Category Archives: Books

Books

Dionysios von Alexandria. De natura (περὶ φύσεως)

Bram Roosen

Bischof Dionysios von Alexandria (etwa 190-265) war für die Geschichte der Kirche von überragender Bedeutung. Wie sein Lehrer Origenes fungierte auch er als Leiter der sogenannten Alexandriner Katechetenschule. Unter seinen literarischen Hinterlassenschaften, überwiegend Briefe, findet sich die aus mehreren Büchern bestehende Schrift περὶ φύσεως (de natura).

Dieses einzig bekannte philosophische Werk des Dionysios ist uns im Wesentlichen durch Auszüge aus dem ersten Buch bei Eusebius überliefert. Das Erhaltene stellt eine Polemik gegen die epikureische Physik dar. Dionysios verteidigt die Vorsehung, indem er Epikurs Atomismus anhand von Alltagsbeispielen, der Harmonie des Kosmos und des menschlichen Körpers zu destruieren sucht und die Defizite seiner Gottesvorstellung aufzeigt. Der Abhandlung gebührt ein besonderer Platz unter den Erzeugnissen der christlichen Literatur, insofern nur hier die physikalischen Grundlagen von Epikurs Philosophie unter Einbezug christlicher Elemente in einem größeren Rahmen widerlegt werden.

Ein neuer Kommentar zu περὶ φύσεως des Dionysios bildet die Grundlage für eine umfassende Würdigung und Einordnung, wobei insbesondere eine Neuentdeckung zur Repräsentativität des Erhaltenen die Frage nach dem Charakter der Gesamtschrift virulent werden lässt. Da die anti-epikureischen Einlassungen in περὶ φύσεως auf eine zu Dionysios‘ Zeit noch vorhandene Vitalität des Epikureismus in Alexandria hindeuten, wurde zur breiteren Kontextualisierung auch erstmalig eine profunde Gesamtdarstellung der `Geschichte des Epikureismus in Alexandria´ unternommen und einleitend vorangestellt.

Books

Apuleius and the Metamorphoses of Platonism

Bram Roosen

Apuleius was a respected philosophus Platonicus in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Until the middle of last century, he attracted the attention of scholars as a so-called ‘Middle Platonist’ author. Then, with the rejection of the historical schema that he had been situated in (the so-called ‘school of Gaius’, which we will treat shortly), his ‘brother’ Alcinous was the object of studies and (even harsh) criticisms, while almost nothing more was written about Apuleius by anyone. Studies of Middle Platonism primarily accentuated the liberty of the philosophers of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, who interpreted the doctrines of Plato without constituting a specific school. Due to this new vision of Middle Platonism, Apuleius’ role was difficult to define. It is not uncommon to find that Apuleius the philosopher is completely neglected . The literary character, and especially the ‘rhetorical’ nature of some of his works and of his personality have probably hurt his reputation in philosophy. These aspects of his personality have however been ever more accentuated in the last few decades within the development of studies on Second Sophistics.

Consequently not only have there been few scholars to show interest for Apuleius’ philosophical doctrines, but those few who have the opportunity to almost manage his philosophical doctrines usually disregard his literary works. In this way one cannot understand the most specific aspect of his philosophy, which consists in a sort of intermingling of philosophy and literature (a typical attitude of Greek and Latin culture of the 2nd century AD), and above all, of religion and Platonism. The dichotomy between philosophy and literature that was normal in the 19th and 20th centuries therefore still persists in the case of Apuleius. Claudio Moreschini attempted in some way to fill this gap in his 1978 study on Apuleio e il Platonismo. It was obviously in vain. Accordingly, in this book he would like to reflect on the possibility of a synthesis between these two aspects.

 

Books

Grasp and dissent: Cicero and Epicurean Philosophy

Bram Roosen

The present study centers on the distinctive characteristics of Cicero’s philosophical training; for the first time in a volume, the Roman philosopher’s relationship with Epicurean philosophy is accurately recreated. Not only does Cicero exhibit his lofty philosophical proficiency anchored in the Academic school, but he also proves an excellent authority in Epicurus’s proposed philosophy.
At the conclusion of the research, Cicero will prove to be a fierce opponent of Epicureanism – an intelligent adversary, capable of ‘studiose dicere contra Epicurum’: understanding and criticizing, but also (and this is surely quite important for us today), reiterating the opposing party’s thought with great acumen.

Books

Clitophon’s Challenge: Dialectic in Plato’s Meno, Phaedo, and Republic

John Priest

Hugh H. Benson explores Plato’s answer to Clitophon’s challenge, the question of how one can acquire the knowledge Socrates argues is essential to human flourishing-knowledge we all seem to lack. Plato suggests two methods by which this knowledge may be gained: the first is learning from those who already have the knowledge one seeks, and the second is discovering the knowledge one seeks on one’s own.

The book begins with a brief look at some of the Socratic dialogues where Plato appears to recommend the former approach while simultaneously indicating various difficulties in pursuing it. The remainder of the book focuses on Plato’s recommendation in some of his most important and central dialogues-the Meno, Phaedo, and Republic-for carrying out the second approach: de novo inquiry. The book turns first to the famous paradox concerning the possibility of such an inquiry and explores Plato’s apparent solution. Having defended the possibility of de novo inquiry as a response to Clitophon’s challenge, Plato explains the method or procedure by which such inquiry is to be carried out. The book defends the controversial thesis that the method of hypothesis, as described and practiced in the Meno, Phaedo, and Republic, is, when practiced correctly, Plato’s recommended method of acquiring on one’s own the essential knowledge we lack. The method of hypothesis when practiced correctly is, then, Platonic dialectic, and this is Plato’s response to Clitophon’s challenge.

Hardback ISBN: 9780199324835
Page Count: 328
Price: $65.00
**For a limited time, society members can pre-order and receive a 30% discount via the OUP website. Follow the following link for more information:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/9780199324835/?cc=us&lang=en&promocode=AAFLYG6

Books

Philosophy in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds: A History of Philosophy without any gaps, Volume 2

John Priest

Peter Adamson’s History of Philosophy without any gaps series of podcasts is one of the most ambitious educational works on the web. It aims to do nothing less than take listeners through the entire history of philosophy ‘without any gaps’. It assumes no prior knowledge making it ideal for beginners. This is the second volume to make these witty, and highly accessible, podcasts available in book form. Philosophy in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds offers a tour through a period of eight hundred years when some of the most influential of all schools of thought were formed. From the counter-cultural witticisms of Diogenes the Cynic to the political philosophy of Augustine, the book gathers together all aspects of later ancient thought in a way that is a pleasure to read.

Hardback ISBN: 9780198728023
Page Count: 360
Price: $35.00
**For a limited time, society members can pre-order and receive a 30% discount via the OUP website. Follow the following link for more information:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/9780198728023/?cc=us&lang=en&promocode=AAFLYG6

Books

Classical Philosophy: A history of philosophy without any gaps, Volume 1

John Priest

Classical Philosophy is the first of a series of books in which Peter Adamson aims ultimately to present a complete history of philosophy, more thoroughly but also more enjoyably than ever before. In short, lively chapters, based on the popular History of Philosophy podcast, he offers an accessible, humorous, and detailed look at the emergence of philosophy with the Presocratics, the probing questions of Socrates, and the first full flowering of philosophy with the dialogues of Plato and the treatises of Aristotle. The story is told “without any gaps,” discussing not only such major figures but also less commonly discussed topics like the Hippocratic Corpus, the Platonic Academy, and the role of women in ancient philosophy. Within the thought of Plato and Aristotle, the reader will find in-depth introductions to major works, such as the Republic and the Nicomachean Ethics, which are treated in detail that is unusual in an introduction to ancient philosophy. Adamson looks at fascinating but less frequently read Platonic dialogues like the Charmides and Cratylus, and Aristotle’s ideas in zoology and poetics. This full coverage allows him to tackle ancient discussions in all areas of philosophy, including epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, ethics and politics. Attention is also given to the historical and literary context of classical philosophy, with exploration of how early Greek cosmology responded to the poets Homer and Hesiod, how Socrates was presented by the comic playwright Aristophanes and the historian Xenophon, and how events in Greek history may have influenced Plato’s thought. This is a new kind of history which will bring philosophy to life for all readers, including those coming to the subject for the first time.

*New in Paperback*

Paperback ISBN: 9780198767039
Page Count: 368
Price: $19.95
**For a limited time, society members can pre-order and receive a 30% discount via the OUP website. Follow the following link for more information:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/9780198767039/?cc=us&lang=en&promocode=AAFLYG6

Books

Eternity: A History

John Priest

Eternity is a unique kind of existence that is supposed to belong to the most real being or beings. It is an existence that is not shaken by the common wear and tear of time. Over the two and half millennia history of Western philosophy we find various conceptions of eternity, yet one sharp distinction between two notions of eternity seems to run throughout this long history: eternity as timeless existence, as opposed to eternity as existence in all times. Both kinds of existence stand in sharp contrast to the coming in and out of existence of ordinary beings, like hippos, humans, and toothbrushes: were these eternally-timeless, for example, a hippo could not eat, a human could not think or laugh, and a toothbrush would be of no use. Were a hippo an eternal-everlasting creature, it would not have to bother itself with nutrition in order to extend its existence. Everlasting human beings might appear similar to us, but their mental life and patterns of behavior would most likely be very different from ours.

The distinction between eternity as timelessness and eternity as everlastingness goes back to ancient philosophy, to the works of Plato and Aristotle, and even to the fragments of Parmenides’ philosophical poem. In the twentieth century, it seemed to go out of favor, though one could consider as eternalists those proponents of realism in philosophy of mathematics, and those of timeless propositions in philosophy of language (i.e., propositions that are said to exist independently of the uttered sentences that convey their thought-content). However, recent developments in contemporary physics and its philosophy have provided an impetus to revive notions of eternity due to the view that time and duration might have no place in the most fundamental ontology.

Paperback ISBN: 9780199781867
Page Count: 344
Price: $29.95
**For a limited time, society members can pre-order and receive a 30% discount via the OUP website. Follow the following link for more information:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/9780199781867/?cc=us&lang=en&promocode=AAFLYG6

Books

Chronos in Aristotle’s Physics: On the Nature of Time

Chelsea Harry

Chronos in Aristotle’s Physics: On the Nature of Time is a contribution both to Aristotle studies and to the philosophy of nature and speaks to the resurgence of interest in Aristotle’s natural philosophy. It argues that Aristotle’s Treatise on Time (Physics iv 10-14) is a highly contextualized account of time, not a treatment of time qua time but a parallel account to Aristotle’s foregoing studies of nature, principles (192b13-22), motion (201a10-11), infinite (iii 4-8), place (iv 1-5), and void (iv 6-9) in the Physics i-iv 9. It offers a reading of Physics iv 10-11 with the aim of showing that time, chrόnos, here has to do with time as an attribute of motion, as an interval, i.e., the type of time that, as Aristotle describes at 218a1, “is taken.” With support from a reading of Physics iv 14 and evidence from Aristotle’s greater philosophy of nature, it argues that time for Aristotle is derivative of the modal change of natural being. Time is then only ever potentially actual unless this change is apprehended, in most cases, by the working together of perception and intellection and, in some cases, by perception alone. Studies in contemporary animal science help to buttress this final conclusion.

Books

A Study of Dialectic in Plato’s Parmenides

Greta Bennion

In this book, Eric Sanday boldly demonstrates that Plato’s “theory of forms” is true, easy to understand, and relatively intuitive. Sanday argues that our chief obstacle to understanding the theory of forms is the distorting effect of the tacit metaphysical privileging of individual things in our everyday understanding. For Plato, this privileging of things that we can own, produce, exchange, and through which we gain mastery of our surroundings is a significant obstacle to philosophical education. The dialogue’s chief philosophical work, then, is to destabilize this false privileging and, in Parmenides, to provide the initial framework for a newly oriented account of participation. Once we do this, Sanday argues, we more easily can grasp and see the truth of the theory of forms.

Books

The Pedagogy of Wisdom: An Interpretation of Plato’s Theaetetus

Greta Bennion

In this interpretive commentary on Theaetetus, Gregory Kirk makes a major con­tribution to scholarship on Plato by emphasizing the relevance of the interpersonal dynamics between the interlocutors for the interpretation of the dialogue’s central arguments about knowledge. Kirk attends closely to the personalities of the partici­pants in the dialogue, focusing especially on the unique demands faced by a stu­dent—in this case, Theaetetus—and the ways in which one can embrace or deflect the responsibilities of learning. Kirk’s approach gives equal consideration to the dual demands of dramatic interpretation and philosophical argument that constitute the unique character of the Platonic text, and he develops an original interpretation of the Theaetetus, concluding that the uncertainty that characterizes wisdom supersedes the certainty of knowledge.