Proclus on Nature. Philosophy of Nature and Its Methods in Proclus' Commentary on Plato's Timaeus

Bibliographic Data

ID11570459
AuthorsMarije Martijn (0000-0002-6095-2607, 1VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Philosophy, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands;, Email: [email protected], corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume62
Issue4
Pages702-703
Publication date2009-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMnemosyne (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0026-7074 • E-ISSN: 1568-525X
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/156852510x456237
OpenAlexW2053489259
LanguageEN
Citations received2

One of the hardest questions to answer for a (Neo)platonist is to what extent and how the changing and unreliable world of sense perception can itself be an object of scientific knowledge. My dissertation is a study of the answer given to that question by the Neoplatonist Proclus (Athens, 411-485) in his Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus. I present a new explanation of Proclus’ concept of nature and show that philosophy of nature consists of several related subdisciplines matching the ontological stratification of nature. Moreover, I demonstrate that for Proclus philosophy of nature is a science, albeit a hypothetical one, which takes geometry as its methodological paradigm. I also offer an explanation of Proclus’ view of what is later called the mathematization of physics, i.e. the role of the substance of mathematics, as opposed to its method, in explaining the natural world. Finally, I discuss Proclus’ views of the discourse of philosophy of nature and its iconic character

Ancient philosophy · Character (mathematics · Epistemology · Geometry · Linguistics · Natural (archaeology · Natural Philosophy · Natural science · Nature · Object (grammar · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Mathematics · Medieval and Classical Philosophy · Philosophy

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