Gábor Betegh

In _Physics_ I 4 Aristotle turns to those who, in his view, practised bona fide natural philosophy by allowing change and multiplicity. But instead of providing a survey of the pluralist options, Aristotle focuses on those who produced plurality out of an initial one. He singles out Anaxagoras and provides a detailed discussion and refutation of his theory of mixture. This chapter examines what features of Anaxagoras’ theory could motivate Aristotle’s exclusive focus on him. It suggests that Anaxagoras is particularly interesting for Aristotle, because he offers a model in which the character that emerges as the outcome of the change is already there at the beginning, without however being manifest. In this sense, Anaxagoras’ theory gets closest to Aristotle’s solution to the puzzle of change. In assessing Aristotle’s objections, the chapter also argues against the widely held view that his critical discussion commits him to the theory of _minima naturalia_.

The paper argues that joining a narrative about the origins of social institutions to a narrative about the origins of the cosmos and of living organisms was not a customary feature of Presocratic accounts, but an innovation introduced around the time of Socrates. There is, moreover, some evidence to the effect that Archelaus of Athens, who is usually presented as belonging to the circle of Anaxagoras and as a companion and teacher of Socrates, was one of the first authors to offer such a unified narrative. The paper offers reasons why the conjunction of the two narratives could have been seen by contemporaries as posing a particularly strong threat to traditional theological conceptions. The paper then examines two key texts, Aristophanes’ _Clouds_ and Plato’s _Laws_ 10, in which these new types of account are attacked for their deleterious effects. It is suggested that Archelaus’ theory has a more important role in these texts than is generally recognized.

This chapter examines the way Aristotle describes in A 3–4 (984b8–985a29) the reasons and motivations, which, on his interpretation, lead his predecessors to introduce a new type of principle that could function as the efficient cause. By bringing in parallel texts from Physics I and On the Parts of Animals I, it is argued that, for Aristotle, the trajectory of the discovery of the truth is after all less deterministic than what the language of Metaphysics A 3 might suggest. The paper aims to show, moreover, that what is discovered is not so much new types of Aristotelian causes but rather distinctions among types of principle.

Chapter 4 discusses _Statesman_ 268d5-277c6: why the myth does not fully deliver what it was expected to deliver, and what it achieves instead; in addition, focusing on the notion of kinship (_sungeneia_), the chapter also suggests how the myth could contribute to the statesman’s efforts to create the fabric of society. The first part of the chapter considers why the Eleatic Visitor in the _Statesman_ switches from dialectic to telling a myth, what he expects from the myth, and why he feels that the myth only partially delivered what he expected. Even the negative results lead to important lessons: a myth cannot be directly subservient to dialectic, and telling good myths requires a distinct skill set. The second part of the chapter shows how the cosmological myth prepares the ground for the central positive outcome of the dialogue. In painting a vivid image of the human condition in the present cosmic age, the myth shows the natural kinship linking all humans, and emphasizes the importance of family ties and of cooperation. It could therefore be used for educational purposes by the true statesman who is tasked with creating the fabric of society by forging and fostering the bonds between citizens.

The paper offers a close analysis of Aristotle’s discussion in _De Anima_ 1. 4 (407b27–408a34) of the views according to which soul is _harmonia_. To understand properly why the _harmonia_ views are important for Aristotle, we need a better grasp of Empedocles’ role in his discussion. It is not that Empedocles had a _harmonia_ theory of the soul, or that Aristotle thought so, but that Aristotle could consider elements of Empedocles’ views as containing central aspects of Aristotle’s own theory. The ‘Empedoclean’ conception of _harmonia_ as a ‘logos of the mixture’ could be conceived as an anticipation of his own notion of essence and form, whereas Love as _Harmonia_ has the function of bringing and keeping together the elements composing the body. The connections between the _harmonia_ theories of the soul discussed in _De Anima_ 1.4 and the problem of the unity of the soul in 1.5 are also explored.

Cicero is increasingly recognised as a highly intelligent contributor to the ongoing ethical debates between Epicureans, Stoics and other schools. In this work on the fundamentals of ethics his learning as a scholar, his skill as a lawyer and his own passion for the truth result in a work which dazzles us in its presentation of the debates and at the same time exhibits the detachment of the ancient sceptic. Many kinds of reader will find themselves engaged with Cicero as well as with the ethical theories he presents. This collection takes the reader further into the debates, opening up new avenues for exploring this fascinating work.

Cicero is increasingly recognised as a highly intelligent contributor to the ongoing ethical debates between Epicureans, Stoics and other schools. In this work on the fundamentals of ethics his learning as a scholar, his skill as a lawyer and his own passion for the truth result in a work which dazzles us in its presentation of the debates and at the same time exhibits the detachment of the ancient sceptic. Many kinds of reader will find themselves engaged with Cicero as well as with the ethical theories he presents. This collection takes the reader further into the debates, opening up new avenues for exploring this fascinating work.

Concepts are basic features of rationality. Debates surrounding them have been central to the study of philosophy in the medieval and modern periods, as well as in the analytical and Continental traditions. This book studies ancient Greek approaches to the various notions of concept, exploring the early history of conceptual theory and its associated philosophical debates from the end of the archaic age to the end of antiquity. When and how did the notion of concept emerge and evolve, what questions were raised by ancient philosophers in the Greco-Roman tradition about concepts, and what were the theoretical presuppositions that made the emergence of a notion of concept possible? The volume furthers our own contemporary understanding of the nature of concepts, concept formation, and concept use. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

: In this paper we give a detailed reconstruction of the first chapter of De Caelo I.1. Aristotle attempts to prove there that bodies are complete and perfect in virtue of being extended in three dimensions. We offer an analysis of this argument and argue that it gives important insight into the role the notion of body plays in physical science. Contrary to other interpretations, we argue that it is an argument about physical, as opposed to mathematical, bodies and that the perfection and completeness of bodies is due to their nature. Moreover, Aristotle heavily relies in his proof on the premise that the number three implies perfection, a view he ascribes to the Pythagoreans. We review the possible sources of this view, as well as its role in Aristotle’s argumentative strategy.

Recent works by Fabienne Jourdan, Luc Brisson and Francesc Casadesús emphasize the importance of the similarities between the Derveni papyrus and early Stoicism. The paper examines the se parallelisms – focusing on the method of allegorical interpretation, the cosmological roles of air, fire and pneuma and cosmic teleology – and argues that the similarities, although non-negligible, are not such that would require us to re-interpret the Derveni papyrus against the background of Stoicism. Moreover, the relevant features of the papyrus may be explained from the internal dynamics of the Derveni author’s system, and there is thus no need to modify the date of the papyrus to allow Stoic influence.

The paper first discusses the metaphysical framework that allows the soul's integration into the physical world. A close examination of B36, supported by the comparative evidence of some other early theories of the soul, suggests that the word psuchê could function as both a mass term and a count noun for Heraclitus. There is a stuff in the world, alongside other physical elements, that manifests mental functions. Humans, and possibly other beings, show mental functions in so far as they have a portion of that stuff. Turning to the physical characterization of the soul, the paper argues that B36 is entirely consistent with the ancient testimonies that say that psuchê for Heraclitus is exhalation. But exhalations cover all states of matter from the lowest moist part of atmospheric air to the fire of celestial bodies. If so, psuchê for Heraclitus is both air and fire. The fact that psuchê can manifest the whole range of physical properties along the dry-wet axis guarantees that souls can show different intellectual and ethical properties as well. Moreover, Sextus Empiricus, supported by some other sources, provides us with an answer how portions of soul stuff are individuated into individual souls. The paper closes with a brief discussion of the question whether, and if so with what qualifications, we can apply the term 'physicalism' to Presocratic theories of the soul.

This is a comprehensive study of the Derveni Papyrus. The papyrus, found in 1962 near Thessaloniki, is not only one of the oldest surviving Greek papyri but is also considered by scholars as a document of primary importance for a better understanding of the religious and philosophical developments in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Gábor Betegh aims to reconstruct and systematically analyse the different strata of the text and their interrelation by exploring the archaeological context; the interpretation of rituals in the first columns of the text; the Orphic poem commented on by the author of the papyrus; and the cosmological and theological doctrines which emerge from the Derveni author's exegesis of the poem. Betegh discusses the place of the text in the context of late Presocratic philosophy and offers an important preliminary edition of the text of the papyrus with critical apparatus and English translation.