Proclus: Commentary on Plato's Timaeus, Part 2, Proclus on the World Soul

This part of Proclus' Commentary is especially significant for the study of the Platonic tradition from the earliest commentators onwards.

Proclus (Author), Dirk Baltzly (Edited and translated by)

9780521845960, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 December 2009

446 pages
23.4 x 16 x 3 cm, 0.84 kg

In the present volume Proclus describes the 'creation' of the soul that animates the entire universe. This is not a literal creation, for Proclus argues that Plato means only to convey the eternal dependence of the World Soul upon higher causes. In his exegesis of Plato's text, Proclus addresses a range of issues in Pythagorean harmonic theory, as well as questions about the way in which the World Soul knows both forms and the visible reality that comprises its body. This part of Proclus' Commentary is particularly responsive to the interpretive tradition that precedes it. As a result, this volume is especially significant for the study of the Platonic tradition from the earliest commentators onwards.

Acknowledgements
Notes on the translation
Introduction to Book 3, Part II
The background to Proclus' commentary on the world soul in Timaeus
The structure of Proclus' commentary
The contributions of Proclus' commentary
Conclusion
On the Timaeus of Plato: Book 3, Part II
Analytical table of contents
Translation
References
English-Greek glossary
Greek word index
General index.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA], History of Western philosophy [HPC], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]