Porphyry: On Aristotle Categories

Download or read book Porphyry: On Aristotle Categories written by S. Strange and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2014-04-10 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Porphyry (AD 232/3 - C.305) is of crucial importance for the history of Aristotelian studies. Born in Tyre and a student of Plotinus in Rome, he later defended Aristotle's Categories against Plotinus, arguing that they were entirely compatible with Platonism. His intervention was decisive: the Categories became a basic textbook of logic for all subsequent Neoplatonist teaching and influenced both the Arabic and Western Traditions. Boethius drew heavily on Porphyry's treatment. The full commentary is lost, but a shorter version survives and is translated here.