Aristotle and Other Platonists / Edition 1

by Lloyd P. Gerson

Overview

"Aristotle versus Plato. For a long time that is the angle from which the tale has been told, in textbooks on the history of philosophy and to university students. Aristotle's philosophy, so the story goes, was au fond in opposition to Plato's. But it was not always thus."—from the Introduction

In a wide-ranging book likely to cause controversy, Lloyd P. Gerson sets out the case for the "harmony" of Platonism and Aristotelianism, the standard view in late antiquity. He aims to show that the twentieth-century view that Aristotle started out as a Platonist and ended up as an anti-Platonist is seriously flawed.

Gerson examines the Neoplatonic commentators on Aristotle based on their principle of harmony. In considering ancient studies of Aristotle's Categories, Physics, De Anima, Metaphysics, and Nicomachean Ethics, the author shows how the principle of harmony allows us to understand numerous texts that otherwise appear intractable. Gerson also explains how these "esoteric" treatises can be seen not to conflict with the early "exoteric" and admittedly Platonic dialogues of Aristotle. Aristotle and Other Platonists concludes with an assessment of some of the philosophical results of acknowledging harmony.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801473371
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	07/20/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	348
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.94(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Lloyd P. Gerson is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. His books include Knowing Persons: A Study in Plato, God and Greek Philosophy, and Plotinus (Arguments of the Philosophers series). He is the editor of The Cambridge Companion to Plotinus and the four-volume Aristotle: Critical Assessments. He is the author of several volumes of translations and commentaries on Greek texts, including Aristotle: Selected Works and Aristotle's Politics (with H. G. Apostle), Hellenistic Philosophy: Introductory Readings (with Brad Inwood), and Neoplatonic Philosophy: Introductory Readings (with John Dillon).

What People are Saying About This

Stephen Clark

This is both a learned, philosophically acute, and readable introduction to late antique Neoplatonism and a persuasive re-reading of Aristotle. Anyone with an interest in Aristotle, Plato, the late Platonists, and their effects on later philosophy, as well as anyone with a less specialized interest in the questions these philosophers discussed, will profit from Lloyd P. Gerson's painstaking study of a properly Platonic Aristotelianism (or Aristotelian Platonism).

Richard Bodéüs

"I read Lloyd P. Gerson's book with absorption and with pleasure. It is an impressive, solidly argued work, based on a profound knowledge of the ancient texts. It also considers and interprets a very large number of recent studies. Gerson is well aware that he is making a very bold challenge, but he does so seriously and precisely. The subtlety and insight of his analyses are truly stimulating."

Richard Bodéüs

I read Lloyd P. Gerson's book with absorption and with pleasure. It is an impressive, solidly argued work, based on a profound knowledge of the ancient texts. It also considers and interprets a very large number of recent studies. Gerson is well aware that he is making a very bold challenge, but he does so seriously and precisely. The subtlety and insight of his analyses are truly stimulating.

C. D. C. Reeve

This wide-ranging and deeply learned book casts a challengingly heterodox, and often convincing, light on every major aspect of Aristotle's thought from his metaphysics to his ethics. It deserves to be read by every student not just of Aristotle but of ancient philosophy more generally.

Editorial Reviews

Gerson examines the neglected work of the classical 'harmonists,' those Neoplatonic philosophers of late antiquity who sought to reconcile the opposing doctrinal positions of Platonism and Aristotelianism.... Although some of the harmonists' claims are dubious, Gerson does a fine job defending the essential points of their argumentation. This is an important book that should reshape readers' understanding of the history of classical philosophy.

Choice

A marvelous contribution to the study of ancient philosophy.

Classical Philology - Richard Kraut

This is one of the most important and challenging books on Aristotle in recent memory. I think Lloyd Gerson is unlikely to persuade everyone of the truth of what he says. Nor perhaps will he convince anyone of the truth of all the things he says. But if this book does not succeed in disturbing some dogmatic slumbers, I will be very surprised and more than a little disappointed. I urge anyone who is feeling somewhat stifled by the status quo in Aristotle scholarship to take a good hard look at this book. Even if you disagree profoundly it will—and I think should—open your mind to some new possibilities.

Bryn Mawr Classical Review - Dirk Baltzly

A marvelous contribution to the study of ancient philosophy.

--Richard Kraut "Classical Philology"

Gerson examines the neglected work of the classical 'harmonists, ' those Neoplatonic philosophers of late antiquity who sought to reconcile the opposing doctrinal positions of Platonism and Aristotelianism.... Although some of the harmonists' claims are dubious, Gerson does a fine job defending the essential points of their argumentation. This is an important book that should reshape readers' understanding of the history of classical philosophy.

-- "Choice"

The inquiry is informed throughout with unsurpassed knowledge of the Platonic and Aristotelian texts and with analytical rigor that matches the best Aristotelian scholarship. This is a compelling study that deserves immediate attention from ancient philosophers who are willing to rethink these important questions.

--John Bussanich "Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"

The paradigm of opposition between Plato and Aristotle is addressed by Gerson in his learned, fascinating, and persuasive book.

--Rosamond Kent Sprague "Ancient Philosophy"

The title of this work indicates quite clearly where the author stands regarding the relationship of these two ancient philosophers: Aristotle, contrary to the usual thinking in the philosophical literature, is a Platonist. Gerson arrives at this position by examining in detail the writings of the Neoplatonists and others of the period and concluding that they were correct in assuming that there was no real conflict in the overall thinking of the two men and that, indeed, their thinking was 'harmonious.'

-- "LIBRARY JOURNAL"

This is one of the most important and challenging books on Aristotle in recent memory. I think Lloyd Gerson is unlikely to persuade everyone of the truth of what he says. Nor perhaps will he convince anyone of the truth of all the things he says. But if this book does not succeed in disturbing some dogmatic slumbers, I will be very surprised and more than a little disappointed. I urge anyone who is feeling somewhat stifled by the status quo in Aristotle scholarship to take a good hard look at this book. Even if you disagree profoundly it will--and I think should--open your mind to some new possibilities.

--Dirk Baltzly "Bryn Mawr Classical Review"

From the Publisher

"This wide-ranging and deeply learned book casts a challengingly heterodox, and often convincing, light on every major aspect of Aristotle's thought from his metaphysics to his ethics. It deserves to be read by every student not just of Aristotle but of ancient philosophy more generally."

C. D. C. Reeve

"This is both a learned, philosophically acute, and readable introduction to late antique Neoplatonism and a persuasive re-reading of Aristotle. Anyone with an interest in Aristotle, Plato, the late Platonists, and their effects on later philosophy, as well as anyone with a less specialized interest in the questions these philosophers discussed, will profit from Lloyd P. Gerson's painstaking study of a properly Platonic Aristotelianism (or Aristotelian Platonism)."

Stephen Clark

The paradigm of opposition between Plato and Aristotle is addressed by Gerson in his learned, fascinating, and persuasive book.

Ancient Philosophy - Rosamond Kent Sprague

The inquiry is informed throughout with unsurpassed knowledge of the Platonic and Aristotelian texts and with analytical rigor that matches the best Aristotelian scholarship. This is a compelling study that deserves immediate attention from ancient philosophers who are willing to rethink these important questions.

Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews - John Bussanich