World Soul – Anima Mundi : On the Origins and Fortunes of a Fundamental Idea

From Plato’s __Timaeus__ onwards, the world or cosmos has been conceived of as a living, rational organism. Most notably in German Idealism, philosophers still talked of a ‘Weltseele’ (Schelling) or ‘Weltgeist’ (Hegel). This volume is the first collection of essays on the origin of the notion of the world soul (anima mundi) in Antiquity and beyond. It contains 14 original contributions by specialists in the field of ancient philosophy, the Platonic tradition and the history of theology. The topics range from the ‘obscure’ Presocratic Heraclitus, to Plato and his ancient readers in Middle and Neoplatonism (including the Stoics), to the reception of the idea of a world soul in the history of natural science. A general introduction highlights the fundamental steps in the development of the Platonic notion throughout late Antiquity and early Christian philosophy. Accessible to Classicists, historians of philosophy, theologians and invaluable to specialists in ancient philosophy, the book provides an overview of the fascinating discussions surrounding a conception that had a long-lasting effect on the history of Western thought. * First collected volume on the concept of a world soul in the history of thought * Seminal readings on the interrelation of cosmology, psychology and theology * Wide-ranging scope from Heraclitus and Plato to Neoplatonism and beyond From Plato's Timaeus onwards, the world or cosmos has been conceived of as a living, rational organism. Most notably in German Idealism, philosophers still talked of a 'Weltseele' (Schelling) or 'Weltgeist' (Hegel). This volume is the first collection of essays on the origin of the notion of the world soul (anima mundi) in Antiquity and beyond. It contains 14 original contributions by specialists in the field of ancient philosophy, the Platonic tradition and the history of theology. The topics range from the 'obscure' Presocratic Heraclitus, to Plato and his ancient readers in Middle and Neoplatonism (including the Stoics), to the reception of the idea of a world soul in the history of natural science. A general introduction highlights the fundamental steps in the development of the Platonic notion throughout late Antiquity and early Christian philosophy. Accessible to Classicists, historians of philosophy, theologians and invaluable to specialists in ancient philosophy, the book provides an overview of the fascinating discussions surrounding a conception that had a long-lasting effect on the history of Western thought. Acknowledgment 6 Contents 8 The World Soul in Antiquity and beyond 10 Part I: Prehistory of the concept 36 Is the Logos a kind of World Soul? On the relationship between cosmology and psychology in Heraclitus 36 Part II: Plato’s Timaeus and Pseudo-Aristotle’s De Mundo 72 Disorderly motion and the World Soul in the Timaeus 72 Die „Seele“ des Seienden bei Platon: Sophistes 248e–249a und Timaios 30a–31c 86 Ascoltare l’anima cosmica: riargomentazione ed esegesi tecnica κατὰ ζητήματα della divisio animae platonica 100 The power of god in Pseudo-Aristotle’s De mundo: An alternative approach 144 Part III: Old Academy, Stoicism, and Middle Platonism 164 The World Soul takes command: The doctrine of the World Soul in the Epinomis of Philip of Opus and in the academy of Polemon 164 Apospasma: The World Soul and its individual parts in Stoicism 176 Die kosmische Seele bei Ps.-Timaios Lokros und den anderen Pseudopythagorica: kosmologische und erkenntnistheoretische Aspekte 198 Calcidius on Fate and the World Soul 220 Part IV: Neoplatonism 254 Plotinus on the World Soul 254 The World Soul in the embryological theories of Porphyry and Plotinus 278 The World Soul in Proclus’ Timaeus Commentary 298 From the particular soul to the World Soul: Some puzzles in Philoponus 318 Part V: Nachleben 344 World Soul and celestial heat. Platonic and Aristotelian ideas in the history of natural philosophy 344 Index of Names 364 Index of Ancient Citations 366 Index of Subjects 372 Philosophy,History & Surveys,Ancient & Classical

Diese Reihe bietet ein Forum für Studien, welche die Texte, Themen und Argumente antiker Philosophen aufgreifen und diskutieren. Sie zeigen, dass philosophische Geschichtsschreibung nicht nur die Theorien antiker Autoren nachzeichnet, sondern deren Argumente auch rekonstruieren, mit aktuellen philosophischen Diskussionen verbinden und damit heutige Diskurse entscheidend bereichern kann.