TY - JOUR

T1 - The "relics" of the past. Aristotle - The historian of philosophy

AU - Afonasin, Eugene

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - According to a later report (Synesius, Calvit. Enc. 22.85c, Aristotle, On philosophy, fr. 8), Aristotle thought that wise sayings are the "relics" (enkataleimmata) of the past art (tekhne), preserved thanks to their conciseness and cleverness when ancient civilization perished in a world cataclysm and, in this respect, they are valuable clues for a retrospective reconstruction of the intellectual history of Greece. Aristotle did this and, in fact, was the first to develop in his works a peculiar sense of historical consciousness, prerequisite for such a reconstruction, although some contemporary authors would contest this view. In the paper I am commenting on selected fragments of and testimonies about Aristotle's lost works (mostly On philosophy, On poets, and On the Pythagoreans) and observe how he used this historical observations in his philosophical treaties, having thus paved the way to a systematic historical research, conducted by the Peripatetics in a pre-established institutional framework.

AB - According to a later report (Synesius, Calvit. Enc. 22.85c, Aristotle, On philosophy, fr. 8), Aristotle thought that wise sayings are the "relics" (enkataleimmata) of the past art (tekhne), preserved thanks to their conciseness and cleverness when ancient civilization perished in a world cataclysm and, in this respect, they are valuable clues for a retrospective reconstruction of the intellectual history of Greece. Aristotle did this and, in fact, was the first to develop in his works a peculiar sense of historical consciousness, prerequisite for such a reconstruction, although some contemporary authors would contest this view. In the paper I am commenting on selected fragments of and testimonies about Aristotle's lost works (mostly On philosophy, On poets, and On the Pythagoreans) and observe how he used this historical observations in his philosophical treaties, having thus paved the way to a systematic historical research, conducted by the Peripatetics in a pre-established institutional framework.

KW - Ancient biography

KW - Ancient poets

KW - Doxography

KW - Plato

KW - Pythagoras

KW - The school of Aristotle

KW - The seven sages

KW - ancient biography

KW - the school of Aristotle

KW - doxography

KW - PLATO

KW - the seven sages

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85026912337&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.21267/AQUILO.2017.11.6483

DO - 10.21267/AQUILO.2017.11.6483

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85026912337

VL - 11

SP - 570

EP - 607

JO - Schole

JF - Schole

SN - 1995-4328

IS - 2

ER -