Periodic Reporting for period 2 - LAAA (Late Antiquity After Antiquity: The Last of the Ancient Platonists in the Early Modern Period)
Berichtszeitraum: 2021-09-01 bis 2022-08-31
LAAA has addressed significant lacunae in intellectual history and classical reception. It has provided the first systematic investigation of the early modern reception of late ancient philosophy which has been insofar overshadowed by the imposing legacy of classical philosophy. The 15th and 16th centuries are rightfully regarded as the period in which classical philosophical texts were excavated, interrogated, edited, and translated for the contemporary Latin world through the indefatigable philological and exegetical work of the humanists. The Platonic corpus became available and new ways of reading Aristotle were explored; Stoic and Epicurean philosophy began to exert an influence on key thinkers. However, this new and intensive dialogue with the ancient philosophical past was far more complex than scholars have so far imagined. It was a dialogue mediated and deeply informed by dense layers of interpretation that were woven in late antiquity. For example, the Plato that re-merged in Europe in the 15th century was not simply the Plato of the dialogues but also, and even more so, the Plato transformed by Plotinus, Iamblichus, and Proclus. Likewise, the ‘early modern Aristotle’ was one transmuted by the rich tradition of late ancient commentators. This allowed Charles B. Schmitt to coin the felicitous expression ‘Aristotelianisms’. LAAA has tested Schmitt’s suggestion beyond the well-known ‘Averroism’ and ‘Alexandrism’ by excavating the profound influence of late ancient Aristotelian interpreters such as Syrianus and Priscian of Lydia.
Outside of academia, LAAA has contributed 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 has started to promote a new way of looking at the human past and its intellectual legacy.
The achieved objectives are:
1) the identification of the elements of late antique philosophy built in the foundation of early modern Platonism;
2) the discovery and description of the impact of these elements in the early modern perception of the most ancient philosophical past;
3) to exploration of the role of late antique philosophy in the shaping of Western European intellectual and cultural
identity;
4) to reassessment of the role of late antiquity in the history of Western philosophy.
Outside of academia, LAAA has contributed 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 has started to promote a new way of looking at the human past and its intellectual legacy.
The achieved objectives are:
1) the identification of the elements of late antique philosophy built in the foundation of early modern Platonism;
2) the discovery and description of the impact of these elements in the early modern perception of the most ancient philosophical past;
3) to exploration of the role of late antique philosophy in the shaping of Western European intellectual and cultural
identity;
4) to reassessment of the role of late antiquity in the history of Western philosophy.
During the first 24 months of the project, LAAA was severely affected by the pandemic. It was impossible to examine some of the manuscript sources because of the library closures and travel disruptions. However, work was 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 was to finalize part I of the action 'Rediscovery and Translation' and to start work on part II 'Circulation and Impact'.
The result achieved during this phase 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) was successfully completed during the 24-month stay at the partner organization.
During the last reporting period, the ER worked on the 'Legacy' section of the project and on integrating the narratives of the other two sections 'Rediscovery and Translation' and 'Cicrulation and Impact'. She finalized the project's main output (monograph) and disseminated the result of her research through seminars, invited lectures, and press events in the UK, Europe, and the USA.
She has also trained in codicology.
The result achieved during this phase 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) was successfully completed during the 24-month stay at the partner organization.
During the last reporting period, the ER worked on the 'Legacy' section of the project and on integrating the narratives of the other two sections 'Rediscovery and Translation' and 'Cicrulation and Impact'. She finalized the project's main output (monograph) and disseminated the result of her research through seminars, invited lectures, and press events in the UK, Europe, and the USA.
She has also trained in codicology.
LAAA has shown 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 has begun to challenge this view, as is shown in her monograph 'Marsilio Ficino and the Platonic Aristtole: The Commentary on Theophrastus' (Oxford University Press, 2022) and her co-edited volume, 'Harmony and Contrast: Plato and Aristotle in the Early Modern Period' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021)
The research results contributed to 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 relationship 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 to important social and cultural insights for modern society.
The research results contributed to 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 relationship 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 to important social and cultural insights for modern society.