Monte Johnson examines the most controversial aspects of Aristiotle's natural philosophy: his teleology. Is teleology about causation or explanation? Does it exclude or obviate mechanism, determinism, or materialism? Is it focused on the good of individual organisms, or is god or man the ultimate end of all processes and entities? Is teleology restricted to living things, or does it apply to the cosmos as a whole? Does it identify objectively existent causes in the world, or is it merely a heuristic for our understanding of other causal processes? Johnson argues that Aristotle's aporetic...
Monte Johnson examines the most controversial aspects of Aristiotle's natural philosophy: his teleology. Is teleology about causation or explanation? ...
The "Protrepticus" of Iamblichus (about AD 250-before 325), priestly reformer of Neoplatonism and commentator on Aristotle, is an exhortation to philosophy. The work combines the influences of Aristotle, Plato and Pythagoras, and is important both for revelations about these sources and for understanding Iamblichus' philosophy in its own right.
Whilst a significant portion draws on Aristotle's earlier "Protrepticus" by excerpting elements of his lost text, other sections look to Plato and to Pythagoras' "Golden Verses" and proverbs.
By studying how Iamblichus presents passages from...
The "Protrepticus" of Iamblichus (about AD 250-before 325), priestly reformer of Neoplatonism and commentator on Aristotle, is an exhortation to ph...
