History of Philosophy: Unresolved Issues - Period 5

What is Platonism? And how does it develop, in late antiquity, into what we call Neoplatonism? What is Aristotle's role in that development? In this course we will read (passages from) dialogues that were at the heart of the development of Platonism, such as the Timaeus and the Parmenides, Aristotle's criticism of the Forms, e.g. in the Metaphysics, Plotinus' elaboration of the Platonic foundation into what are now called the three hypostases, as beautifully laid out in Enneads V.1, and Proclus' further systematization, as presented most emphatically in the Elements of Theology. From a thematic point of view, we will focus on the debates around the ontology and epistemology of the Forms: what are the Forms in Plato and what is dialectic, as the method used to acquire knowledge of the Forms; what are the details of Aristotle's objections to this theory; how and to what extent does the early Neoplatonic revision as found in Plotinus resolve Aristotle's criticism, and incorporate Peripatetic elements; what are the assumptions underlying the further differentiations introduced by Proclus in his metaphysics and epistemology?

Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course therefore, CEA's recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by VU Amsterdam. 1 ECTS equals 28 contact hours assigned by VU Amsterdam.