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Dexippus (philosopher)

Dexippus (Greek: Δέξιππος; fl. 350) was an Ancient Greek Neoplatonist philosopher from the 4th century AD, whose wrote a commentary on the Categories of Aristotle which is partially extant.

Dexippus was likely a pupil of the Neoplatonist Iamblichus, but little else in known about his life. Like many other neoplatonists, Dexippus advocated harmony between the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle.[1] In his work, Dexippus explains the categories to a student named Seleucus, and endeavors at the same time to refute the objections of Plotinus. His work was known to the later Neoplatonist Simplicius of Cilicia, who mentions his commentary in his own work on the categories.

Life edit

Very little is known about Dexippus' life. He was likely a student of the more famous Neoplatonist Iamblichus, who wrote a philosophical letter addressed to Dexippus explaining dialectics, a fragment of which has been preserved by Stobaeus.[2]

Commentary on the Aristotle's Categories edit

The only known work by Dexippus is his commentary on Aristotle's Categories. It is written in the form of a dialogue between the author and his young pupil Seleucus, with the pupil posing the problems and the teacher solving them. The first two books have survived in a complete form, while the third is only partially extant. The first book contains 40 chapters, each devoted to a problem, the second 42. Of the 40 chapters of the third book, the first ten have survived in full, of the remaining thirty only the headings are available, which are probably not authentic. If the work dealt with the entire theory of categories, its size must originally have been several times that of the surviving text.

At the beginning, Dexippus points out that he does not want to venture into new philosophical territory with his own findings and compete with earlier commentators. Rather, he contented himself with clarifying a number of controversially discussed questions. In his answers, he relies heavily on the commentaries on the Categories written by Porphyry and Iamblichus, both of which are lost except for fragments. Due to the loss of these commentaries, the work of Dexippus, despite its low originality, has a relatively high value as a source of the historical philosophy of these thinkers.[3] In the second and third books, Dexippus deals with Plotinus's objections to Aristotle's theory of categories. In doing so, he not only deals with arguments that can be found in Plotinus' Enneads, but also with considerations that Porphyry, as a pupil of Plotinus, probably knew from his oral lessons and used in his lost commentary.[4]

In his commentary, in addition to explaining the Categories and clarifying ambiguities, Dexippus also discusses difficult issues. Dexippus intended to show that Platonic and Aristotelian ideas can be reconciled. He is particularly interested in the central question of the ontological status of the categories from a Neoplatonic point of view. In doing so, he represents the current position of the Neoplatonists, according to which the classification of categories is not suitable for capturing things in themselves, but is an adequate means of classifying perceptible phenomena. Porphyry had defended the theory of categories against Plotinus's objections in his large commentary on Categories, which has not survived, while Dexippus' teacher Iamblichus had also emphatically advocated it. Dexippus shared this view, which prevailed in late antique Neoplatonism, but while Iamblichus tried to refute Plotinus' arguments against the doctrine of categories, Dexippus endeavored to demonstrate that the positions of Plotinus and Aristotle are not so far apart as Plotinus' anti-Aristotelian arguments might suggest.[5]

Legacy edit

In the early 6th century, the work of Dexippus was still known in the Neoplatonic philosophical school of Athens, where it was available to Simplicius of Cilicia, who mentions it in his own work on the Categories. Unlike modern manuscripts, Simplicius probably had access to a manuscript containing the full text. However, he hardly paid attention to this source; presumably he did not use it at all because he was of the opinion that Dexippus added little new to Categories commentaries of Porphyry and Iamblichus.[6]

In the Latin-speaking scholarly world of the Middle Ages, Dexippus was unknown. However, in the Renaissance, the humanist Johannes Bernardus Felicianus, who translated a number of ancient Greek writings into Latin in the first half of the 16th century, made a Latin translation of Dexippus' Categories commentary printed in Venice in 1546 and in Paris in 1549. Leonhard von Spengel published the first edition of the Greek text in 1859. An English translation by John M. Dillon was published in 1990.

References edit

  1. ^ Gerson, L. (2005). Aristotle and Other Platonists. Cornell University Press. p. 292.
  2. ^ Dillon 1990, p. 7.
  3. ^ See Pierre Hadot: The harmony of Plotinus and Aristotle according to Porphyry. In: Richard Sorabji (ed.): Aristotle Transformed. The Ancient Commentators and Their Influence, 2nd revised edition, London 2016, pp. 133-149 (cf. pp. XXI-XXIII).
  4. ^ Paul Henry: Trois apories orales de Plotinus sur les Catégories d'Aristote. In: Zetesis, Antwerp 1973, pp. 234-265; Paul Henry: Apories orales de Plotinus sur les Catégories d'Aristote. In: Jürgen Wiesner (ed.): Aristotle - work and effect, vol. 2, Berlin 1987, pp. 120-156; John M. Dillon: Dexippus, On Aristotle Categories, London 1990, p. 9 and note 5, pp. 12-14 category theory.
  5. ^ Pierre Aubenque: Plotin et Dexippe, exegètes of the Catégories d'Aristote. In: Aristotelica. Mélanges offerts à Marcel de Corte, Bruxelles/Liège 1985, pp. 7-40, here: 28-40.
  6. ^ The fact that Simplicius did not use Dexippus' commentary at all is believed by John M. Dillon: Dexippus, On Aristotle Categories, London 1990, p. 11 and Paul Henry: Apories orales de Plotinus sur les Catégories d'Aristote. In: Jürgen Wiesner (ed.): Aristoteles - Work and Effect, Vol. 2, Berlin 1987, pp. 120-156, here: 122.
  •   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainGilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Dexippus". New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
  • Dillon, John M. (1990). Dexippus: On Aristotle Categories. Duckworth.

dexippus, philosopher, century, historian, statesman, general, dexippus, dexippus, greek, Δέξιππος, ancient, greek, neoplatonist, philosopher, from, century, whose, wrote, commentary, categories, aristotle, which, partially, extant, dexippus, likely, pupil, ne. For the 3rd century historian statesman and general see Dexippus Dexippus Greek De3ippos fl 350 was an Ancient Greek Neoplatonist philosopher from the 4th century AD whose wrote a commentary on the Categories of Aristotle which is partially extant Dexippus was likely a pupil of the Neoplatonist Iamblichus but little else in known about his life Like many other neoplatonists Dexippus advocated harmony between the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle 1 In his work Dexippus explains the categories to a student named Seleucus and endeavors at the same time to refute the objections of Plotinus His work was known to the later Neoplatonist Simplicius of Cilicia who mentions his commentary in his own work on the categories Contents 1 Life 2 Commentary on the Aristotle s Categories 3 Legacy 4 ReferencesLife editVery little is known about Dexippus life He was likely a student of the more famous Neoplatonist Iamblichus who wrote a philosophical letter addressed to Dexippus explaining dialectics a fragment of which has been preserved by Stobaeus 2 Commentary on the Aristotle s Categories editThe only known work by Dexippus is his commentary on Aristotle s Categories It is written in the form of a dialogue between the author and his young pupil Seleucus with the pupil posing the problems and the teacher solving them The first two books have survived in a complete form while the third is only partially extant The first book contains 40 chapters each devoted to a problem the second 42 Of the 40 chapters of the third book the first ten have survived in full of the remaining thirty only the headings are available which are probably not authentic If the work dealt with the entire theory of categories its size must originally have been several times that of the surviving text At the beginning Dexippus points out that he does not want to venture into new philosophical territory with his own findings and compete with earlier commentators Rather he contented himself with clarifying a number of controversially discussed questions In his answers he relies heavily on the commentaries on the Categories written by Porphyry and Iamblichus both of which are lost except for fragments Due to the loss of these commentaries the work of Dexippus despite its low originality has a relatively high value as a source of the historical philosophy of these thinkers 3 In the second and third books Dexippus deals with Plotinus s objections to Aristotle s theory of categories In doing so he not only deals with arguments that can be found in Plotinus Enneads but also with considerations that Porphyry as a pupil of Plotinus probably knew from his oral lessons and used in his lost commentary 4 In his commentary in addition to explaining the Categories and clarifying ambiguities Dexippus also discusses difficult issues Dexippus intended to show that Platonic and Aristotelian ideas can be reconciled He is particularly interested in the central question of the ontological status of the categories from a Neoplatonic point of view In doing so he represents the current position of the Neoplatonists according to which the classification of categories is not suitable for capturing things in themselves but is an adequate means of classifying perceptible phenomena Porphyry had defended the theory of categories against Plotinus s objections in his large commentary on Categories which has not survived while Dexippus teacher Iamblichus had also emphatically advocated it Dexippus shared this view which prevailed in late antique Neoplatonism but while Iamblichus tried to refute Plotinus arguments against the doctrine of categories Dexippus endeavored to demonstrate that the positions of Plotinus and Aristotle are not so far apart as Plotinus anti Aristotelian arguments might suggest 5 Legacy editIn the early 6th century the work of Dexippus was still known in the Neoplatonic philosophical school of Athens where it was available to Simplicius of Cilicia who mentions it in his own work on the Categories Unlike modern manuscripts Simplicius probably had access to a manuscript containing the full text However he hardly paid attention to this source presumably he did not use it at all because he was of the opinion that Dexippus added little new to Categories commentaries of Porphyry and Iamblichus 6 In the Latin speaking scholarly world of the Middle Ages Dexippus was unknown However in the Renaissance the humanist Johannes Bernardus Felicianus who translated a number of ancient Greek writings into Latin in the first half of the 16th century made a Latin translation of Dexippus Categories commentary printed in Venice in 1546 and in Paris in 1549 Leonhard von Spengel published the first edition of the Greek text in 1859 An English translation by John M Dillon was published in 1990 References edit Gerson L 2005 Aristotle and Other Platonists Cornell University Press p 292 Dillon 1990 p 7 See Pierre Hadot The harmony of Plotinus and Aristotle according to Porphyry In Richard Sorabji ed Aristotle Transformed The Ancient Commentators and Their Influence 2nd revised edition London 2016 pp 133 149 cf pp XXI XXIII Paul Henry Trois apories orales de Plotinus sur les Categories d Aristote In Zetesis Antwerp 1973 pp 234 265 Paul Henry Apories orales de Plotinus sur les Categories d Aristote In Jurgen Wiesner ed Aristotle work and effect vol 2 Berlin 1987 pp 120 156 John M Dillon Dexippus On Aristotle Categories London 1990 p 9 and note 5 pp 12 14 category theory Pierre Aubenque Plotin et Dexippe exegetes of the Categories d Aristote In Aristotelica Melanges offerts a Marcel de Corte Bruxelles Liege 1985 pp 7 40 here 28 40 The fact that Simplicius did not use Dexippus commentary at all is believed by John M Dillon Dexippus On Aristotle Categories London 1990 p 11 and Paul Henry Apories orales de Plotinus sur les Categories d Aristote In Jurgen Wiesner ed Aristoteles Work and Effect Vol 2 Berlin 1987 pp 120 156 here 122 nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Gilman D C Peck H T Colby F M eds 1905 Dexippus New International Encyclopedia 1st ed New York Dodd Mead Dillon John M 1990 Dexippus On Aristotle Categories Duckworth Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dexippus philosopher amp oldid 1181826876, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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