Authority and Authoritative Texts in the Platonist Tradition

Erscheinungsjahr 2021
ISBN: 978-1-108-84400-0
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 320 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 562 g

All disciplines can count on a noble founder, and the representation of this founder as an authority is key in order to construe a discipline's identity. This book sheds light on how Plato and other authorities were represented in one of the most long-lasting traditions of all time. It leads the reader through exegesis and polemics, recovery of the past and construction of a philosophical identity. From Xenocrates to Proclus, from the sceptical shift to the re-establishment of dogmatism, from the Mosaic of the Philosophers to the Neoplatonist Commentaries, the construction of authority emerges as a way of access to the core of the Platonist tradition.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Erler, Michael

Heßler, Jan Erik

Petrucci, Federico M

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Metaphysik, Ontologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Ethik, Moralphilosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction Michael Erler, Jan E. Heßler and Federico M. Petrucci; 1. Xenocrates' invention of Platonism David Sedley; 2. An iconography of Xenocrates' Platonism David Sedley; 3. Arcesilaus' appeal to Heraclitus as a philosophical authority for his sceptical stance Anna Maria Ioppolo; 4. Authority beyond doctrines in the 1st century BC: Antiochus' model for Plato's authority Federico M. Petrucci; 5. Authority and doctrine in the pseudo-pythagorean writings Bruno Centrone; 6. Constructing authority: a re-examination of some controversial issues in the theology of Numenius Alexandra Michalewski; 7. Plutarch's E at Delphi: the hypothesis of platonic authority George Boys-Stones; 8. Aristotle's 'physics' as an authoritative work in early Neoplatonism (Plotinus and Porphyry) Riccardo Chiaradonna; 9. Conflicting authorities? Hermias and Simplicius on the self-moving soul Saskia Aerts; 10. Kathegemon the importance of the personal teacher in Proclus and later Neoplatonism Christian Tornau; 11. 'In Plato we can see the bad characters being changed by the good and instructed and purified' attitudes to platonic dialogue in later Neoplatonism Anne Sheppard.

Über Autor(innen)

Erler, Michael
Michael Erler is Professor ordinarius of Classical Philology at the Julius-Maximilian-Universität Würzburg. He is the author of several books and articles on Plato, Platonism, Epicurus and the Epicurean tradition, drama, and Hellenistic and Imperial literature.

Petrucci, Federico M
Federico M. Petrucci is Professor of Ancient Philosophy in Turin. His main research areas are Plato and the Platonist Tradition and his publications include the first English translation of the texts of the Platonist Taurus of Beirut (2018).

Heßler, Jan Erik
Jan Erik Heßler is a Lecturer in the Department of Classics at the Julius-Maximilian-Universität Würzburg. He has published an edition of Epicurus's Letter to Menoeceus (2014), and co-edited Argument und literarische Form in antiker Philosophie (2013), as well as publishing numerous articles on the Platonic and Epicurean tradition.