Aristotle In Late Antiquity

218 Pages·1994·14.502 MB·English

by  Lawrence P. Schrenk

ARISTOTLE IN LATE ANTIQUITY
STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY
AND THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
General Editor: Jude P. Dougherty
Studies in Philosophy
and the History of Philosophy Volume 27
Aristotle in
Late Antiquity
edited by Lawrence P. Schrenk
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA PRESS
Washington, D.C.
Copyright © 1994
The Catholic University of America Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
The paper in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standards for Information Science­
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library materials,
ANSI z39.48-1984.
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Aristotle in late antiquity / edited by Lawrence P. Schrenk.
p. cm. -(Studies in philosophy and the history of
philosophy; v. 27)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents: Plotinus and the rejection of Aristotelian metaphysics/
Lloyd P. Gerson - Plotinus on the nature of eternity and time /
Steven K. Strange -Galen and the logic of relations / R. J.
Hankinson -Alexander on Aristotle's species and genera as
principles / Arthur Madigan -Proof and discovery in Aristotle
and the later Greek tradition / Lawrence P. Schrenk -The Greek
Christian authors and Aristotle / Leo J. Elders -Hippolytus,
Aristotle, Basilides / Ian Mueller -The Aristotelianism of
Photius's philosophical theology / John P. Anton -Averroes /
Therese-Anne Druart.
1. Aristotle-Influence. 2. Philosophy, Ancient. 3. Philosophy,
Medieval. 4. Philosophy-Byzantine Empire. Schrenk,
1.
Lawrence P. Series.
11.
B21.s78 vol. 27
185,-dc20
93-6867
ISBN 978-0-8132-3062-7 (pbk)
Contents
Introduction Vll
PART I: ARISTOTLE AND PLOTINUS
1. LLOYD P. GERSON, Plotinus and the Rejection
of Aristotelian Metaphysics 3
2. STEVEN K. STRANGE, Plotinus on the Nature of
Eternity and Time 22
PART II: ARISTOTLE AND LATE
GREEK THOUGHT
3. R.]. HANKINSON, Galen and the Logic of Relations 57
4. ARTHUR MADIGAN, s.J., Alexander on Aristotle's
Species and Genera as Principles 76
5. LAWRENCE P. SCHRENK, Proof and Discovery in Aristotle
and the Later Greek Tradition: A Prolegomenon to a
Study of Analysis and Synthesis 92
PART III: ARISTOTLE IN BYZANTIUM
AND ISLAM
6. LEO]. ELDERS, S.V.D., The Greek Christian
Authors and Aristotle
III
7. IAN MUELLER, Hippolytus, Aristotle, Basilides
8. ]OHN P. ANTON, The Aristotelianism of Photius's
Philosophical Theology
9. THtRtSE-ANNE DRUART, Averroes: The
Commentator and the Commentators
Contributors
Index
v

Introduction
Fashions change in scholarship as in other areas of human life:
thinkers neglected in one period become objects of intense study in
others. The history of ancient thought is by no means immune to these
fluctuations. Many scholars are currently turning their attention to
late Greek thought. New texts, translations, and studies now regularly
appear, and already our understanding of the philosophers of this
period has undergone substantial change. Situated at the end of the
Greek epoch, late Greek thought is correspondingly complex in its
appropriation of earlier philosophies; the Presocratics, Socrates, Plato,
Aristotle, and Hellenistic philosophy are all important source material.
While this period can most accurately be described with the neologism
"Neoplatonic," it would do great disservice to overlook the important
influence of other thinkers of classical Greece. After Plato, Aristotle
must be regarded as the dominant influence, but the attitude of late
Greek thinkers to the Stagirite was hardly homogeneous. Plato was
regarded with almost universal devotion, but philosophers from the
Middle Platonists onwards diverged in their attitudes toward Aristotle,
from admiration to open hostility. Few thinkers, however, remained
unaffected by his thought.
This volume brings together nine studies that focus on the influence
of Aristotle, from Plotinus through Arabic thought. While these do
not constitute a comprehensive survey of his influence, they should
I
1. An introduction to the influence of Aristotle on later Greek thought can be found
in H. B. Gottschalk, "Aristotelian Philosophy in the Roman World from the Time of
Cicero to the End of the Second Century AD," in Aufsteig und Niedergang der Riimischen
Welt II.36.2, ed. Wolfgang Haase (Berlin: De Gruyter 1987); reprinted as "The Earliest
Aristotelian Commentators," in Aristotle Transformed: The Ancient Commentators and Their
Influence, ed. Richard Sorabji (Ithaca: Cornell 1990). An introduction is also provided
in "The Ancient Commentators on Aristotle" by Richard Sorabji (also in Aristotle Trans
formed). Both of the aforementioned volumes contain a variety of fine studies that will
be of interest to the reader. In addition, Aristotle Transformed includes a substantial bib
liography of the Greek commentators on Aristotle, and Aufsteig und Niedergang der
Romischen Welt II.36.1 contains several relevant bibliographical studies, including ones
on Platonism in Imperial Rome, by L. Deitz; Plotinus, 1951-71, by H.J. Blumenthal;
and Plotinus, 1971-86, by K. Corrigan and P. O'Cleirigh.
Vll
viii INTRODUCTION
nonetheless present a series of specific insights to Aristotle's influence
on thinkers throughout this period. In "Plotinus and the Rejection of
Aristotelian Metaphysics," Lloyd P. Gerson shows how Plotinus devel
ops much of his metaphysics in conscious opposition to that offered
by Aristotle, though the two do share certain metaphysical positions,
e.g., that being is neither univocal nor equivocal. Within Plotinus's
arguments, Gerson discerns a two-fold attack on Aristotelian meta
physics: first, Plotinus denies that Aristotelian voii~, i.e., self-thinking
thought, can be the ultimate ontological principle; and, second, he
shows the One to have a series of properties not possessed by Aris
totle's unmoved mover. Steven K. Strange ("Plotinus on the Nature of
Eternity and Time") tackles another intersection of Aristotelian and
Plotinian thought in his consideration of Ennead 3.7, which surveys
the classic texts on the nature of time, including Aristotle's treatment
of the subject in the Physics. Strange provides a detailed analysis of
the arguments of this treatise. Plotinus's claim is to have given an
account of time that is superior to any of those offered by his pre
decessors.
In "Galen and the Logic of Relations," R. J. Hankinson examines
Galen's seminal work in the logic of relations. Galen recognized that
some forms of argumentation are not susceptible to analysis as either
categorical or hypothetical, e.g., A is equal to B, and B is equal to C,
therefore A is equal to C. Though it is difficult to assess Galen's orig
inality, Hankinson does present a full analysis of the intricate account
of relational logic found in several of Galen's treatises. Arthur Madi
gan ("Alexander on Aristotle's Species and Genera as Principles") con
siders the greatest of Aristotle's ancient commentators, Alexander of
Aphrodisias. Madigan investigates Alexander's analysis of the sixth,
seventh, and eighth aporiae of Metaphysics 3, which concern species and
genera. While Alexander adheres to the Aristotelian doctrine that
what is real is individual, he appears not to have confronted the in
consistency between this and two other Aristotelian tenets: what is
knowable is universal, and the knowable is real. In "Proof and Dis
covery in Aristotle and the Later Greek Tradition," Lawrence P.
Schrenk investigates the four "dialectical" methods offered by the
Greek commentators on Aristotle, namely, division, definition, dem
onstration, and analysis, in order to elucidate the relationship between
the process of discovering a thesis and its subsequent demonstration.
He surveys the development of these themes in both ancient philo
sophical and mathematical thought.
Leo J. Elders ("The Greek Christian Authors and Aristotle") offers
a comprehensive survey of the influence of Aristotle on Christian au-
INTRODUCTION IX
thors. He begins with the state of Aristotelian studies in the first four
centuries A.D., then traces his influence through the Christian apolo
gists, theologians, and historians. While Christian authors were often
hostile to Aristotle, Elders shows that numerous Aristotelian theses
were also developed within this context on topics such as causation,
analogy, and ethics. The Christian bishop Hippolytus in his Refutation
of All Heresies seeks to attack a certain Basilides by showing that he is
a follower of Aristotle. Ian Mueller, in "Hippolytus, Aristotle, Basi
lides," follows the Aristotelian themes in Hippolytus's criticisms: hom
onymy, self-thinking thought, genus and species, soul, and cosmology.
He concludes that the "Aristotle" of Hippolytus and Basilides was only
a corrupted version of the classical Aristotle. These misconstruals may
have had their origin in authentic Aristotelian texts, but the episode
reminds us of the misinterpretations that can accrue to an author over
time. While Photius is best known for his role in ecclesiastical history,
John P. Anton ("The Aristotelianism of Photius's Philosophical The
ology") explores his philosophical adaptation of the Aristotelian ac
count of substance. He shows how Photius's Amphilochia (in large part
a commentary on issues raised by the Categories) reinterprets Aristo
telian ouota along Christian Neoplatonic lines in order to be consistent
with revealed theology. In "Averroes: The Commentator and the
Commentators," Therese-Anne Druart makes the transition from
Greek to Arabic philosophy in her discussion of Ibn Rushd or Aver
roes. She provides a valuable overview of Averroes as Aristotelian com
mentator by focusing on two questions: how did Averroes understand
his task as commentator, and how did he view his relationship with
earlier commentators? Averroes saw himself as correcting the Platonic
excesses of his Arabic predecessors, and he consequently came to place
greater importance on the Greek commentary tradition.