Alcinous (philosopher)
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Alcinous or Alcinoos, or Alkinoos, was a Middle Platonist philosopher
. He probably lived in the 2nd century AD, although nothing is known about his life. He is the author of The Handbook of Platonism, an epitome of Middle Platonism
intended as a manual for teachers. He has, at times, been identified by some scholars with the 2nd century Middle Platonist Albinus
.
period (ca. 90 BC - 250 AD). The book contains 36 chapters which cover topics ranging from logic to physics to ethics. It is thought to have been intended as a manual, not for students of Platonism, but for its teachers. The treatise is written in the esoteric manner typical of the Corpus Aristotelicum
, and it often appropriates popular concepts from other philosophical schools - in particular the Peripatetic and Stoic
schools - which could be seen as having been prefigured in the works of Plato.
Alcinous's handbook has been dated to the middle of the 2nd century. In 1879 the German scholar Jacob Freudenthal
argued that Alcinous was really the philosopher Albinus
, the teacher of Galen
the physician. This theory remained largely unchallenged until 1974, when John Whittaker made a fresh case convincingly reaffirming Alcinous's authenticity.
Alcinous held the world and its animating soul to be eternal. This soul of the universe was not created by God, but, to use the image of Alcinous, it was awakened by him as from a profound sleep, and turned towards himself, "that it might look out upon intellectual things and receive forms and ideas from the divine mind." It was the first of a succession of intermediate beings between God and man. The idea
proceeded immediately from the mind of God, and were the highest object of our intellect; the "form" of matter, the types of sensible things, having a real being in themselves. He differed from the earlier Platonists in confining the ideas to general laws: it seemed an unworthy notion that God could conceive an idea of things artificial or unnatural, or of individuals or particulars, or of any thing relative. He seems to have aimed at harmonizing the views of Plato and Aristotle on the ideas, as he distinguished them from the eidos, forms of things, which he allowed were inseparable: a view which seems necessarily connected with the doctrine of the eternity and self-existence of matter. God, the first fountain of the ideas, could not be known as he is: it is but a faint notion of him we obtain from negations and analogies: his nature is equally beyond our power of expression or conception. Below him are a series of beings (daimones
) who superintend the production of all living things, and hold intercourse with men. The human soul passes through various transmigrations, thus connecting the series with the lower classes of being, until it is finally purified and rendered acceptable to God. His system is understood as a synthesis of Plato and Aristotle, with some elements borrowed from the East, and perhaps derived from a study of the Pythagorean system
, which experienced a revival
of sorts concomitant to that which produced Middle Platonism.
Alcinous or Alcinoos, or Alkinoos, was a Middle Platonist philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. He probably lived in the 2nd century AD, although nothing is known about his life. He is the author of The Handbook of Platonism, an epitome of Middle Platonism
Middle Platonism
Middle Platonism is the modern name given to a stage in the development of Plato's philosophy, lasting from about 90 BC, when Antiochus of Ascalon rejected the scepticism of the New Academy, until the development of Neoplatonism under Plotinus in the 3rd century. Middle Platonism absorbed many...
intended as a manual for teachers. He has, at times, been identified by some scholars with the 2nd century Middle Platonist Albinus
Albinus (philosopher)
Albinus was a Platonist philosopher, who lived at Smyrna, and was teacher of Galen. A short tract by him, entitled Introduction to Plato's dialogues, has come down to us. From the title of one of the extant manuscripts we learn that Albinus was a pupil of Gaius the Platonist...
.
Writings
Alcinous is the author of work called The Handbook of Platonism , one of the few surviving works from the Middle PlatonistMiddle Platonism
Middle Platonism is the modern name given to a stage in the development of Plato's philosophy, lasting from about 90 BC, when Antiochus of Ascalon rejected the scepticism of the New Academy, until the development of Neoplatonism under Plotinus in the 3rd century. Middle Platonism absorbed many...
period (ca. 90 BC - 250 AD). The book contains 36 chapters which cover topics ranging from logic to physics to ethics. It is thought to have been intended as a manual, not for students of Platonism, but for its teachers. The treatise is written in the esoteric manner typical of the Corpus Aristotelicum
Corpus Aristotelicum
The Corpus Aristotelicum is the collection of Aristotle's works that have survived from antiquity through Medieval manuscript transmission. These texts, as opposed to Aristotle's lost works, are technical philosophical treatises from within Aristotle's school...
, and it often appropriates popular concepts from other philosophical schools - in particular the Peripatetic and Stoic
STOIC
STOIC was a variant of Forth.It started out at the MIT and Harvard Biomedical Engineering Centre in Boston, and was written in the mid 1970s by Jonathan Sachs...
schools - which could be seen as having been prefigured in the works of Plato.
Alcinous's handbook has been dated to the middle of the 2nd century. In 1879 the German scholar Jacob Freudenthal
Jacob Freudenthal
Jacob Freudenthal was a German philosopher.Freudenthal received his education at the universities of Breslau and Göttingen, and at the rabbinical seminary of Breslau...
argued that Alcinous was really the philosopher Albinus
Albinus (philosopher)
Albinus was a Platonist philosopher, who lived at Smyrna, and was teacher of Galen. A short tract by him, entitled Introduction to Plato's dialogues, has come down to us. From the title of one of the extant manuscripts we learn that Albinus was a pupil of Gaius the Platonist...
, the teacher of Galen
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
the physician. This theory remained largely unchallenged until 1974, when John Whittaker made a fresh case convincingly reaffirming Alcinous's authenticity.
Alcinous held the world and its animating soul to be eternal. This soul of the universe was not created by God, but, to use the image of Alcinous, it was awakened by him as from a profound sleep, and turned towards himself, "that it might look out upon intellectual things and receive forms and ideas from the divine mind." It was the first of a succession of intermediate beings between God and man. The idea
Theory of Forms
Plato's theory of Forms or theory of Ideas asserts that non-material abstract forms , and not the material world of change known to us through sensation, possess the highest and most fundamental kind of reality. When used in this sense, the word form is often capitalized...
proceeded immediately from the mind of God, and were the highest object of our intellect; the "form" of matter, the types of sensible things, having a real being in themselves. He differed from the earlier Platonists in confining the ideas to general laws: it seemed an unworthy notion that God could conceive an idea of things artificial or unnatural, or of individuals or particulars, or of any thing relative. He seems to have aimed at harmonizing the views of Plato and Aristotle on the ideas, as he distinguished them from the eidos, forms of things, which he allowed were inseparable: a view which seems necessarily connected with the doctrine of the eternity and self-existence of matter. God, the first fountain of the ideas, could not be known as he is: it is but a faint notion of him we obtain from negations and analogies: his nature is equally beyond our power of expression or conception. Below him are a series of beings (daimones
Daemon (mythology)
The words dæmon and daimôn are Latinized spellings of the Greek "δαίμων", a reference to the daemons of Ancient Greek religion and mythology, as well as later Hellenistic religion and philosophy...
) who superintend the production of all living things, and hold intercourse with men. The human soul passes through various transmigrations, thus connecting the series with the lower classes of being, until it is finally purified and rendered acceptable to God. His system is understood as a synthesis of Plato and Aristotle, with some elements borrowed from the East, and perhaps derived from a study of the Pythagorean system
Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism was the system of esoteric and metaphysical beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans, who were considerably influenced by mathematics. Pythagoreanism originated in the 5th century BCE and greatly influenced Platonism...
, which experienced a revival
Neopythagoreanism
Neopythagoreanism was a Graeco-Alexandrian school of philosophy, reviving Pythagorean doctrines, which became prominent in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE...
of sorts concomitant to that which produced Middle Platonism.
Resources
- John M. DillonJohn M. DillonJohn Myles Dillon is an Irish classicist and philosopher who was Regius Professor of Greek in Trinity College, Dublin between 1980 and 2006. Prior to that he taught at the University of California, Berkeley. He was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Athens on 15 June 2010...
, Alcinous, The Handbook of Platonism, 1993, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-823607-7 - Dirk Baltzly, "The Virtues and 'Becoming Like God': Alcinous to Proclus", in Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, Volume XXVI, David Sedley (ed), (Oxford: 2004).
- John Whittaker, "Numenius and Alcinous on the First Principle", Phoenix 32: 144-154 (1978).