Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LAAA (Late Antiquity After Antiquity: The Last of the Ancient Platonists in the Early Modern Period)
Berichtszeitraum: 2019-09-01 bis 2021-08-31
LAAA excavates a significant – yet hitherto scarcely understood – chapter in the history of Platonic reception: the potent and longstanding influence of late antiquity. The importance of the late antique Platonists lies in their complex interpretative representations in which Plato’s philosophy meshed with elements coming from the Aristotelian and the Stoic traditions and engaged closely with theurgy, embracing its metaphysical premises. Their writings provide a vast panorama of almost 1000 years of ancient Greek philosophy, which they preserved and reinterpreted for future generations. Whereas the importance of late antiquity for the understanding of the ancient world is being brought to light by an ever-increasing scholarship, its intellectual legacy and later influence still hover in the background of historical research. LAAA provides the first systematic and in-depth study of this legacy. The novelty of LAAA lies precisely in the fact that it is not concerned with late antiquity in itself, but with its later reception and place in early modern intellectual history and in the history of Western philosophy in general. LAAA is about philosophers and philosophies. However, given its historically-oriented attitude, it aims at showing not how one ought to see the late ancient Platonists, but rather how they were seen before the beginning of modern scholarship on Platonism in the nineteenth century. Hence, its main field of inquiry is not the history of philosophy, but intellectual history (and within intellectual history, especially the history of scholarship, history of reading, and manuscript studies).
The objectives for the final period are:
- integrating research carried out so far with the analysis of additional manuscript sources through archive work, which is now made possible by the reopening of the borders and libraries in Europe
- assessing the influence of late ancient Platonism in early modern works of medical practice, especially in the field of embryology (e.g. William Harvey, Marcus Marci von Kronland)
- examining the circulation of Ficino's translation of Plotinus and Iamblichus in 18th-century France
- proving the essential role played by Renaissance humanism in the field of classical reception
LAAA makes significant lacunae in intellectual history and classical reception appear. It also has a great impact outside academia, as it contributes to a more historically informed approach to crucial philosophical ideas and will expand the boundaries of knowledge of disciplines, languages, and institutions. By showing how philosophies, but also philosophers and texts, were transformed through time and through different layers of interpretations, it encourages us to look at texts as dynamic and historically-conditioned rather than ossified authorities. In doing so, it promotes a new way of looking at the human past and its intellectual legacy.
The objectives for the final period are:
- integrating research carried out so far with the analysis of additional manuscript sources through archive work, which is now made possible by the reopening of the borders and libraries in Europe
- assessing the influence of late ancient Platonism in early modern works of medical practice, especially in the field of embryology (e.g. William Harvey, Marcus Marci von Kronland)
- examining the circulation of Ficino's translation of Plotinus and Iamblichus in 18th-century France
- proving the essential role played by Renaissance humanism in the field of classical reception
LAAA makes significant lacunae in intellectual history and classical reception appear. It also has a great impact outside academia, as it contributes to a more historically informed approach to crucial philosophical ideas and will expand the boundaries of knowledge of disciplines, languages, and institutions. By showing how philosophies, but also philosophers and texts, were transformed through time and through different layers of interpretations, it encourages us to look at texts as dynamic and historically-conditioned rather than ossified authorities. In doing so, it promotes a new way of looking at the human past and its intellectual legacy.
LAAA has been severely affected by the pandemic. It has been impossible hitherto to examine some of the manuscript sources because of the library closures and travel disruptions. However, work has been conducted on digitalized sources (from the Florence National Library, Riccardiana Library, and Laurenziana Library) and through in-person visits at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The ER has been able to finalize part I of the action 'Rediscovery and Translation' and to start work on part II 'Circulation and Impact'. Work on the last part 'Legacy' still remains to be done.
The result achieved so far include:
- solid knowledge of Ficino's commentary style and the way this informed early modern reception of both Plato and the late ancient Platonists
- a clear understanding of early modern Platonism, grounded in a post-Platonic account of Plato and in a post-Plotinian reading of Plotinus
- familiarity with relevant sources and their circulation in Italy and beyond
The training in the new field (late ancient philosophy) and language (Ancient Greek) has been successfully completed during the 24-month stay at the partner organization.
The result achieved so far include:
- solid knowledge of Ficino's commentary style and the way this informed early modern reception of both Plato and the late ancient Platonists
- a clear understanding of early modern Platonism, grounded in a post-Platonic account of Plato and in a post-Plotinian reading of Plotinus
- familiarity with relevant sources and their circulation in Italy and beyond
The training in the new field (late ancient philosophy) and language (Ancient Greek) has been successfully completed during the 24-month stay at the partner organization.
LAAA is showing the importance of the legacy of the Renaissance in the history of classical scholarship, intellectual history, and history of Western philosophy. The approach to the ‘reemergence of the classics’ has hitherto taken an ahistorical turn, one which neglects the legacy of centuries of classical scholarships – especially of classical scholarship produced in the period 1400-1600. For while the role of 15th and 16th-century humanists in the revival of classical texts is unanimously recognized and widely discussed, their role in the later transmission of those texts still hovers in the background of previous research. Scholars have discussed how the humanists worked on the letter and the spirit of classical texts, zealously restoring, translating and interpreting them for their Latin readers. However, the crucial issue of how the humanists’ editions, translations, and commentaries influenced the later reception of those texts never succeeded to come center stage. LAAA is successfully challenging this view, as it is shown in the recent volume co-edited by the ER, 'Harmony and Contrast: Plato and Aristotle in the Early Modern Period' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021).
The expected results will converge in a new view of the potent and long-standing influence of Renaissance classical scholarship in the almost four centuries between the beginning of the Renaissance itself and the rise of modern classical scholarship in 18th century Germany, and even beyond. This new perspective on the historical narrative of how modernity has appropriated classical antiquity (through late antiquity) has the potential to reshape our relation with both the classics and historical categories such as 'antiquity' and 'modernity'. It promotes a deeper understanding of the dynamics that informed the human past, contributing in this way important social and cultural insights for modern society.
The expected results will converge in a new view of the potent and long-standing influence of Renaissance classical scholarship in the almost four centuries between the beginning of the Renaissance itself and the rise of modern classical scholarship in 18th century Germany, and even beyond. This new perspective on the historical narrative of how modernity has appropriated classical antiquity (through late antiquity) has the potential to reshape our relation with both the classics and historical categories such as 'antiquity' and 'modernity'. It promotes a deeper understanding of the dynamics that informed the human past, contributing in this way important social and cultural insights for modern society.