Ontology in Early Neoplatonism: Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus (Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca et Byzantina, 9)

Neoplatonists from Plotinus onward incorporate Aristotle's logic and ontology into their philosophies: this process is of both intrinsic and historical interest and paves the way for subsequent philosophical debates in the Middle Ages and beyond. The ten essays collected in this book focus on the readings of Aristotle by Plotinus, Porphyry, and Iamblichus in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Their discussions cover key issues in the history of logic and metaphysics such as substance, hylomorphism, causation, existence, and predication. Among the topics tackled in this volume are Plotinus' criticism of Aristotle's physical essentialism, which is a major chapter in the history of metaphysics, and the interpretation of Porphyry's Isagoge , one of the most influential and enigmatic works in the history of philosophy. Further essays focus on the readings of Aristotle's categories developed by Porphyry and Iamblichus, which raise interesting questions at the intersection of logic and ontology, and on the integration of Aristotle's ontology into Neoplatonist accounts of being and existence. Neoplatonists from Plotinus onward incorporate Aristotle’s logic and ontology into their philosophies: this process is of both intrinsic and historical interest and paves the way for subsequent philosophical debates in the Middle Ages and beyond. The ten essays collected in this book focus on the readings of Aristotle by Plotinus, Porphyry, and Iamblichus in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Their discussions cover key issues in the history of logic and metaphysics such as substance, hylomorphism, causation, existence, and predication. Among the topics tackled in this volume are Plotinus’ criticism of Aristotle’s physical essentialism, which is a major chapter in the history of metaphysics, and the interpretation of Porphyry’s __Isagoge__, one of the most influential and enigmatic works in the history of philosophy. Further essays focus on the readings of Aristotle’s categories developed by Porphyry and Iamblichus, which raise interesting questions at the intersection of logic and ontology, and on the integration of Aristotle’s ontology into Neoplatonist accounts of being and existence. Contents 5 Introduction: Ontology in Early Neoplatonism 9 Note on the Text 12 Plotinus’ Ontology 17 1 Plotinus on Intelligible Qualities 17 2 Plotinus on Demiurgic Causation 37 3 Plotinus’ Metaphorical Reading of the Timaeus 59 4 Plotinus on Motion as Activity 72 The Interpretation of the Categories 99 5 Forms, Qualities, and Differentiae: Boethus of Sidon and Porphyry 99 6 Universals and Secondary Substances 118 7 Genera and Predication: Plotinus, Porphyry, and Iamblichus 146 8 Essence and Existence 171 Knowledge and Ethics 195 9 Common Conceptions and Philosophical Enquiry: Plotinus and Porphyry 195 10 Ethics and the Hierarchy Of Virtues from Plotinus to Iamblichus 213 Index of Names 229 Index of Passages 233