Commentaries on Aristotle
Encyclopedia
Commentaries on Aristotle refers to the great mass of literature produced, especially in the ancient and medieval world, to explain and clarify the works of Aristotle
. The pupils of Aristotle
were the first to comment on his writings, a tradition which was continued by the Peripatetic school throughout the Hellenistic period
and the Roman era. The Neoplatonists of the late Roman empire
wrote many commentaries on Aristotle, attempting to incorporate him into their philosophy. Although Ancient Greek commentaries are considered the most useful, commentaries continued to be written by the Christian
scholars of the Byzantine Empire
, and by the many Islamic philosophers
and Western scholastics
who had inherited his texts.
invented five moods of syllogism
in the first figure, in addition to the four invented by Aristotle, and stated with additional accuracy the rules of hypothetical syllogism
s. He also often differed with his master, including in collecting much information concerning animals and natural events, which Aristotle had omitted.
During the early Roman empire
we find few celebrated names among the Peripatetic philosophers. Nicolaus of Damascus
wrote several treatises on the philosophy of Aristotle; and Alexander of Aegae
also wrote commentaries on Aristotle. The earliest commentaries which survive, are those written in the 2nd century by Adrastus
and Aspasius
. Alexander of Aphrodisias
(c. 200) was regarded by subsequent Aristotelians
among the Greeks, Latins, and Muslims, as the best interpreter of Aristotle. On account of the number and value of his commentaries, he was called, by way of distinction, "The Commentator". Several of his works are still extant, among which is a treatise On Fate, wherein he supports the doctrine of divine providence
.
Many of the Neoplatonists undertook to explain and illustrate the writings of Aristotle, particularly on the subject of dialectics, which Plato
had left imperfect. Porphyry
(3rd century) wrote a book on the Categories
, which was found to be so suitable a complement to the Categories of Aristotle, that it was usually prefixed to that treatise. Porphyry sought to show that Plato and Aristotle were in harmony with each other, especially in regards to the compatibility of Aristotle's Categories with Plato's Theory of Forms
. Porphyry's pupil Iamblichus continued this process of harmonising Plato and Aristotle, and Dexippus, a disciple of Iamblichus, wrote a Reply to the Objections of Plotinus against Aristotle's Categories, which is still extant. Themistius
(4th century), who taught at Constantinople
with great success, paraphrased several of the works of Aristotle, particularly the Posterior Analytics
, the Physics
, and the book On the Soul
. In the 5th century, Ammonius Hermiae
represented Plato and Aristotle in agreeing that god was the artificier of a beginningless universe. Olympiodorus
, an Alexandrian philosopher, wrote commentaries upon Aristotle's Meteorology
and Categories
. Simplicius of Cilicia
(6th century) wrote extensive commentaries upon Aristotle, and, like many of the other Neoplatonists, attempted to reconcile the doctrines of the Pythagoreans
, of the Eleatics, of Plato, and of the Stoic
s, with those of Aristotle. He also strenuously defended Aristotle's doctrine concerning the eternity of the world
.
In the 6th century, Boethius, whose commentaries on the logical works of Aristotle became the only commentaries in Latin
available to the West, entertained the design of translating into Latin
the whole of Aristotle's and Plato's works, and of showing their agreement; a gigantic plan, which he never executed. Others employed themselves in disentangling the confusion which such attempts produced, as John Philoponus
, who, in the sixth century, maintained that Aristotle was entirely misunderstood by Porphyry and Proclus in incorporating his doctrines into those of the Neoplatonists, or even in reconciling him with Plato himself on the subject of ideas
, offering instead a Christian interpretation of the Aristotelian corpus. Others, again, wrote epitomes, compounds, abstracts; and tried to throw the works of Aristotle into some simpler and more obviously regular form, as John of Damascus
, in the middle of the 8th century, who made abstracts of some of Aristotle's works, and introduced the study of the author into theological education. John of Damascus lived under the patronage of the Arabs, and was at first secretary to the Caliph
, but afterwards withdrew to a monastery
.
in Baghdad
translated Aristotle and his commentators into Arabic. Islamic scholars made a point of studying the writings of Aristotle, especially his metaphysical
and logical writings, and also of his Physics. They wrote commentaries on Aristotle, and developed still further the abstract logical element. Many of these commentaries are still extant.
Al-Kindi
, who wrote a commentary on Aristotelian logic, lived in the 9th century, under Al-Ma'mun
. Al-Farabi
(10th century) wrote commentaries on Aristotle's Organon
, which were made diligent use of by the Scholastics. It is related of him that he read through Aristotle's treatise On Hearing forty times, and his Rhetoric
two hundred times, without getting at all tired of them. The physicians made a study of philosophy, and formulated theories; among them was Avicenna
(c. 980-1037), who came from Bukhara
, to the east of the Caspian Sea
; he wrote a commentary on Aristotle. Al-Ghazali
(1058–1111) wrote compendiums of logic and metaphysics. Averroes
(1126–1198) was especially distinguished as a commentator of Aristotle. He often wrote two of three different commentaries on the same work, and some 38 commentaries by Averroes on the works of Aristotle have been identified. Although his writings had only marginal impact in Islamic countries, his works had a huge impact in the Latin West following the Latin translations of the 12th and 13th centuries.
. In the 12th century Anna Comnena organised a group of scholars which included the commentators Michael of Ephesus
, and Eustratius of Nicaea
who employed himself upon the dialectic and moral treatises, and whom she does not hesitate to elevate above the Stoics and Platonists for his talent in philosophical discussions. Nicephorus Blemmydes
wrote logical and physical epitomes for the use of John Ducas; George Pachymeres
composed an epitome of the philosophy of Aristotle, and a compendium of his logic: Theodore Metochites
, who was famous in his time for his eloquence and his learning, has left a paraphrase of the books of Aristotle on Physics, On the Soul, On the Heavens
, etc. The same period saw the commentaries and paraphrases of Sophonias
.
) and of the Greek commentators. Albertus Magnus
, Thomas Aquinas
, Duns Scotus
, and William of Ockham
, among many others, wrote important philosophical works in the form of Aristotelian commentaries.
Corpus Aristotelicum
The Corpus Aristotelicum is the collection of Aristotle's works that have survived from antiquity through Medieval manuscript transmission. These texts, as opposed to Aristotle's lost works, are technical philosophical treatises from within Aristotle's school...
. The pupils of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
were the first to comment on his writings, a tradition which was continued by the Peripatetic school throughout the Hellenistic period
Hellenistic period
The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...
and the Roman era. The Neoplatonists of the late Roman empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
wrote many commentaries on Aristotle, attempting to incorporate him into their philosophy. Although Ancient Greek commentaries are considered the most useful, commentaries continued to be written by the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
scholars of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, and by the many Islamic philosophers
Islamic philosophy
Islamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies. It is the continuous search for Hekma in the light of Islamic view of life, universe, ethics, society, and so on...
and Western scholastics
Scholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
who had inherited his texts.
Greek commentators
The first pupils of Aristotle commentated on his writings, but often with a view to expand his work. Thus TheophrastusTheophrastus
Theophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...
invented five moods of syllogism
Syllogism
A syllogism is a kind of logical argument in which one proposition is inferred from two or more others of a certain form...
in the first figure, in addition to the four invented by Aristotle, and stated with additional accuracy the rules of hypothetical syllogism
Hypothetical syllogism
In logic, a hypothetical syllogism has two uses. In propositional logic it expresses one of the rules of inference, while in the history of logic, it is a short-hand for the theory of consequence.-Propositional logic:...
s. He also often differed with his master, including in collecting much information concerning animals and natural events, which Aristotle had omitted.
During the early Roman empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
we find few celebrated names among the Peripatetic philosophers. Nicolaus of Damascus
Nicolaus of Damascus
Nicolaus of Damascus was a Greek historian and philosopher who lived during the Augustan age of the Roman Empire. His name is derived from that of his birthplace, Damascus. He was born around 64 BC....
wrote several treatises on the philosophy of Aristotle; and Alexander of Aegae
Alexander of Aegae
Alexander of Aegae was a Peripatetic philosopher who flourished in Rome in the 1st century, and was a disciple of the celebrated mathematician Sosigenes of Alexandria. He was tutor to the emperor Nero. He wrote commentaries on the Categories and the De Caelo of Aristotle...
also wrote commentaries on Aristotle. The earliest commentaries which survive, are those written in the 2nd century by Adrastus
Adrastus of Aphrodisias
Adrastus of Aphrodisias was a Peripatetic philosopher who lived in the 2nd century AD. He was the author of a treatise on the arrangement of Aristotle's writings and his system of philosophy, quoted by Simplicius, and by Achilles Tatius. Some commentaries of his on the Timaeus of Plato are also...
and Aspasius
Aspasius
Aspasius was a Peripatetic philosopher. Boethius, who frequently refers to his works, says that Aspasius wrote commentaries on most of the works of Aristotle. The following commentaries are expressly mentioned: on De Interpretatione, the Physica, Metaphysica, Categoriae, and the Nicomachean Ethics...
. Alexander of Aphrodisias
Alexander of Aphrodisias
Alexander of Aphrodisias was a Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the Ancient Greek commentators on the writings of Aristotle. He was a native of Aphrodisias in Caria, and lived and taught in Athens at the beginning of the 3rd century, where he held a position as head of the...
(c. 200) was regarded by subsequent Aristotelians
Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism is a tradition of philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. The works of Aristotle were initially defended by the members of the Peripatetic school, and, later on, by the Neoplatonists, who produced many commentaries on Aristotle's writings...
among the Greeks, Latins, and Muslims, as the best interpreter of Aristotle. On account of the number and value of his commentaries, he was called, by way of distinction, "The Commentator". Several of his works are still extant, among which is a treatise On Fate, wherein he supports the doctrine of divine providence
Divine providence
In Christian theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's activity in the world. " Providence" is also used as a title of God exercising His providence, and then the word are usually capitalized...
.
Many of the Neoplatonists undertook to explain and illustrate the writings of Aristotle, particularly on the subject of dialectics, which Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
had left imperfect. Porphyry
Porphyry (philosopher)
Porphyry of Tyre , Porphyrios, AD 234–c. 305) was a Neoplatonic philosopher who was born in Tyre. He edited and published the Enneads, the only collection of the work of his teacher Plotinus. He also wrote many works himself on a wide variety of topics...
(3rd century) wrote a book on the Categories
Categories (Aristotle)
The Categories is a text from Aristotle's Organon that enumerates all the possible kinds of thing that can be the subject or the predicate of a proposition...
, which was found to be so suitable a complement to the Categories of Aristotle, that it was usually prefixed to that treatise. Porphyry sought to show that Plato and Aristotle were in harmony with each other, especially in regards to the compatibility of Aristotle's Categories with Plato's Theory of Forms
Theory of Forms
Plato's theory of Forms or theory of Ideas asserts that non-material abstract forms , and not the material world of change known to us through sensation, possess the highest and most fundamental kind of reality. When used in this sense, the word form is often capitalized...
. Porphyry's pupil Iamblichus continued this process of harmonising Plato and Aristotle, and Dexippus, a disciple of Iamblichus, wrote a Reply to the Objections of Plotinus against Aristotle's Categories, which is still extant. Themistius
Themistius
Themistius , named , was a statesman, rhetorician, and philosopher. He flourished in the reigns of Constantius II, Julian, Jovian, Valens, Gratian, and Theodosius I; and he enjoyed the favour of all those emperors, notwithstanding their many differences, and the fact that he himself was not a...
(4th century), who taught at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
with great success, paraphrased several of the works of Aristotle, particularly the Posterior Analytics
Posterior Analytics
The Posterior Analytics is a text from Aristotle's Organon that deals with demonstration, definition, and scientific knowledge. The demonstration is distinguished as a syllogism productive of scientific knowledge, while the definition marked as the statement of a thing's nature, .....
, the Physics
Physics (Aristotle)
The Physics of Aristotle is one of the foundational books of Western science and philosophy...
, and the book On the Soul
On the Soul
On the Soul is a major treatise by Aristotle on the nature of living things. His discussion centres on the kinds of souls possessed by different kinds of living things, distinguished by their different operations...
. In the 5th century, Ammonius Hermiae
Ammonius Hermiae
Ammonius Hermiae was a Greek philosopher, and the son of the Neoplatonist philosophers Hermias and Aedesia. He was a pupil of Proclus in Athens, and taught at Alexandria for most of his life, writing commentaries on Plato, Aristotle, and other philosophers....
represented Plato and Aristotle in agreeing that god was the artificier of a beginningless universe. Olympiodorus
Olympiodorus the Younger
Olympiodorus the Younger was a Neoplatonist philosopher, astrologer and teacher who lived in the early years of the Byzantine Empire, after Justinian's Decree of 529 A.D. which closed Plato's Academy in Athens and other pagan schools...
, an Alexandrian philosopher, wrote commentaries upon Aristotle's Meteorology
Meteorology (Aristotle)
Meteorology is a treatise by Aristotle which contains his theories about the earth sciences. These include early accounts of water evaporation, weather phenomena, and earthquakes....
and Categories
Categories (Aristotle)
The Categories is a text from Aristotle's Organon that enumerates all the possible kinds of thing that can be the subject or the predicate of a proposition...
. Simplicius of Cilicia
Simplicius of Cilicia
Simplicius of Cilicia, was a disciple of Ammonius Hermiae and Damascius, and was one of the last of the Neoplatonists. He was among the pagan philosophers persecuted by Justinian in the early 6th century, and was forced for a time to seek refuge in the Persian court, before being allowed back into...
(6th century) wrote extensive commentaries upon Aristotle, and, like many of the other Neoplatonists, attempted to reconcile the doctrines of the Pythagoreans
Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism was the system of esoteric and metaphysical beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans, who were considerably influenced by mathematics. Pythagoreanism originated in the 5th century BCE and greatly influenced Platonism...
, of the Eleatics, of Plato, and of the Stoic
STOIC
STOIC was a variant of Forth.It started out at the MIT and Harvard Biomedical Engineering Centre in Boston, and was written in the mid 1970s by Jonathan Sachs...
s, with those of Aristotle. He also strenuously defended Aristotle's doctrine concerning the eternity of the world
Eternity of the world
The question of the eternity of the world was a concern of the philosophers of the classical period and particularly the medieval theologians and philosophers of the 13th century. The problem is whether the world has a beginning in time, or whether it has existed from eternity...
.
In the 6th century, Boethius, whose commentaries on the logical works of Aristotle became the only commentaries in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
available to the West, entertained the design of translating into Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
the whole of Aristotle's and Plato's works, and of showing their agreement; a gigantic plan, which he never executed. Others employed themselves in disentangling the confusion which such attempts produced, as John Philoponus
John Philoponus
John Philoponus , also known as John the Grammarian or John of Alexandria, was a Christian and Aristotelian commentator and the author of a considerable number of philosophical treatises and theological works...
, who, in the sixth century, maintained that Aristotle was entirely misunderstood by Porphyry and Proclus in incorporating his doctrines into those of the Neoplatonists, or even in reconciling him with Plato himself on the subject of ideas
Theory of Forms
Plato's theory of Forms or theory of Ideas asserts that non-material abstract forms , and not the material world of change known to us through sensation, possess the highest and most fundamental kind of reality. When used in this sense, the word form is often capitalized...
, offering instead a Christian interpretation of the Aristotelian corpus. Others, again, wrote epitomes, compounds, abstracts; and tried to throw the works of Aristotle into some simpler and more obviously regular form, as John of Damascus
John of Damascus
Saint John of Damascus was a Syrian monk and priest...
, in the middle of the 8th century, who made abstracts of some of Aristotle's works, and introduced the study of the author into theological education. John of Damascus lived under the patronage of the Arabs, and was at first secretary to the Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
, but afterwards withdrew to a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
.
Islamic commentators
In the 9th century, the Platonising school of Thābit ibn QurraThabit ibn Qurra
' was a mathematician, physician, astronomer and translator of the Islamic Golden Age.Ibn Qurra made important discoveries in algebra, geometry and astronomy...
in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
translated Aristotle and his commentators into Arabic. Islamic scholars made a point of studying the writings of Aristotle, especially his metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
and logical writings, and also of his Physics. They wrote commentaries on Aristotle, and developed still further the abstract logical element. Many of these commentaries are still extant.
Al-Kindi
Al-Kindi
' , known as "the Philosopher of the Arabs", was a Muslim Arab philosopher, mathematician, physician, and musician. Al-Kindi was the first of the Muslim peripatetic philosophers, and is unanimously hailed as the "father of Islamic or Arabic philosophy" for his synthesis, adaptation and promotion...
, who wrote a commentary on Aristotelian logic, lived in the 9th century, under Al-Ma'mun
Al-Ma'mun
Abū Jaʿfar Abdullāh al-Māʾmūn ibn Harūn was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833...
. Al-Farabi
Al-Farabi
' known in the West as Alpharabius , was a scientist and philosopher of the Islamic world...
(10th century) wrote commentaries on Aristotle's Organon
Organon
The Organon is the name given by Aristotle's followers, the Peripatetics, to the standard collection of his six works on logic:* Categories* On Interpretation* Prior Analytics* Posterior Analytics...
, which were made diligent use of by the Scholastics. It is related of him that he read through Aristotle's treatise On Hearing forty times, and his Rhetoric
Rhetoric (Aristotle)
Aristotle's Rhetoric is an ancient Greek treatise on the art of persuasion, dating from the 4th century BC. In Greek, it is titled ΤΕΧΝΗ ΡΗΤΟΡΙΚΗ, in Latin Ars Rhetorica. In English, its title varies: typically it is titled Rhetoric, the Art of Rhetoric, or a Treatise on...
two hundred times, without getting at all tired of them. The physicians made a study of philosophy, and formulated theories; among them was Avicenna
Avicenna
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...
(c. 980-1037), who came from Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
, to the east of the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
; he wrote a commentary on Aristotle. Al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali
Abu Hāmed Mohammad ibn Mohammad al-Ghazzālī , known as Algazel to the western medieval world, born and died in Tus, in the Khorasan province of Persia was a Persian Muslim theologian, jurist, philosopher, and mystic....
(1058–1111) wrote compendiums of logic and metaphysics. Averroes
Averroes
' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
(1126–1198) was especially distinguished as a commentator of Aristotle. He often wrote two of three different commentaries on the same work, and some 38 commentaries by Averroes on the works of Aristotle have been identified. Although his writings had only marginal impact in Islamic countries, his works had a huge impact in the Latin West following the Latin translations of the 12th and 13th centuries.
Byzantine commentators
The line of the Aristotelian commentators was continued to the later ages of the Byzantine empireByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. In the 12th century Anna Comnena organised a group of scholars which included the commentators Michael of Ephesus
Michael of Ephesus
Michael of Ephesus or Michael Ephesius wrote important commentaries on Aristotle, including the first full commentary on the Sophistical Refutations, which established the regular study of that text.-Life:...
, and Eustratius of Nicaea
Eustratius of Nicaea
Eustratius of Nicaea was Metropolitan bishop of Nicaea in the early 12th century. He wrote commentaries to Aristotle's second book of Analytica and the Ethica Nicomachea....
who employed himself upon the dialectic and moral treatises, and whom she does not hesitate to elevate above the Stoics and Platonists for his talent in philosophical discussions. Nicephorus Blemmydes
Nicephorus Blemmydes
Nikephoros Blemmydes was 13th-century Byzantine literary figure.He was born in 1197 in Constantinople as the second child of a physician. After the conquest of Constantinople by the forces of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, he migrated to Asia Minor. There, he received a liberal education in Prusa,...
wrote logical and physical epitomes for the use of John Ducas; George Pachymeres
George Pachymeres
Georgius Pachymeres , a Byzantine Greek historian and miscellaneous writer, was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, where his father had taken refuge after the capture of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204...
composed an epitome of the philosophy of Aristotle, and a compendium of his logic: Theodore Metochites
Theodore Metochites
Theodore Metochites was a Byzantine statesman, author, gentleman philosopher, and patron of the arts. From c. 1305 to 1328 he held the position of personal adviser to emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos.- Life :...
, who was famous in his time for his eloquence and his learning, has left a paraphrase of the books of Aristotle on Physics, On the Soul, On the Heavens
On the Heavens
On the Heavens is Aristotle's chief cosmological treatise: it contains his astronomical theory and his ideas on the concrete workings of the terrestrial world...
, etc. The same period saw the commentaries and paraphrases of Sophonias
Sophonias (commentator)
Sophonias was a Byzantine monk who wrote commentaries or paraphrases of the works of Aristotle including De Anima, Sophistici Elenchi, Prior Analytics, and the Parva Naturalia, which are still extant....
.
Commentators in the Latin West
Scholastic philosophy in the Latin West was decisively shaped when the works of Aristotle became widely available, at first through translations of commentators and their basis texts from Arabic, and later through translations from Greek of Aristotle's original text (notably by William of MoerbekeWilliam of Moerbeke
Willem van Moerbeke, O.P., known in the English speaking world as William of Moerbeke was a prolific medieval translator of philosophical, medical, and scientific texts from Greek into Latin...
) and of the Greek commentators. Albertus Magnus
Albertus Magnus
Albertus Magnus, O.P. , also known as Albert the Great and Albert of Cologne, is a Catholic saint. He was a German Dominican friar and a bishop, who achieved fame for his comprehensive knowledge of and advocacy for the peaceful coexistence of science and religion. Those such as James A. Weisheipl...
, Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
, Duns Scotus
Duns Scotus
Blessed John Duns Scotus, O.F.M. was one of the more important theologians and philosophers of the High Middle Ages. He was nicknamed Doctor Subtilis for his penetrating and subtle manner of thought....
, and William of Ockham
William of Ockham
William of Ockham was an English Franciscan friar and scholastic philosopher, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small village in Surrey. He is considered to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of...
, among many others, wrote important philosophical works in the form of Aristotelian commentaries.
Lists and indices of commentaries on Aristotle
A list of commentaries on all of Aristotle's works has been compiled by Charles H. Lohr:- 1967: “Medieval Aristotle Commentaries: Authors A-F”, Traditio, 23, 313-413.
- 1968: “Medieval Aristotle Commentaries: Authors G-I”, Traditio, 24, 149-245.
- 1970: "Medieval Aristotle Commentaries: Authors Jacobus-Johannes Juff", Traditio, 26, 135-216.
- 1971: "Medieval Aristotle Commentaries: Authors Johannes de Kanthi–Myngodus", Traditio, 27, 251-351.
- 1972: "Medieval Aristotle Commentaries: Authors Narcissus–Richardus", Traditio, 28, 281-396.
- 1973: "Medieval Aristotle Commentaries: Authors Robertus–Wilgelmus", Traditio, 29, 93-197.
- 1974: "Medieval Aristotle Commentaries: Supplementary Authors ", Traditio, 30, 119-144.
- 1974: "Renaissance Latin Aristotle Commentaries: Authors A-B", Studies in the Renaissance, 21, 228-289.
- 1975: "Renaissance Latin Aristotle Commentaries: Authors C", Renaissance Quarterly, 28, 689-741.
- 1976: "Renaissance Latin Aristotle Commentaries: Authors D-F", Renaissance Quarterly, 29, 714-745.
- 1977: "Renaissance Latin Aristotle Commentaries: Authors G-K", Renaissance Quarterly, 30, 681-741.
- 1978: "Renaissance Latin Aristotle Commentaries: Authors L-M", Renaissance Quarterly, 31, 532-603.
- 1979: "Renaissance Latin Aristotle Commentaries: Authors N-Ph", Renaissance Quarterly, 32, 529-580.
- 1980: "Renaissance Latin Aristotle Commentaries: Authors Pi-Sm", Renaissance Quarterly, 33, 623-374.
- 1982: "Renaissance Latin Aristotle Commentaries: Authors So-Z", Renaissance Quarterly, 35, 164-256.
- 1988: Latin Aristotle Commentaries–II: Renaissance Authors, Firenze: Leo S. Olschki.
See also
- Ancient commentators projectAncient commentators projectThe Ancient commentators project based out of King's College London and under the direction of Richard Sorabji has undertaken to translate into English the ancient commentaries on Aristotle. Over 80 volumes have been released since the beginning of the project in 1987...
- AristotelianismAristotelianismAristotelianism is a tradition of philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. The works of Aristotle were initially defended by the members of the Peripatetic school, and, later on, by the Neoplatonists, who produced many commentaries on Aristotle's writings...
- Commentaria in Aristotelem GraecaCommentaria in Aristotelem GraecaCommentaria in Aristotelem Graeca [edita consilio et auctoritate academiae litterarum Regiae Borussicae] ' is the standard collection of extant ancient Greek commentaries on Aristotle. The 23 volumes in the series were released between the years 1882 and 1909 by the publisher Reimer...
- Commentaries on PlatoCommentaries on PlatoCommentaries on Plato refers to the great mass of literature produced, especially in the ancient and medieval world, to explain and clarify the works of Plato...
- ConimbricensesConimbricensesConimbricenses or Collegium Conimbricenses is the name by which Jesuits of the University of Coimbra in Coimbra, Portugal were known. The Conimbricenses were Jesuits who, from the end of 16th century took over the intellectual leadership of the Roman Catholic world from the Dominicans. Among those...
- List of writers influenced by Aristotle
- List of Renaissance commentators on Aristotle
Sources
- William WhewellWilliam WhewellWilliam Whewell was an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.-Life and career:Whewell was born in Lancaster...
, (1837), History of the Inductive Sciences: From the Earliest to the Present Times, pages 271-5 - Johann Jakob BruckerJohann Jakob BruckerJohann Jakob Brucker was a German historian of philosophy.-Life:He was born at Augsburg. He was destined for the Lutheran Church, and graduated at the University of Jena in 1718...
, (1837), The History of Philosophy, from the Earliest Periods, pages 349-53 - Georg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
, (1896), Lectures on the History of Philosophy, Part Two. Philosophy of the Middle Ages, pages 34–35 - Edward Grant, (1996), The foundations of modern science in the Middle Ages: their religious, page 30. Cambridge University Press
- Richard SorabjiRichard SorabjiRichard Rustom Kharsedji Sorabji CBE, FBA is a British historian of ancient Western philosophy and Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at King's College London. He has written his own 'Intellectual Autobiography' in his Festschrift: R. Salles ed., Metaphysics, Soul and Ethics in Ancient Thought , 1-36...
, "Aristotle Commentators" entry in Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (1998)
Further reading
- Roy K. Gibson, Christina Shuttleworth Kraus, (editors), (2002), The Classical Commentary: Histories, Practices, Theory. BRILL
- Richard Sorabji (editor), (1990), Aristotle Transformed: The Ancient Commentators and their Influence. Duckworth
- Richard Sorabji, (2005), The Philosophy of the Commentators 200-600 AD. A Sourcebook. Cornell University Press (3 volumes)
- Miira Tuominen (2009), The Ancient Commentators on Plato and Aristotle. Acumen
External links
- A bibliographical guide to the Aristotelian commentators (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - The Neoplatonic Commentators on Aristotle's Metaphysics with an annotated bibliography on the Ancient Greek Commentators
- The Stoic Theory of Categories and Plotinus' Criticism of Aristotle
- Ancient Greek Commentators on Aristotle's Categories
- Latin Medieval Commentators on Aristotle's Categories