The Ancient Commentators on Plato and Aristotle

337 Pages·2009·6.62 MB·English

by  Miira Tuominen

Th e Ancient Commentators
on Plato and Aristotle
Ancient Philosophies
Th is series provides fresh and engaging new introductions to the
major schools of philosophy of antiquity. Designed for students of
philosophy and classics, the books offer clear and rigorous presenta-
tion of core ideas and lay the foundation for a thorough understand-
ing of their subjects. Primary texts are handled in translation and the
readers are provided with useful glossaries, chronologies and guides
to the primary source material.
Published
Th e Ancient Commentators on Neoplatonism
Plato and Aristotle Pauliina Remes
Miira Tuominen
Presocratics
Ancient Scepticism James Warren
Harald Th orsrud
Stoicism
Cynics John Sellars
William Desmond
Forthcoming
Aristotle Indian Buddhist Philosophy
Vasilis Politis Amber Carpenter
Classical Islamic Philosophy Plato
Deborah Black Andrew Mason
Confucianism Socrates
Paul Goldin Mark McPherran
Epicureanism
Tim O’Keefe
Th e Ancient Commentators
on Plato and Aristotle
Miira Tuominen
First Published 2009 by Acumen
Published 2014 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor and Francis Group,
an informa business
© Miira Tuominen, 2009
Th is book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
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known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Notices
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knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds,
or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they
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To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors,
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contained in the material herein.
isbn: 978-1-84465-162-7 (hardcover)
isbn: 978-1-84465-163-4 (paperback)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
Typeset in Minion.
Contents
Acknowledgements vi
Abbreviations vii
Chronology ix
1. Introduction 1
2. Epistemology 41
3. Science and logic 70
4. Physics 118
5. Psychology: perception and intellect 158
6. Metaphysics 200
7. Ethics 237
8. Conclusion 280
Notes 288
Further reading 301
Bibliography 306
Index 320
v
Acknowledgements
Th is volume was mainly written during the time in which I had the privilege of concen-
trating on a book like this at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. Towards the
end of this project I had already started my job at the University of Jyväskylä. I would
like to thank my colleagues and superiors at both places.
When it comes to the content of the book, I would first like to express my gratitude to
the anonymous readers from whom I received constructive and insightful suggestions.
I am also deeply grateful to Monte Johnson, who agreed to read the whole manuscript.
All these comments greatly benefited the resulting book. Individual chapters were read
by Eyjólfur Emilsson, Sara Heinämaa, Simo Knuuttila and Pauliina Remes, and I would
like to thank them all warmly. I would also like to express my gratitude to Richard Sorabji
for encouraging my work on the commentators.
At Acumen, Steven Gerrard and Kate Williams have been most helpful and wonder-
fully patient to work with. I would also like to thank my language editor Robert Whiting,
whose comments I enjoyed very much. Some changes have been made aft er he com-
mented on the manuscript. All shortcomings in content and style are mine only.
On a more personal note, thank you Teemu for our discussions and simply for being
there for me. Finally, I had just started writing this book when my father passed away.
Hence it is perhaps one example of the consolation of philosophy.
vi
Abbreviations
Agathias
Hist. = Th e Histories
Alexander of Aphrodisias (Alex.Aphr.)
de An. = De anima (in CAG Suppl. II 1)
Fat. = De fato (in CAG Suppl. II.1)
in APr. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Prior Analytics (in CAG II 1)
in Metaph. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics (in CAG I)
in Mete. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Meteorology (in CAG III 2)
Quaest. = Quaestiones (in CAG Suppl. II 2)
in Sens. = Commentary on Aristotle’s De sensu (in CAG III 1)
in Top. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Topics (in CAG II 2)
Ammonius (Ammon.)
in APr. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Prior Analytics (in CAG IV 6)
in Cat. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Categories (in CAG IV 4)
in Isag. = Commentary on Porphyry’s Isagoge (in CAG IV 3)
Anonymous
in Cat. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Categories (in CAG XXIII 2)
Aristotle (Arist.)
de An. = De anima
APo. = Analytica Posteriora (Posterior Analytics)
APr. = Analytica Priora (Prior Analytics)
Cael. = De caelo
Cat. = Categoriae (Categories)
EN = Ethica Nicomachea (Nicomachean Ethics)
vii
the ancient commentators on plato and ar ist otle
Metaph. = Metaphysica (Metaphysics)
Mete. = Meteorologica (Meteorology)
PA = De partibus animalium (Parts of Animals)
Ph. = Physica (Physics)
Pol. = Politica (Politics)
SE = Sophistici elenchi (Sophistical Refutations)
Sens. = De sensu
Top. = Topica (Topics)
Arrian (Arr.)
Epict. = Epicteti Dissertationes
Asclepius (Ascl.)
in Metaph. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics (in CAG VI 2)
Aspasius (Asp.)
in EN = Commentary on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (in CAG XIX 1)
Boethius
in Cat. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Categories
in Isag. = Commentary on Porphyry’s Isagoge
CAG = Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca
Cicero (Cic.)
Fin. = De finibus
CLCAG = Corpus Latinorum commentarium in Aristotelem Graecorum
Dexippus
in Cat. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Categories (in CAG IV 2)
Diogenes Laertius (D.L.)
Elias/David
in Cat. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Categories (in CAG XVIII 1)
in Isag. = Commentary on Porphyry’s Isagoge (in CAG XVIII 1)
Erastius et al.
in EN = Commentary on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (in CAG XX)
Galen
Consuet. = Peri ethōn, Scripta minora, ed. Müller 1891
Libanius (Lib.)
Ep. = Epistulae
viii
abbr eviations
Marinus (Marin.)
Procl. = Vita Procli
Olympiodorus (Olymp.)
in Cat. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Categories (in CAG XII 1)
in Grg. = Commentary on Plato’s Gorgias
in Mete. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Meteorology (in CAG XII 2)
Philodemus (Phld.)
Acad.Hist. = History of the Academy
Philoponus (Phlp.)
in de An. = Commentary on Aristotle’s De anima (in CAG XV)
in APo. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics (in CAG XIII 3)
in APr. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Prior Analytics (in CAG XIII 2)
in Ph. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics (in CAG XVI, XVII)
Plato (Pl.)
Th t. = Th eaetetus
Ti. = Timaeus
Plotinus (Plot.)
Enn. = Enneads
Plutarch (Plu.)
Sull. = Sulla
Comm. not. = De communibus notitiis adversus Stoicos
Porphyry (Porph.)
in Cat. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Categories (in CAG IV 1)
in Harm. = Commentary on Ptolemy’s Harmonics, ed. Düring 1932
Isag. = Isagoge (in CAG IV 1)
Plot. = Life of Plotinus
Proclus (Procl.)
in Metaph. = Commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics
in Parm. = Commentary on Plato’s Parmenides, ed. Cousin 1864
in Ti. = Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus
Pseudo-Philoponus (ps.-Phlp.)
in de An. = Commentary on Aristotle’s De anima (in CAG XV)
Pseudo-Simplicius (ps.-Simp.)
in de An. = Commentary on Aristotle’s De anima (in CAG XI)
ix