Description
Book SynopsisGeorge Karamanolis breaks new ground in the study of later ancient philosophy by examining the interplay of the two main schools of thought, Platonism and Aristotelianism, from the first century BC to the third century AD. From the time of Antiochus and for the next four centuries Platonists were strongly preoccupied with the question of how Aristotle''s philosophy compared with the Platonic model. Scholars have usually classified Platonists into two groups, the orthodox ones and the eclectics or syncretists, depending on whether Platonists rejected Aristotle''s philosophy as a whole or accepted some Peripatetic doctrines. Karamanolis argues against this dichotomy. He argues that Platonists turned to Aristotle only in order to discover and elucidate Plato''s doctrines and thus to reconstruct Plato''s philosophy, and they did not hesitate to criticize Aristotle when judging him to be at odds with Plato. For them, Aristotle was merely auxlilary to their accessing and understanding Plato.
Trade Reviewan excellent scholarly survey ... he examines an impressive amount of evidence and his investigation provides what will certainly be the standard treatment of the topic for many years to come ... [his] remarkable discussion sheds new light on the extant evidence. * Archiv fur Geschichte d. Philosophie *
a thoughtful book, itself a fertile garden of arguments and positions, rich in historical and linguistic detail * The Classical Review *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Antiochus of Ascalon ; 2. Plutarch ; 3. Numenius ; 4. Atticus ; 5. Ammonius Saccas ; 6. Plotinus ; 7. Porphyry ; Appendix I: The Platonism of Aristotle and of the early Peripatetics ; Appendix II: Lists of works by Platonists on Aristotle's philosophy
