Theophrastus: Reappraising the Sources

by Johannes M. van Ophuijsen (Editor), Marlein van Raalte (Editor)

Overview

Theophrastus was Aristotle's pupil and second head of the Peripatetic School. Apart from two botanical works, a collection of character sketches, and several scientific opuscula, his works survive only through quotations and reports in secondary sources. Recently these quotations and reports have been collected and published, thereby making the thought of Theophrastus accessible to a wide audience. The present volume contains seventeen responses to this material.

There are chapters dealing with Theophrastus' views on logic, physics, biology, ethics, politics, rhetoric, and music, as well as the life of Theophrastus. Together these writings throw considerable light on fundamental questions concerning the development and importance of the Peripatos in the early Hellenistic period. The authors consider whether Theophrastus was a systematic thinker who imposed coherence and consistency on a growing body of knowledge, or a problem-oriented thinker who foreshadowed the dissolution of Peripatetic thought into various loosely connected disciplines. Of special interest are those essays which deal with Theophrastus' intellectual position in relation to the lively philosophic scene occupied by such contemporaries as Zeno, the founder of the Stoa, and Epicurus, the founder of the Garden, as well as Xenocrates and Polemon hi the Academy, and Theophrastus' fellow Peripatetics, Eudemus and Strato.

The contributors to the volume are Suzanne Amigues, Antonio Battegazzore, Tiziano Dorandi, Woldemar Gorier, John Glucker, Hans Gottschalk, Frans de Haas, Andre Laks, Anthony Long, Jorgen Mejer, Mario Mignucci, Trevor Saunders, Dirk Schenkeveld, David Sedley, Robert Sharpies, C. M. J. Sicking and Richard Sorabji. The Rutgers University Studies in Classical Humanities series is a forum for seminal thinking in the field of philosophy, and this volume is no exception. Theophrastus is a landmark achievement in intellectual thought. Philosophers, historians, and classicists will all find this work to be enlightening.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781560003281
Publisher:	Transaction Publishers
Publication date:	12/31/1997
Series:	Rutgers University Studies in Classical Humanities , #8
Pages:	420
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Johannes M. van Ophuijsen

Table of Contents

Preface — Contributors — 1. A Life in Fragments: The Vita Theophrasti Jorgen Mejer — 2. Qualche aspetto della vita di Teofrasto e il Liceo dopo Aristotele Tiziano Dorandi — 3. Theophrastus’ Logic Mario Mignucci — 4. Theophrastus’ Rhetorical Works: One Rhetorical Fragment the Less, One Logical Fragment the More Dirk M. Schenkeveld — 5. Theophrastus in the Tradition of Greek Casuistry Trevor Saunders — 6. Theophrastus on the Nature of Music (716 FHS&G) /C.M.J. Sicking — 7. Le debut d’une physique: Ordre, extension et nature des fragments 142-144 A /B de Theophraste Andre Laks — 8. Philoponus on Theophrastus on Composition in Nature Frans de Haas — 9. Problemes de composition et de classification dans Yhistoria plantarum de Theophraste Suzanne Amigues — 10. Is Theophrastus a Significant Philosopher? Richard Sorabji — 11. L’originalita della posizione teofrastea nel contesto del pensiero animalistico aristotelico e della fisiognomica zoo-etica tra Peripato, Stoa e loro critici Antonio M. Battegazzore — 12. Theophrastus as Philosopher and Aristotelian Robert W. Sharpies — 13. Theophrastus and the Peripatos Hans B. Gottschalk — 14. Theophrastus, the Academy, and the Athenian Philosophical Atmosphere John Glucker — 15. Theophrastus, the Academy, Antiochus and Cicero: A Response (to John Glucker) and an Appendix Woldemar Gorier — 16. Theophrastus and Epicurean Physics David Sedley — 17. Theophrastus and the Stoa /A. A. Long — Index of Ancient Sources — Index of Subjects.

Editorial Reviews

Seventeen articles center on the question of whether the collected fragments of Aristotle's student Theophrastus add up to a whole way of looking at his work in philosophy and science. Debating whether Theophrastus was a systematic thinker who applied coherence and consistency to a growing body of knowledge, or a problem-oriented thinker who presaged the dissolution of Peripatetic thought, the essays discuss his views on logic, physics, biology, ethics, politics, rhetoric, and music. Also treated are comparisons of Theophrastus with contemporaries of his such as Zeno, Epicurus, Xenocrates, Polemon, Eudemus, and Strato. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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