Death and Immortality in Late Neoplatonism: Studies on the Ancient Commentaries on Plato's Phaedo (Ancient Mediterranean and Medieval Texts and ... Neoplatonism, and the Platonic Tradition, 12)

"The belief in the immortality of the soul has been described as one of the "twin pillars of Platonism" and is famously defended by Socrates in Plato's Phaedo. The ancient commentaries on the dialogue by Olympiodorus and Damascius offer a unique perspective on the reception of this belief in the Platonic tradition. Through a detailed discussion of topics such as suicide, the life of the philosopher and arguments for immortality, this study demonstrates the commentators' serious engagement with problems in Platos text as well as the dialogue's importance to Neoplatonic ethics. The book will be of interest to students of Plato and the Platonic tradition, and to those working on ancient ethics and psychology."--Publisher's website. Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 10 A Note on Citations......Page 12 1. Nature and Purpose of the Present Study......Page 14 2. Olympiodorus and Damascius: Two Philosophical Personalities......Page 20 2.1. Olympiodorus......Page 21 2.2. Damascius......Page 24 3.1. Finding the Skopos......Page 27 3.2. Applying the Skopos......Page 32 1. Philosophy As Meletè Thanatou and the Prohibition of Suicide......Page 40 2. Two Kinds of Death and Separation......Page 41 3. Two Ways of Arguing against Suicide......Page 43 4. Olympiodorus’ Three Arguments......Page 46 5. The Esoteric Doctrine......Page 53 6. The Philosophical Argument......Page 57 7. The Case for Suicide......Page 58 8. Olympiodorus’ Conclusion......Page 59 1.1. The Civic Virtues and the Statesman......Page 64 1.2. Old Puzzles......Page 68 2. The Civic Context(s) of Plato’s Phaedo......Page 71 3. The Discourses on Purification......Page 74 4. The Virtues......Page 79 1. Introduction......Page 84 2. The Background to Syrianus and Damascius......Page 88 3.1. Syrianus’ Interpretation of the Argument from Opposites in Outline......Page 93 3.2. Syrianus’ Approach to Particular Problems with the Argument......Page 96 3.3. How Much Does the Argument from Opposites Prove?......Page 99 4. Damascius: Soizetai o Logos?......Page 102 4.1. Damascius’ Critique of Syrianus......Page 103 4.2. Damascius’ Own Version of the Argument......Page 104 5. Conclusion......Page 107 1. Introduction......Page 110 2. What Does the Argument Prove?......Page 115 3. What Is Recollection, and How Does It Work?......Page 122 4. What Forms Are Recollected, and Why Do We Need Forms at All?......Page 124 5. Two Puzzles about Memory and Recollection......Page 129 1. Introduction......Page 136 3. Iamblichus......Page 142 4. Proclus’ Analysis of the Argument......Page 145 5. Damascius’ Critique of Proclus......Page 148 6. Three Objections to the Argument......Page 149 7. Two Platonic Problems......Page 152 1. The ‘Second Voyage’......Page 156 2. The Final Argument......Page 161 3. Strato’s Criticisms and Their Impact......Page 165 4. Refuting Strato......Page 168 5. Damascius’ New Analysis......Page 171 6. Concluding Evaluation......Page 179 7. A Final Note on the Argument for Immortality in Proclus’ Elements of Theology......Page 181 1. Preliminaries......Page 185 2. The Afterlife Journey: Phd. 107c-108c......Page 188 3. Which Earth Is the ‘True Earth’?......Page 191 4. The Underground Rivers in Damascius and Olympiodorus......Page 197 5. Epilogue......Page 200 General Conclusions......Page 202 Bibliography......Page 208 Index Rerum......Page 218 Index Nominum Veterum et Recentiorum......Page 222 Index Locorum Potiorum......Page 226 This Study Focuses On The Ancient Commentaries On Plato’s Phaedo By Olympiodorus And Damascius And Aims To Present The Relevance Of Their Challenging And Valuable Readings Of The Dialogue To Neoplatonic Ethics.