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Boethius: On Aristotle on Interpretation 1-3
Contributor(s): Boethius (Author), Smith, Andrew (Translator)

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ISBN: 0715639188     ISBN-13: 9780715639184
Publisher: Bristol Classical Press
OUR PRICE: $231.00  

Binding Type: Hardcover - See All Available Formats & Editions
Published: July 2010
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Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Literary Criticism | Ancient And Classical
- Language Arts & Disciplines | Grammar & Punctuation
- Philosophy | History & Surveys - Ancient & Classical
Dewey: 160
Series: Ancient Commentators on Aristotle
Physical Information: 0.75" H x 6.65" W x 9.26" L (0.95 lbs) 176 pages
Themes:
- Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.)
Features: Bibliography, Dust Cover
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

Boethius (c. 480-c. 525) wrote his highly influential second commentary on Aristotle's On Interpretation in Latin, but using the style of the Greek commentaries on Aristotle. It was part of his project to bring knowledge of Plato and Aristotle to the Latin-speaking world of his fellow Christians. The project was cruelly interrupted by his execution at the age of about 45, leaving the Latin world under-informed about Greek Philosophy for 700 years. Boethius reveals to us how On Interpretation was understood not only by himself, but also by some of the best Greek interpreters, especially Alexander and Porphyry. Alexander had insisted that its subject was composite thoughts, not composite sentences nor composite things - it is thoughts that are primarily true or false. Although Aristotle's first six chapters define name, verb, sentence, statement, affirmation and negation, Porphyry had claimed that Aristotelians believe in three types of name and verb, written, spoken and mental, in other words a language of the mind.
Boethius discusses individuality and ascribes to Aristotle a view that each individual is distinguished by having a composite quality that is not merely unshared, but unshareable. Boethius also discusses why we can still say that the dead Homer is a poet, despite having forbidden us to say that the dead Socrates is either sick or well. But Boethius' most famous contribution is his interpretation of Aristotle's discussion of the threat of that tomorrow's events, for example a sea battle, will have been irrevocable 10,000 years ago, if it was true 10,000 years ago that there would be a sea battle on that day. In Boethius' later Consolation of Philosophy, written in prison awaiting execution, he offered a seminal conception of eternity to solve the related problem of future events being irrevocable because of God's foreknowledge of them.


Contributor Bio(s): Smith, Andrew: - Andrew Smith is the author of Ghost Medicine and The Marbury Lens, both of which were named American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults. He is also the author of In the Path of Falling Objects. Smith started writing for newspapers and radio. He then traveled around the world and from job to job, working in metal mills, as a longshoreman, in bars and liquor stores, in security and as a musician. Now, in addition to writing, he teaches high school advanced placement classes and coaches rugby. He lives in Southern California with his family, in a rural location in the mountains.
 
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