Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PlatoViaAristotle (Not another history of Platonism. The role of Aristotle's criticisms of Plato in the development of ancient Platonism)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-07-01 al 2023-12-31
All histories of ancient Platonism roughly conform to the same patterns: they share the same periodisation, which goes back to the way in which the ancients themselves conceptualised their philosophical history, and they focus on the philosophical problems highlighted in the extant texts, which represent only a relatively small fraction of the original production of texts. While these traditional doxographical accounts are not per se inaccurate, they do overlook continuities across different phases of this thousand-year history as well as some unexpected discontinuities. The reason for these shortcomings lies in the fact that certain philosophical debates are being ignored. Some omissions could be detected by searching for the philosophical reasons explaining doctrinal developments.
This project chooses an unorthodox approach in that it does not try to reflect the issues emphasised in the sources, but instead selects one particular angle of approach: Aristotle’s critical discussion of Platonic views. By analysing Platonic responses to Aristotle’s criticisms and using these as a heuristic tool, the project pursues a twofold aim: to uncover debates that have hitherto not been picked up in scholarship; and to examine the philosophical reasons for doctrinal varieties and developments. The research hypothesis is that Platonic responses to Aristotle’s criticism and, more generally, the latter’s accounts of Platonic philosophy, were a driving force for various developments in the long history of ancient Platonism. Hence by looking at Aristotle’s criticisms (we use the term “criticism” as shorthand for both critique and – mostly critical – reports) of Plato and his disciples, we will better understand certain philosophical developments within the Platonic schools and we will detect philosophical debates that go hitherto unnoticed. The research question is not restricted to criticisms of Plato, but also include Aristotle’s criticisms of generic Platonic positions or specific views attributable to certain disciples of Plato.
The aims of the project can only be achieved through a large-scale investigation spanning the entire history of Platonism, searching for Platonic responses in all relevant philosophical domains. Since scholarship has been selective in its choice of topics, it cannot be predicted whether we can find sufficient traces of pertinent discussions in all subdomains. Despite the methodological difficulties and the uncertainty of the results the project is more than worth pursuing, as the pay-off is highly significant: it will change the way in which we understand the history of Platonism and add a whole new dimension to our historiographical accounts. If successful, it will uncover new debates and allow us to understand philosophical justifications for many philosophical developments.
This project chooses an unorthodox approach in that it does not try to reflect the issues emphasised in the sources, but instead selects one particular angle of approach: Aristotle’s critical discussion of Platonic views. By analysing Platonic responses to Aristotle’s criticisms and using these as a heuristic tool, the project pursues a twofold aim: to uncover debates that have hitherto not been picked up in scholarship; and to examine the philosophical reasons for doctrinal varieties and developments. The research hypothesis is that Platonic responses to Aristotle’s criticism and, more generally, the latter’s accounts of Platonic philosophy, were a driving force for various developments in the long history of ancient Platonism. Hence by looking at Aristotle’s criticisms (we use the term “criticism” as shorthand for both critique and – mostly critical – reports) of Plato and his disciples, we will better understand certain philosophical developments within the Platonic schools and we will detect philosophical debates that go hitherto unnoticed. The research question is not restricted to criticisms of Plato, but also include Aristotle’s criticisms of generic Platonic positions or specific views attributable to certain disciples of Plato.
The aims of the project can only be achieved through a large-scale investigation spanning the entire history of Platonism, searching for Platonic responses in all relevant philosophical domains. Since scholarship has been selective in its choice of topics, it cannot be predicted whether we can find sufficient traces of pertinent discussions in all subdomains. Despite the methodological difficulties and the uncertainty of the results the project is more than worth pursuing, as the pay-off is highly significant: it will change the way in which we understand the history of Platonism and add a whole new dimension to our historiographical accounts. If successful, it will uncover new debates and allow us to understand philosophical justifications for many philosophical developments.
We have mapped Aristotle's criticism of Plato and early Platonists. We are currently searching the Platonic tradition for reactions to these criticisms.
We are building a relational database that links passages in Plato, members of the Early Academy, Aristotle, Theophrastus, later Peripatetic commentators, and ancient Platonists. This database is for internal use, but may be published at a later stage.
Members of the team have given presentations and have published on various topics and authors covered by the project.
The main project results will be published in the form of collective volumes. Currently we have planned six volumes:
The role of Aristotle’s assessment of Platonic philosophy in the shaping of ancient Platonism. Volume I. Platonist metaphysics in reaction to Aristotle. Editors: Roberto Granieri, Alberto Kobec, Jan Opsomer
The role of Aristotle's assessment of Platonic philosophy in the shaping of ancient Platonism. Volume II: Psychology in Cosmological Perspectives. Editors Angela Ulacco, Jan Opsomer
The role of Aristotle's assessment of Platonic philosophy in the shaping of ancient Platonism. Volume III, Defending Plato’s physics: Matter, Place and Elemental Bodies. Editors: Franziska van Buren, Jan Opsomer
The role of Aristotle’s assessment of Platonic philosophy in the shaping of ancient Platonism. Volume IV. Defending Platonic Moral Psychology and Ethics. Editors: Mareike Hauer, Elsa Giovanna Simonetti, Jan Opsomer
Aristotle’s Metaphysics between Alexander and Asclepius. Edited by: Pieter d'Hoine, Alexandra Michalewski, Jan Opsomer
Philosophia more geometrico demonstrata. Proclus' introduction of the argumentative model of the geometers into philosophy. Edited by: Jan Opsomer, Pieter d'Hoine
In preparation of the four volumes of the series "The role of Aristotle’s assessment of Platonic philosophy in the shaping of ancient Platonism" we have organised three workshops and will organise one more workshop. In these workshops we explore the central topics of the project:
* Psychology in Cosmological Perspectives, Organizers: Franziska van Buren and Jan Opsomer, 23-24 January 2023
* Platonist Metaphysics in Reaction to Aristotle, Organizers: Roberto Granieri, Alberto Kobec and Jan Opsomer, 16-18 March 2023
* Defending Platonic Moral Psychology and Ethics, Organizers: Mareike Hauer, Elsa Giovanna Simonetti and Jan Opsomer, with the help of Rares Marinescu , 12-13 June 2023
* Defending Plato's Physics: Matter, Place and Elemental Bodies, Defending Plato's Physics: Matter, Place and Elemental Bodies, Organizers: Angela Ulacco and Jan Opsomer, 11-13 October 2023
In these workshops the project collaborators and external contributors discuss their contribution to the collective volume.
Members of the project team continue to work on individual publications, mostly articles (journal articles and book chapters), related to the project.
We are building a relational database that links passages in Plato, members of the Early Academy, Aristotle, Theophrastus, later Peripatetic commentators, and ancient Platonists. This database is for internal use, but may be published at a later stage.
Members of the team have given presentations and have published on various topics and authors covered by the project.
The main project results will be published in the form of collective volumes. Currently we have planned six volumes:
The role of Aristotle’s assessment of Platonic philosophy in the shaping of ancient Platonism. Volume I. Platonist metaphysics in reaction to Aristotle. Editors: Roberto Granieri, Alberto Kobec, Jan Opsomer
The role of Aristotle's assessment of Platonic philosophy in the shaping of ancient Platonism. Volume II: Psychology in Cosmological Perspectives. Editors Angela Ulacco, Jan Opsomer
The role of Aristotle's assessment of Platonic philosophy in the shaping of ancient Platonism. Volume III, Defending Plato’s physics: Matter, Place and Elemental Bodies. Editors: Franziska van Buren, Jan Opsomer
The role of Aristotle’s assessment of Platonic philosophy in the shaping of ancient Platonism. Volume IV. Defending Platonic Moral Psychology and Ethics. Editors: Mareike Hauer, Elsa Giovanna Simonetti, Jan Opsomer
Aristotle’s Metaphysics between Alexander and Asclepius. Edited by: Pieter d'Hoine, Alexandra Michalewski, Jan Opsomer
Philosophia more geometrico demonstrata. Proclus' introduction of the argumentative model of the geometers into philosophy. Edited by: Jan Opsomer, Pieter d'Hoine
In preparation of the four volumes of the series "The role of Aristotle’s assessment of Platonic philosophy in the shaping of ancient Platonism" we have organised three workshops and will organise one more workshop. In these workshops we explore the central topics of the project:
* Psychology in Cosmological Perspectives, Organizers: Franziska van Buren and Jan Opsomer, 23-24 January 2023
* Platonist Metaphysics in Reaction to Aristotle, Organizers: Roberto Granieri, Alberto Kobec and Jan Opsomer, 16-18 March 2023
* Defending Platonic Moral Psychology and Ethics, Organizers: Mareike Hauer, Elsa Giovanna Simonetti and Jan Opsomer, with the help of Rares Marinescu , 12-13 June 2023
* Defending Plato's Physics: Matter, Place and Elemental Bodies, Defending Plato's Physics: Matter, Place and Elemental Bodies, Organizers: Angela Ulacco and Jan Opsomer, 11-13 October 2023
In these workshops the project collaborators and external contributors discuss their contribution to the collective volume.
Members of the project team continue to work on individual publications, mostly articles (journal articles and book chapters), related to the project.
We hope to discover traces of ancient debates that have eluded scholarship. By doing so, we may find unexpected continuities but also discontinuities in the long history of ancient Platonism. We will also look at subdomains of philosophy that have been neglected for the very reasons that the surviving corpus of texts does not immediately show that there was a great interest in them.