The explanation of qualitative properties in Simplicius' Commentary on Aristotle's Categories

The purpose of this dissertation is an analysis of Simplicius' explanation of qualitative properties in his Commentary on Aristotle's Categories. In this commentary, Simplicius discusses qualities in the framework of Aristotle's categorial scheme. His discussion does not only include many references to interpretations of Aristotle's Categories made by his predecessors but also elements of Aristotle's explanation of qualities that the latter presents in his natural philosophical works. The study consists of three main parts. The first part deals with Simplicius as a member of the Neoplatonic school and his commentary as part of an exegetical tradition on Aristotle's Categories that began centuries before Simplicius. Since Simplicius integrates elements from explanations of qualities that Aristotle presents elsewhere, the first part also provides an overview on the different presentations of qualities that can be found in Aristotle's works. The second part focusses on the categorial analysis of qualities and especially on Simplicius' understanding of basic and all-pervading elements of the categorial theory (homonymy, synonymy, the fourfold distinction of τὰ ὄντα, predication). The second part also offers an investigation into Simplicius' interpretation of the structure and the general characteristics of Aristotle's category of quality. Simplicius' harmonizing tendency as an exegetical strategy becomes most apparent in the analyses conducted in the second part: Simplicius presents predication and participation as two different but non-conflicting theories used to explain the relation among entities in the natural realm; he interprets the predicate as an immanent universal; he explains the ἴδιον of quality against the background of likeness and unlikeness; and he uses the idea of a latitude of participation in his discussion of the question whether the category of quality admits of a more and a less. The third part exceeds to some extent the categorial framework and expands on the (Neo)Platonic elements of Simplicius' explanation of quality. It deals with the notion of participation, the relation between quality and qualified against the background of participation, the notion of ἐπιτηδειότης and the distinction between essential and accidental qualities. The analyses in this third part suggest that quality can be both ontologically prior to the qualified and co-existent with it; that Simplicius differentiates between two meanings of 'ἐπιτηδειότης', associating one meaning with Aristotle's notion of 'δύναμις' and the other with that which precedes ἐπιτηδειότης qua δύναμις; and that Simplicius conceives of essential qualities as intermediaries between substances and accidents.

Jaar van publicatie:2018

Toegankelijkheid:Closed