Because Ideas Matter...
The faculty and staff of Butler University's College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences presents
Recommended Readings
Philoponus and the Rejection of Aristotelian
Science, 2nd edition
by Richard Sorabji, Institute of Classical Studies 2010
Reviewed by Tiberiu Popa
Richard Sorabji is the editor of a vast and
growing number of translations of ancient commentaries on Aristotle
and the editor of several excellent collections of studies on the
Aristotelian tradition. Philoponus, a 6th century Christian thinker
who was originally trained as a Neoplatonist, is best remembered
today for his attack on Aristotle's 'physics'; his influence on
later philosophers and scientists and his role in the reevaluation
of Aristotelian science and natural philosophy are indeed
remarkable. The second edition of Philoponus and the Rejection of
Aristotelian Science includes a new two-part introduction which
offers a survey of the rapidly expanding scholarship on Philoponus
and of recent archeological discoveries (such as the lecture rooms
of the 6th century Alexandrian school), as well as new insights
into the interaction between Greek paganism and Christianity in
connection with Philoponus and his milieu. The twelve chapters
included in this collection are written by very prominent scholars
and tackle topics such as Philoponus' corollaries on space and
time, the differences between his theological views (e.g. on the
three hypostases) and the prevailing dogmas of the time, the
relation between his theory about impetus and later treatments of
impetus and related concepts in a number of Arab thinkers and in
Galileo. This collection is one of the most reliable and
wide-ranging introductions to Philoponus' views and influence, and
those interested in late ancient philosophy and its interactions
with Christian thought will find this to be a most valuable
resource.
- Tiberiu Popa is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Butler
University.