The Chicken or the Egg? Aristotle on Speusippus’ Reasons to Deny the Principle is (the) Good
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Giulia De Cesaris
Abstract
In Metaphysics Λ7 1072b30–1073a3, Aristotle introduces a Speusippean theory according to which ‘what is most beautiful and best is not en archēi’. Through a detailed analysis of the passage, I argue that Aristotle’s refutation of Speusippus’ thesis is favoured by the introduction of the seed example, which conflates both ontological and temporal priority. The elements gathered from the analysis of Aristotle’s polemical strategy will support a broader conclusion: Speusippus’ reason not to characterise his principle(s) as (the) good is related to the problematic relationship Forms and sensibles had within Plato’s account, or, in other words, participation.
Funding source: European Research Council (ERC)
Award Identifier / Grant number: 885273
Funding source: Research Foundation - Flanders, FWO Junior Postdoctoral Fellowship
Award Identifier / Grant number: 1209221N
Acknowledgments
This paper was originally a section of my Ph.D. thesis, Aristotle’s Account of Speusippus and Xenocrates’ Metaphysical and Epistemological Theories, which I completed in Durham (Department of Classics and Ancient History) under the supervision of Phillip Horky and George Boys-Stones. I presented earlier versions of this paper in Milan, Durham and Princeton, and I am thankful for the helpful discussions and feedback from the participants at those conferences. I owe my greatest thanks to my first supervisor, Phillip Horky, who encouraged me to develop my arguments further and read multiple versions of this paper, which is now significantly revised. Lastly, I want to thank Roberto Granieri, Jan Opsomer and Federico Petrucci for their useful comments on this draft. All misuse of their ideas is my own.
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Research funding: This paper is part of a project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 885273). The last version of this paper was developed during a FWO Junior Postdoctoral Fellowship at KU Leuven, De Wulf-Mansion Centre for Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy, founded by FWO - Research Foundation - Flanders (Award Number: 1209221N).
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Unseating the Craftsman: Natural Efficient Cause in Aristotle's Craft Analogy
- Circular Motion and Circular Thought: A Synthetic Approach to the Fifth Element in Aristotle’s de Philosophia and de Caelo
- Play and Moral Education in the Choruses of Plato’s Laws
- Subjective Realism: A Possible-Worlds Interpretation of the Anti-Relativist Arguments in Plato’s Theaetetus
- The Chicken or the Egg? Aristotle on Speusippus’ Reasons to Deny the Principle is (the) Good
- The Body, Experience, and the History of Dream-Science in Artemidorus’ Oneirocritica
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Unseating the Craftsman: Natural Efficient Cause in Aristotle's Craft Analogy
- Circular Motion and Circular Thought: A Synthetic Approach to the Fifth Element in Aristotle’s de Philosophia and de Caelo
- Play and Moral Education in the Choruses of Plato’s Laws
- Subjective Realism: A Possible-Worlds Interpretation of the Anti-Relativist Arguments in Plato’s Theaetetus
- The Chicken or the Egg? Aristotle on Speusippus’ Reasons to Deny the Principle is (the) Good
- The Body, Experience, and the History of Dream-Science in Artemidorus’ Oneirocritica
