philebus
Po. Aristotle, Poetics
vii
viii List of Abbreviations
Pol. Aristotle, Politics
QD Philo, On the Unchangeableness of God
R. Plato, Republic
Resp. Aristotle, On Respiration
Rh. Aristotle, Rhetoric
Sens. Aristotle, On Sense and Sensibilia
Smp. Plato, Symposium
Somn. Vig. Aristotle, On Sleep
Sph. Plato, Sophist
Top. Aristotle, Topics
Tht. Plato, Theaetetus
Tim. Plato, Timaeus
Chapter 1
General Introduction
Marcelo D. Boeri and Yasuhira Y. Kanayama
Abstract Although philosophy of mind is a hot topic in contemporary philosophy,
Ancient theories of the mind are not usually taken into consideration. In this
Introduction we briefly focus on some of the reasons why the Ancient conceptions
of the mind tend not to be considered seriously any more. We try to account for why
it is still reasonable to study some theories that apparently have been overcome by
contemporary science of the mind. Although one can grant that Ancient theories of
the mind may not be a starting point for a contemporary philosopher of mind, we
suggest that the approaches of the Ancient philosophers still provide insights to
those who are interested in investigating the mind-body problem. Ancient discus-
sions of the mind, we hold, should not be taken as archeological pieces that can be
easily neglected. Even though we recognize that some ingredients of Ancient theo-
ries in fact are ‘archeological’ (especially those elements related to physiological
aspects), we hold that their philosophical analysis, inasmuch as it can contribute to
clarifying problems that have not been resolved yet, can be dealt with seriously.
Finally, this Introduction also describes briefly the contents of this book.
1.1 Agreements and Disagreements Between the Ancient
Greek ‘Soul’ and the Contemporary ‘Mind’
Philosophy of mind is a hot topic in contemporary philosophy. In the last four or five
decades an enormous amount of papers and books, discussing what the mind is, its
role in knowledge, action, and so on, have been published. For the most part, those
M. D. Boeri (*)
Instituto de Filosofía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
e-mail: [email protected]
Y. Y. Kanayama
Graduate School of Humanities, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
e-mail: [email protected]
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 1
M. D. Boeri et al. (eds.), Soul and Mind in Greek Thought. Psychological Issues
in Plato and Aristotle, Studies in the History of Philosophy of Mind 20,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78547-9_1