Michael Share – författare

This volume of Proclus' commentary on Plato's Timaeus records Proclus' exegesis of Timaeus 27a-31b, in which Plato first discusses preliminary matters that precede his account of the creation of the universe, and then moves to the account of the creation of the universe as a totality. For Proclus this text is a grand opportunity to reflect on the nature of causation as it relates to the physical reality of our cosmos. The commentary deals with many subjects that have been of central interest to philosophers from Plato's time onwards, such as the question whether the cosmos was created in time, and the nature of evil as it relates to physical reality and its ontological imperfection.

This is one of the most interesting of all post-Aristotelian Greek philosophical texts, written at a crucial moment in the defeat of paganism by Christianity, AD 529, when the Emperor Justinian closed the pagan Neoplatonist school in Athens. Philoponus in Alexandria was a brilliant Christian philosopher, steeped in Neoplatonism, who turned the pagans' ideas against them. Here he attacks the most devout of the earlier Athenian pagan philosophers, Proclus, defending the distinctively Christian view that the universe had a beginning against Proclus' eighteen arguments to the contrary, which are discussed in eighteen chapters. Chapters 6-8 are translated in this volume.

In the chapters of his 'Physics' commented on here, Aristotle disagrees with Pre-Socratic philosophers about the basic principles that explain natural changes. But he finds some agreement among them that at least two contrary properties must be involved, for example hot and cold. His own view is that there are two contrary principles at a more abstract level: the form possessed at the end of a change and the privation of that form at the beginning. But there is also a third principle needed to supply continuity - the matter to which first privation and later form belong. Despite the apparent disagreements, Simplicius, the Neoplatonist commentator, wants to emphasise the harmony of all pagan Greek thinkers, as opposed to Christians, on such a basic matter as first principles. He therefore presents not only the Pre-Socratics and Aristotle, but also himself and earlier commentators of different schools as all in basic agreement.

Filling an important gap in a neglected area of Russian history, namely the 1880s and early 1890s, this volume, originally published in 1987, examines the labour movement from the perspective of the politicized workers themselves. It examines not only their attitudes toward student intellectuals but also toward the rank and file workers, as well as themselves. These attitudes are essential to understand the extent and the focus of the ‘workers intelligentsia’s’ political and cultural activities. The period the book focusses on was one of relative labour calm whilst at the same time being a period of rapid industrial development. St. Petersburg was chosen because it was the largest city and also the locale of Russia’s most technologically advanced industries.

Filling an important gap in a neglected area of Russian history, namely the 1880s and early 1890s, this volume, originally published in 1987, examines the labour movement from the perspective of the politicized workers themselves. It examines not only their attitudes toward student intellectuals but also toward the rank and file workers, as well as themselves. These attitudes are essential to understand the extent and the focus of the ‘workers intelligentsia’s’ political and cultural activities. The period the book focusses on was one of relative labour calm whilst at the same time being a period of rapid industrial development. St. Petersburg was chosen because it was the largest city and also the locale of Russia’s most technologically advanced industries.

This volume of Proclus' commentary on Plato's Timaeus records Proclus' exegesis of Timaeus 27a-31b, in which Plato first discusses preliminary matters that precede his account of the creation of the universe, and then moves to the account of the creation of the universe as a totality. For Proclus this text is a grand opportunity to reflect on the nature of causation as it relates to the physical reality of our cosmos. The commentary deals with many subjects that have been of central interest to philosophers from Plato's time onwards, such as the question whether the cosmos was created in time, and the nature of evil as it relates to physical reality and its ontological imperfection.

This commentary records, through notes taken by Hermias, Syrianus' seminar on Plato's Phaedrus, one of the world's most influential celebrations of erotic beauty and love. It is the only Neoplatonic commentary on Plato's Phaedrus to have survived in its entirety. Further interest comes from the recorded interventions by Syrianus' pupils - including those by Proclus, his eventual successor as head of the Athenian school, who went on to teach Hermias' father, Ammonius. The first of two volumes of Hermias' commentary, the chapters translated here discuss the argument that the soul can be proved immortal as being the self-moving source of eternal motion. Aristotle explicitly disagreed with Plato on this treatment of the soul and Syrianus, having previously (in a commentary on the Metaphysics) criticised Aristotle severely when he disagreed with Plato, feels obliged here, too, to address the apparent disagreement. This new translation is thus vital for understanding Syrianus' attitude to Aristotle.

This commentary records, through notes taken by Hermias, Syrianus' seminar on Plato's Phaedrus, one of the world's most influential celebrations of erotic beauty and love. It is the only Neoplatonic commentary on Plato's Phaedrus to have survived in its entirety. Further interest comes from the recorded interventions by Syrianus' pupils - including those by Proclus, his eventual successor as head of the Athenian school, who went on to teach Hermias' father, Ammonius. The second of two volumes of Hermias' commentary, the chapters translated here begin with a discussion of how the discarnate soul is visualised as a winged chariot team whose charioteer may gain some glimpse of beauty itself, which can explain subsequent erotic longing. This volume provides a translation is accompanied by explanatory notes, an introduction detailing the significance and context of the treatise and a scholarly apparatus including multiple indexes, glossaries and a bibliography.

This volume completes, starting from chapter 6, the commentary by the young Philoponus on Aristotle’s Categories, of which chapters 1–5 were previously published in this series (Philoponus: On Aristotle Categories 1–5 with Philoponus: A Treatise Concerning the Whole and the Parts). This ancient commentary was the first work in the Aristotelian syllabus after a general introduction to Aristotle by the same author. It is influenced by an extant short anonymous record of Philoponus’ teacher Ammonius’ lectures on the same work, but Philoponus’ commentary is two and a half times as long as that anonymous record, and includes special contributions of Philoponus’ own, for example in philology, Christian theology and in disagreements with Aristotle.This English translation of Philoponus' work is the latest volume in the Ancient Commentators on Aristotle series and makes this philosophical work accessible to a modern readership. The translation is accompanied by an introduction, comprehensive commentary notes, bibliography, glossary of translated terms and a subject index.

This commentary records, through notes taken by Hermias, Syrianus' seminar on Plato's Phaedrus, one of the world's most influential celebrations of erotic beauty and love. It is the only Neoplatonic commentary on Plato's Phaedrus to have survived in its entirety. Further interest comes from the recorded interventions by Syrianus' pupils - including those by Proclus, his eventual successor as head of the Athenian school, who went on to teach Hermias' father, Ammonius. The first of two volumes of Hermias' commentary, the chapters translated here discuss the argument that the soul can be proved immortal as being the self-moving source of eternal motion. Aristotle explicitly disagreed with Plato on this treatment of the soul and Syrianus, having previously (in a commentary on the Metaphysics) criticised Aristotle severely when he disagreed with Plato, feels obliged here, too, to address the apparent disagreement. This new translation is thus vital for understanding Syrianus' attitude to Aristotle.

This volume completes, starting from chapter 6, the commentary by the young Philoponus on Aristotle’s Categories, of which chapters 1–5 were previously published in this series (Philoponus: On Aristotle Categories 1–5 with Philoponus: A Treatise Concerning the Whole and the Parts). This ancient commentary was the first work in the Aristotelian syllabus after a general introduction to Aristotle by the same author. It is influenced by an extant short anonymous record of Philoponus’ teacher Ammonius’ lectures on the same work, but Philoponus’ commentary is two and a half times as long as that anonymous record, and includes special contributions of Philoponus’ own, for example in philology, Christian theology and in disagreements with Aristotle.This English translation of Philoponus' work is the latest volume in the Ancient Commentators on Aristotle series and makes this philosophical work accessible to a modern readership. The translation is accompanied by an introduction, comprehensive commentary notes, bibliography, glossary of translated terms and a subject index.

This commentary records, through notes taken by Hermias, Syrianus' seminar on Plato's Phaedrus, one of the world's most influential celebrations of erotic beauty and love. It is the only Neoplatonic commentary on Plato's Phaedrus to have survived in its entirety. Further interest comes from the recorded interventions by Syrianus' pupils - including those by Proclus, his eventual successor as head of the Athenian school, who went on to teach Hermias' father, Ammonius. The second of two volumes of Hermias' commentary, the chapters translated here begin with a discussion of how the discarnate soul is visualised as a winged chariot team whose charioteer may gain some glimpse of beauty itself, which can explain subsequent erotic longing. This volume provides a translation is accompanied by explanatory notes, an introduction detailing the significance and context of the treatise and a scholarly apparatus including multiple indexes, glossaries and a bibliography.

This third and final volume concludes Hermias' commentary on Plato's Phaedrus. Here, Plato delivers a celebrated critique of writing, and its relationship to orality. Hermias follows him, and adds a general account of good writing. In addition, this volume offers the first English translation of the brief Introduction to Hermogenes' On Styles, which manuscripts attribute—probably mistakenly—to Hermias' teacher Syrianus. Baltzly and Share discuss the Introduction’s authorship and its relation to the genuine commentaries of Syrianus on the rhetorical treatises of Hermogenes. They illuminate the relationship between philosophy and rhetoric in the Neoplatonic schools, and provide a novel explanation of Neoplatonic commentaries as performances of Platonic literacy in ancient elite education. This translation offers novel evidence of interest for students of ancient philosophy, rhetorical education, and literature more broadly. It is accompanied by explanatory notes, an introduction, and scholarly apparatus, including indices, glossaries, and bibliography.

This third and final volume concludes Hermias' commentary on Plato's Phaedrus. Here, Plato delivers a celebrated critique of writing, and its relationship to orality. Hermias follows him, and adds a general account of good writing. In addition, this volume offers the first English translation of the brief Introduction to Hermogenes' On Styles, which manuscripts attribute—probably mistakenly—to Hermias' teacher Syrianus. Baltzly and Share discuss the Introduction’s authorship and its relation to the genuine commentaries of Syrianus on the rhetorical treatises of Hermogenes. They illuminate the relationship between philosophy and rhetoric in the Neoplatonic schools, and provide a novel explanation of Neoplatonic commentaries as performances of Platonic literacy in ancient elite education. This translation offers novel evidence of interest for students of ancient philosophy, rhetorical education, and literature more broadly. It is accompanied by explanatory notes, an introduction, and scholarly apparatus, including indices, glossaries, and bibliography.

In this commentary on Aristotle Physics book eight, chapters one to five, the sixth-century philosopher Simplicius quotes and explains important fragments of the Presocratic philosophers, provides the fragments of his Christian opponent Philoponus' Against Aristotle On the Eternity of the World, and makes extensive use of the lost commentary of Aristotle's leading defender, Alexander of Aphrodisias.This volume contains an English translation of Simplicius' important commentary, as well as a detailed introduction, explanatory notes and a bibliography.