Body and Soul in Hellenistic Philosophy

Explores Greek and Roman theories about the relationship of soul and body in the centuries after Aristotle.

Brad Inwood (Edited by), James Warren (Edited by)

9781108725255, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 June 2021

274 pages
22.9 x 15 x 1.5 cm, 0.4 kg

'All major schools are fairly represented: the opening chapters focus on the influence of medical theories on Peripatetic and Stoic philosophy, the middle part examines certain problematic aspects of Epicurean and Stoic psychology, while the concluding chapters explore psychological issues relating to the Hellenistic Academy and Cicero.' Orestis Karatzoglou, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Philosophers and doctors from the period immediately after Aristotle down to the second century CE were particularly focussed on the close relationships of soul and body; such relationships are particularly intimate when the soul is understood to be a material entity, as it was by Epicureans and Stoics; but even Aristotelians and Platonists shared the conviction that body and soul interact in ways that affect the well-being of the living human being. These philosophers were interested in the nature of the soul, its structure, and its powers. They were also interested in the place of the soul within a general account of the world. This leads to important questions about the proper methods by which we should investigate the nature of the soul and the appropriate relationships among natural philosophy, medicine, and psychology. This volume, part of the Symposium Hellenisticum series, features ten scholars addressing different aspects of this topic.

Introduction Brad Inwood and James Warren
1. Hellenistic medicine, Strato of Lampsacus, and Aristotle's theory of soul Sylvia Berryman
2. Herophilus and Erasistratus on the h?gemonikon David Leith
3. Galen on soul, mixture and Pneuma Philip van der Eijk
4. The partition of the soul: Epicurus, Demetrius Lacon, and Diogenes of Oinoanda Francesco Verde
5. Cosmic and individual soul in early Stoicism Francesco Ademollo
6. Soul, Pneuma and blood: the Stoic conception of the soul Christelle Veillard
7. The Platonic soul, from the Early Academy to the first century CE Jan Opsomer
8. Cicero on the soul's sensation of itself: Tusculans 1.49-76 J. P. F. Wynne
Bibliography
Indices.

Subject Areas: Philosophy [HP], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], History [HB]