World Soul - Anima Mundi : On the Origins and Fortunes of a Fundamental Idea / Christoph Helmig.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Helmig, Christoph, Editor.

Series:

Topics in ancient philosophy ; Volume 8.

Topics in Ancient Philosophy / Themen der antiken Philosophie ; 8

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Soul--Philosophy.

Soul.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (VIII, 364 p.)

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; Boston : De Gruyter, [2020]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

From Plato's Timaeus onwards, the world or cosmos has been conceived of as a living, rational organism. Most notably in German Idealism, philosophers still talked of a 'Weltseele' (Schelling) or 'Weltgeist' (Hegel). This volume is the first collection of essays on the origin of the notion of the world soul (anima mundi) in Antiquity and beyond. It contains 14 original contributions by specialists in the field of ancient philosophy, the Platonic tradition and the history of theology. The topics range from the 'obscure' Presocratic Heraclitus, to Plato and his ancient readers in Middle and Neoplatonism (including the Stoics), to the reception of the idea of a world soul in the history of natural science. A general introduction highlights the fundamental steps in the development of the Platonic notion throughout late Antiquity and early Christian philosophy. Accessible to Classicists, historians of philosophy, theologians and invaluable to specialists in ancient philosophy, the book provides an overview of the fascinating discussions surrounding a conception that had a long-lasting effect on the history of Western thought.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Acknowledgment

Contents

The World Soul in Antiquity and beyond / Helmig, Christoph

Part I: Prehistory of the concept

Is the Logos a kind of World Soul? On the relationship between cosmology and psychology in Heraclitus / Vassallo, Christian

Part II: Plato's Timaeus and Pseudo-Aristotle's De Mundo

Disorderly motion and the World Soul in the Timaeus / Karfík, Filip

Die "Seele" des Seienden bei Platon: Sophistes 248e-249a und Timaios 30a-31c / Ferrari, Franco

Ascoltare l'anima cosmica: riargomentazione ed esegesi tecnica κατὰ ζητήματα della divisio animae platonica / Petrucci, Federico M.

The power of god in Pseudo-Aristotle's De mundo: An alternative approach / Thom, Johan C.

Part III: Old Academy, Stoicism, and Middle Platonism

The World Soul takes command: The doctrine of the World Soul in the Epinomis of Philip of Opus and in the academy of Polemon / Dillon, John

Apospasma: The World Soul and its individual parts in Stoicism / Gourinat, Jean-Baptiste

Die kosmische Seele bei Ps.-Timaios Lokros und den anderen Pseudopythagorica: kosmologische und erkenntnistheoretische Aspekte / Ulacco, Angela

Calcidius on Fate and the World Soul / O'Brien, Carl

Part IV: Neoplatonism

Plotinus on the World Soul / Caluori, Damian

The World Soul in the embryological theories of Porphyry and Plotinus / Wilberding, James

The World Soul in Proclus' Timaeus Commentary / Baltzly, Dirk

From the particular soul to the World Soul: Some puzzles in Philoponus / Gavray, Marc-Antoine

Part V: Nachleben

World Soul and celestial heat. Platonic and Aristotelian ideas in the history of natural philosophy / Zachhuber, Johannes

Index of Names

Index of Ancient Citations

Index of Subjects

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Jan 2020)

ISBN:

9783110628609

3110628600

9783110628968

3110628961

OCLC:

1138547800