Professor of Philosophy and Classics Emeritus at the City University of New York. Research and publications in Ancient Philosophy and Moral and Political Philosophy, with a recent foray into the question of the authenticity of the Gospels. Regular website: aristotelophile.com Address: PhD Program in Philosophy & PhD Program in Classics Graduate Center, City University of New York 365 Fifth Avenue New York, New York, 10016 USA www.aristotelophile.com
Aristotle's Ethica Eudemia (Eth. Eud.) and Ethica Nicomachea (Eth. Nic.), as is well known an... more Aristotle's Ethica Eudemia (Eth. Eud.) and Ethica Nicomachea (Eth. Nic.), as is well known and much discussed, contain three books in common (Eth. Eud. 4–6 = Eth. Nic. 5–7). Less well known, at least until Dieter Harlfinger alerted scholars to the fact in 1971, is that some of the manuscripts of Eth. Eud. do, contrary to the then prevailing consensus, contain the text of these common books. Even less well known is that Harlfinger's discovery was anticipated some 50 years before by Walter Ashburner, who had uncovered this fact about Eth. Eud. MSS in the Laurentian library of Florence. Ashburner's anticipation of Harlfinger, however, is not the real value of his article. Its value rather is that it contains collations of readings for the common books, and thereby gives us an excellent resource for examining the text of the common books as this text is contained in exclusively Eth. Eud. MSS. The Eth. Eud. tradition of the common books has hitherto received little attention....
Hypnos Revista Do Centro De Estudos Da Antiguidade Issn 2177 5346, 2005
No Velho Testamento Deus expressa, atraves do profeta Samuel, ideias sobre o governo humano, simi... more No Velho Testamento Deus expressa, atraves do profeta Samuel, ideias sobre o governo humano, similares as de Socrates na Republica de Platao. Ambos defendem que a melhor organizacao politica e aquela na qual nenhuma pessoa ou classe domina, mas aquela onde cada um rege a si mesmo atraves de um principio interno de justica. Uma “anarquia” justa deste tipo nao e apenas a melhor, mas tambem possivel de ser alcancada. Ao menos em certos periodos os filhos de Israel a obtiveram. Deveriamos imita-los.
Aristotle's Ethica Eudemia (EE) Book 2 Chapter 2 contains, at lines 1220b10–11, a well-known ... more Aristotle's Ethica Eudemia (EE) Book 2 Chapter 2 contains, at lines 1220b10–11, a well-known crux in the phrase ἐν τοῖς ἀπηλλαγμένοις. The context makes clear that Aristotle is using this phrase to refer to some writing or other, but scholars have been puzzled both about what the phrase means and what writing it refers to.
A revised translation of the Prologue to Duns Scotus' Ordinatio. Part of the project to revise a ... more A revised translation of the Prologue to Duns Scotus' Ordinatio. Part of the project to revise a translation of the whole of the Ordinatio. All current revisions are available on my website at: https://aristotelophile.com/current.htm
Resumo: O artigo tem por foco o problema de como aos modos gregos antigos (harmoniai) puderam ser... more Resumo: O artigo tem por foco o problema de como aos modos gregos antigos (harmoniai) puderam ser atribuídos a tão amplos e diversos efeitos morais e emocionais pelos autores antigos. A interpretação moderna padrão dos modos gregos torna impossível ler os autores antigos literalmente. Uma solução satisfatória ao problema, contudo, está disponível a partir de um livro de Kathleen Schlesinger sobre os modos, injustamente caluniado. Este artigo explica, com o auxílio de diagramas, os aspectos fundamentais da solução de Schlesinger e por que devemos levá-la a sério.
In Pr. 19.48 we read, in Mayhew's translation, the following: Why do choruses in tragedy sing nei... more In Pr. 19.48 we read, in Mayhew's translation, the following: Why do choruses in tragedy sing neither in Hypodorian nor in Hypophrygian? Is it because these harmoniai have the least melody, which is most necessary to the chorus? Now the Hypophrygian has a character of action, and this is why in the Geryone the marching out and the arming (episodes) are composed in this manner, while the Hypodorian has a magnificent and steadfast character, and this is why of the harmoniai it is most suited to kithara song. But these (harmoniai) are both inappropriate to the chorus, and more suitable to the (actors) on the stage. For the latter are imitators of heroes; but in the old days the (chorus) leaders alone were heroes, while the people, of whom the chorus consists, were humans. And this is why a mournful and quiet character and melody are appropriate to it; for (the chorus) is human. Now the other harmoniai have these, but the Phrygian has them least, since it is inspirational and Bacchic, (and the Mixolydian certainly has them most of all). Under the influence of this (harmonia), therefore, we are affected in a certain way; and the weak are affected more than the strong, which is why even this one is appropriate to choruses; but under the influence of the Hypodorian and Hypophrygian we act...
In Nicomachean Ethics book 5 chapter 7 (or Eudemian Ethics book 4 chapter 7), Aristotle introduce... more In Nicomachean Ethics book 5 chapter 7 (or Eudemian Ethics book 4 chapter 7), Aristotle introduces the topic of natural justice. His brief and elliptical discussion has provoked much controversy. It seems to confuse the issue rather than do anything to clear it up. The natural just, if there is such a thing, must be the same everywhere, for nature is the same everywhere, as Aristotle concedes with his example of fire that burns upwards here and in Persia. Yet he goes on to argue that there is nothing naturally just the same everywhere for everyone, but that the natural, at least for us human beings, always changes. There are clues in the passage in question that scholars have focused on in order to unravel Aristotle’s meaning. But there is one clue that scholars have hitherto almost entirely ignored (an exception is Dirlmeier, who
In the Aristotelian corpus of writings as it has come down to us, there are four works specifical... more In the Aristotelian corpus of writings as it has come down to us, there are four works specifically on ethics: the Nicomachean ethics, the Eudemian ethics, the Magna moralia (or Great ethics), and the short On virtues and vices. Scholars are now agreed that the first two are genuinely by Aristotle and most also believe that the Nicomachean is the later and better of the two. About the Magna moralia, there is still a division of opinion, though probably most scholars hold that it is not genuine. Those who hold it is genuine suppose it to be an early work or a redaction of an early work made by a later Peripatetic. As for On virtues and vices almost everyone holds it to be a spurious work written some two centuries after Aristotle's death. However, the arguments scholars give for these opinions are entirely unconvincing. In fact, they beg the question by assuming the conclusion in order to prove the conclusion. My own contention is that all the hard evidence we have compels us to ...
Aristotle's Ethica Eudemia (Eth. Eud.) and Ethica Nicomachea (Eth. Nic.), as is well known an... more Aristotle's Ethica Eudemia (Eth. Eud.) and Ethica Nicomachea (Eth. Nic.), as is well known and much discussed, contain three books in common (Eth. Eud. 4–6 = Eth. Nic. 5–7). Less well known, at least until Dieter Harlfinger alerted scholars to the fact in 1971, is that some of the manuscripts of Eth. Eud. do, contrary to the then prevailing consensus, contain the text of these common books. Even less well known is that Harlfinger's discovery was anticipated some 50 years before by Walter Ashburner, who had uncovered this fact about Eth. Eud. MSS in the Laurentian library of Florence. Ashburner's anticipation of Harlfinger, however, is not the real value of his article. Its value rather is that it contains collations of readings for the common books, and thereby gives us an excellent resource for examining the text of the common books as this text is contained in exclusively Eth. Eud. MSS. The Eth. Eud. tradition of the common books has hitherto received little attention....
Hypnos Revista Do Centro De Estudos Da Antiguidade Issn 2177 5346, 2005
No Velho Testamento Deus expressa, atraves do profeta Samuel, ideias sobre o governo humano, simi... more No Velho Testamento Deus expressa, atraves do profeta Samuel, ideias sobre o governo humano, similares as de Socrates na Republica de Platao. Ambos defendem que a melhor organizacao politica e aquela na qual nenhuma pessoa ou classe domina, mas aquela onde cada um rege a si mesmo atraves de um principio interno de justica. Uma “anarquia” justa deste tipo nao e apenas a melhor, mas tambem possivel de ser alcancada. Ao menos em certos periodos os filhos de Israel a obtiveram. Deveriamos imita-los.
Aristotle's Ethica Eudemia (EE) Book 2 Chapter 2 contains, at lines 1220b10–11, a well-known ... more Aristotle's Ethica Eudemia (EE) Book 2 Chapter 2 contains, at lines 1220b10–11, a well-known crux in the phrase ἐν τοῖς ἀπηλλαγμένοις. The context makes clear that Aristotle is using this phrase to refer to some writing or other, but scholars have been puzzled both about what the phrase means and what writing it refers to.
A revised translation of the Prologue to Duns Scotus' Ordinatio. Part of the project to revise a ... more A revised translation of the Prologue to Duns Scotus' Ordinatio. Part of the project to revise a translation of the whole of the Ordinatio. All current revisions are available on my website at: https://aristotelophile.com/current.htm
Resumo: O artigo tem por foco o problema de como aos modos gregos antigos (harmoniai) puderam ser... more Resumo: O artigo tem por foco o problema de como aos modos gregos antigos (harmoniai) puderam ser atribuídos a tão amplos e diversos efeitos morais e emocionais pelos autores antigos. A interpretação moderna padrão dos modos gregos torna impossível ler os autores antigos literalmente. Uma solução satisfatória ao problema, contudo, está disponível a partir de um livro de Kathleen Schlesinger sobre os modos, injustamente caluniado. Este artigo explica, com o auxílio de diagramas, os aspectos fundamentais da solução de Schlesinger e por que devemos levá-la a sério.
In Pr. 19.48 we read, in Mayhew's translation, the following: Why do choruses in tragedy sing nei... more In Pr. 19.48 we read, in Mayhew's translation, the following: Why do choruses in tragedy sing neither in Hypodorian nor in Hypophrygian? Is it because these harmoniai have the least melody, which is most necessary to the chorus? Now the Hypophrygian has a character of action, and this is why in the Geryone the marching out and the arming (episodes) are composed in this manner, while the Hypodorian has a magnificent and steadfast character, and this is why of the harmoniai it is most suited to kithara song. But these (harmoniai) are both inappropriate to the chorus, and more suitable to the (actors) on the stage. For the latter are imitators of heroes; but in the old days the (chorus) leaders alone were heroes, while the people, of whom the chorus consists, were humans. And this is why a mournful and quiet character and melody are appropriate to it; for (the chorus) is human. Now the other harmoniai have these, but the Phrygian has them least, since it is inspirational and Bacchic, (and the Mixolydian certainly has them most of all). Under the influence of this (harmonia), therefore, we are affected in a certain way; and the weak are affected more than the strong, which is why even this one is appropriate to choruses; but under the influence of the Hypodorian and Hypophrygian we act...
In Nicomachean Ethics book 5 chapter 7 (or Eudemian Ethics book 4 chapter 7), Aristotle introduce... more In Nicomachean Ethics book 5 chapter 7 (or Eudemian Ethics book 4 chapter 7), Aristotle introduces the topic of natural justice. His brief and elliptical discussion has provoked much controversy. It seems to confuse the issue rather than do anything to clear it up. The natural just, if there is such a thing, must be the same everywhere, for nature is the same everywhere, as Aristotle concedes with his example of fire that burns upwards here and in Persia. Yet he goes on to argue that there is nothing naturally just the same everywhere for everyone, but that the natural, at least for us human beings, always changes. There are clues in the passage in question that scholars have focused on in order to unravel Aristotle’s meaning. But there is one clue that scholars have hitherto almost entirely ignored (an exception is Dirlmeier, who
In the Aristotelian corpus of writings as it has come down to us, there are four works specifical... more In the Aristotelian corpus of writings as it has come down to us, there are four works specifically on ethics: the Nicomachean ethics, the Eudemian ethics, the Magna moralia (or Great ethics), and the short On virtues and vices. Scholars are now agreed that the first two are genuinely by Aristotle and most also believe that the Nicomachean is the later and better of the two. About the Magna moralia, there is still a division of opinion, though probably most scholars hold that it is not genuine. Those who hold it is genuine suppose it to be an early work or a redaction of an early work made by a later Peripatetic. As for On virtues and vices almost everyone holds it to be a spurious work written some two centuries after Aristotle's death. However, the arguments scholars give for these opinions are entirely unconvincing. In fact, they beg the question by assuming the conclusion in order to prove the conclusion. My own contention is that all the hard evidence we have compels us to ...
Aristotle's Ethics Eudemia (EE) and Ethica Nicomachea (EN), as is well known, contain three books... more Aristotle's Ethics Eudemia (EE) and Ethica Nicomachea (EN), as is well known, contain three books in common (EE 4-6 = EN 5-7). The text of these books as found in EE mss. however is little known.(1) Happily a collation of them in several mss. was published by Walter Ashburner early in the 1900s.(2) These collations are the more valuable because taken from (among others) the one ms. that in the learned stemma of Dieter Harlfinger(3) appears as the archetype for all the rest. The following translation of these Common Books is of the text as reported by Ashburner with footnotes drawing attention to differences between the EN and EE versions. Many of these differences are of little consequence; others are not. A discussion of some of the more significant ones can be found in my article: "Aristotle's EE: the Text and Character of the Common Books as found in EE mss." Classical Quarterly, 2019, volume 69, pp. 1-15. The translation of Book Four begins on page 2; of Book Five on p.25, and of Book Six on p.41. Note that the headings, subheadings, and summaries are additions by the translator meant to aid the reader. They are not part of the Greek or the translation proper.
Esta es una versión no publicada del prólogo y el primer capítulo del libro Goodness and Nature. ... more Esta es una versión no publicada del prólogo y el primer capítulo del libro Goodness and Nature. Peter Simpson es profesor titular del Departamento de Filosofía del CUNY. Ha enseñado en la Universidad Católica de América, en Washington DC; en el University College de Dublín, Irlanda; y en el Manchester Polytechnic, Reino Unido.
Such enquiries are like puzzling over the question whether we are now asleep or awake. All such q... more Such enquiries are like puzzling over the question whether we are now asleep or awake. All such questions have the same force. These people demand that a reason shall be given for everything… But their mistake is what we have stated it to be; they seek a reason for that for which no reason can be given; for the starting-point of demonstration is not demonstration. (Aristotle, Metaphysics 4.6.1011a6-13.) The supposition of this book is that we are now awake and that we are directly experiencing the real world outside us, the world within which we live and move and have our being. This world moreover, because it is directly perceived, not only exists but exists more or less the way we perceive it to exist. No serious question can arise about whether it really exists and as we perceive it to exist; the answers to such questions are immediate and immediately known; they are not inferred from anything more immediate or more known. The sort of questions instead that do arise and excite our interest and stimulate our curiosity do not concern the 'that' of the world, but the 'what' and the 'how' of it, and the 'why' and the 'wherefore' and the like. Such alone, then, are the questions that, on the basis of this supposition, it makes sense to ask and not ask. But while the supposition of the book is thus clear, it may at once seem that the supposition cannot be sustained. For it seems plain that our experience, however immediate it may appear to be, is in fact not so but is subject rather to several hallucinations and illusions, or to cases of seeming to perceive things that are not in fact there or of seeming to perceive things that, even if there, are not there as they are perceived to be. Illusions is the word often used to refer, as it were, to piecemeal errors, errors that call into question particular senses on particular
Such enquiries are like puzzling over the question whether we are now asleep or awake. All such q... more Such enquiries are like puzzling over the question whether we are now asleep or awake. All such questions have the same force. These people demand that a reason shall be given for everything… But their mistake is what we have stated it to be; they seek a reason for that for which no reason can be given; for the starting-point of demonstration is not demonstration. (Aristotle, Metaphysics 4.6.1011a6-13.) The supposition of this book is that we are now awake and that we are directly experiencing the real world outside us, the world within which we live and move and have our being. This world moreover, because it is directly perceived, not only exists but exists more or less the way we perceive it to exist. No serious question can arise about whether it really exists and as we perceive it to exist; the answers to such questions are immediate and immediately known; they are not inferred from anything more immediate or more known. The sort of questions instead that do arise and excite our interest and stimulate our curiosity do not concern the 'that' of the world, but the 'what' and the 'how' of it, and the 'why' and the 'wherefore' and the like. Such alone, then, are the questions that, on the basis of this supposition, it makes sense to ask and not ask. But while the supposition of the book is thus clear, it may at once seem that the supposition cannot be sustained. For it seems plain that our experience, however immediate it may appear to be, is in fact not so but is subject rather to several hallucinations and illusions, or to cases of seeming to perceive things that are not in fact there or of seeming to perceive things that, even if there, are not there as they are perceived to be. Illusions is the word often used to refer, as it were, to piecemeal errors, errors that call into question particular senses on particular
It has been an abiding opinion in many nations and thinkers that music has great power to affect ... more It has been an abiding opinion in many nations and thinkers that music has great power to affect the morals of listeners for good and ill. This paper, written to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Paul Rahe's Republics Ancient and Modern, analyses how modern Western music in all its forms is, because of the tempered scale, profoundly corrupt and corrupting, and a powerful tool of tyranny.
The Text of the Common Books (EN 5-7 and EE 4-6) compared in the EN of Susemihl/Apelt (1912) and ... more The Text of the Common Books (EN 5-7 and EE 4-6) compared in the EN of Susemihl/Apelt (1912) and in the EE of mss. Laur.81.15 Note 1. Laur.81.15 (regarded by Harlfinger as the archetype) is labeled C by Ashburner, 'Studies in the. he labels A and Laur.81.20 he labels B. Ashburner collated all three relative to the Susemihl/Apelt EN text (Teubner 1912). This text frequently gets the Bekker line divisions wrong, so that using Ashburner's collations relative to the Bekker text can be misleading. The collations here were therefore taken relative to the Teubner text but the line divisions were then corrected to follow Bekker. The Teubner text is not digitally available so the downloadable Bywater OCT text of 1894 was used and adapted to fit the Teubner. Any differences between the Teubner and Bywater that have been missed will have to be changed to give a fully accurate account of the text of C as collated by Ashburner. Note 2. Book 4 of EE begins on page 34 recto of Laur.81.15, which is available online at http://teca.bmlonline.it/TecaRicerca/index.jsp Enter Plut.81.15 in the search box. For ease of search, the pages of this ms. are inserted in the margins at the relevant point in the printed text. So, for example, (34r) refers to page 34 recto and (34v) to page 34 verso.
A defense of the traditional view, against the historical critical method, that the Gospels are t... more A defense of the traditional view, against the historical critical method, that the Gospels are the authentic eyewitness memoirs of the original apostles.
From the book cover:
This book deconstructs the story of liberalism that John Rawls, author of P... more From the book cover:
This book deconstructs the story of liberalism that John Rawls, author of Political Liberalism, and many others have put forward. Peter L.P. Simpson argues that political liberalism is despotic because it denies to politics a concern with the comprehensive human good; political illiberalism overcomes this despotism and restores genuine freedom. In Political Illiberalism, Simpson provides a detailed account of these political phenomena and presents a political theory opposed to that of Rawls and other proponents of modern liberalism. Simpson analyses and confronts the assumptions of this liberalism by challenging its view of liberty and especially its cornerstone that politics should not be about the comprehensive good. He presents the fundamentals of the idea of a truer liberalism as derived from human nature, with particular attention to the role and power of religion, using the political thought of Aristotle, the founding fathers of the United States, thinkers of the Roman Empire, and contemporary practice. Political Illiberalism concludes with reflections on morals in the political context of the comprehensive good. Simpson views the modern state as despotically authoritarian; consequently, seeking liberty within it is illusory. Human politics requires devolution of authority to local communities, on the one hand, and a proper distinction between spiritual and temporal powers, on the other. This thought-provoking work is essential for all political scientists and philosophy scholars.
This book entitled Goodness and Nature is concerned with the question of naturalism in ethics. Na... more This book entitled Goodness and Nature is concerned with the question of naturalism in ethics. Naturalism is the view that good and bad, right and wrong, are real matters of fact or knowledge that can in principle be determined by some reference to ‘nature’. This question is among the most important that any student of modern moral philosophy has to face. This book’s search for a solution to its difficulties, however, has required going outside the limits within which that question was originally posed. In fact, it is one of the principal messages of the book that it is these limits themselves that constitute most of the problem. The effort to think beyond the limits of modern moral philosophy has, in my case at any rate, proved to be also the effort to think back into an ancient tradition of philosophy which flourished for so many centuries beforehand, and which modern philosophers have largely rejected. For this reason this book is an unashamedly ancient book. It might even be called an essay in discarded ideas. There are, of course, differing views about how to approach the problems raised by modern moral philosophy. It is my conviction that a return to ancient ideas is the most helpful and the most fruitful, as will, I hope, become evident from the way my argument develops from the first to the final chapters. The ancient tradition that I am following provides, I contend, just the concepts and distinctions necessary to resolve the puzzles that have gathered themselves about the question of naturalism. These puzzles are genuine and philosophically instructive; that is why they need to be faced and answered squarely. To argue round them, or to dismiss them before getting to grips with them, is to run the risk of hindering philosophical understanding. Accordingly, the early chapters of this book are concerned with writings that appeared and provoked most controversy several decades ago. For this seeming anachronism I make no apology; it is in these writings that the puzzles find their most instructive, not to say classic, expression. A Supplement to this edition of Goodness and Nature is appended in a separate file. The Supplement that did not appear in the book when it was first published but its addition is meant to provide more of the background and evidence for the argument presented in chapter 5 of the book, the chapter entitled ‘Historical Origins’. That chapter can, to be sure, stand by itself in its place in Goodness and Nature independently of the Supplement. But since it makes claims, and presents a progression of thought, that are relatively controversial within the context of the debate about naturalism in ethics, it may excite an interest and a skepticism that some readers may wish to have more fully satisfied or answered. The Supplement is meant to supply that wish. The chapters and their contents cover the same ground as was covered in chapter 5 of Goodness and Nature but in greater detail, ranging over a fuller review of the important thinkers, and spelling out more of the relevant elements and implications. The Supplement can, therefore, stand by itself too, and need not just be read as an addition to Goodness and Nature (even though it contains several references to that book). In any event, interested readers should find on the Contents page of the Supplement enough information about what the Supplement contains to guide as well as, one hopes, to spark interest.
The book with supplement is also available from my website aristotelophile.com and in print from Amazon.com
Radio broadcast with Guy Rathbun https://beta.prx.org/stories/266987, 2019
Radio broadcast with Guy Rathbun about oligarchy and illusions of freedom in the US Constitutiona... more Radio broadcast with Guy Rathbun about oligarchy and illusions of freedom in the US Constitutional system
A review of Tobias Hoffman's book: Johannes Duns Scotus. Freiheit, Tugenden und Naturgesetz. Uebe... more A review of Tobias Hoffman's book: Johannes Duns Scotus. Freiheit, Tugenden und Naturgesetz. Uebersetzt, eingeleitet und mit Anmerkungen versehen
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This book deconstructs the story of liberalism that John Rawls, author of Political Liberalism, and many others have put forward. Peter L.P. Simpson argues that political liberalism is despotic because it denies to politics a concern with the comprehensive human good; political illiberalism overcomes this despotism and restores genuine freedom. In Political Illiberalism, Simpson provides a detailed account of these political phenomena and presents a political theory opposed to that of Rawls and other proponents of modern liberalism. Simpson analyses and confronts the assumptions of this liberalism by challenging its view of liberty and especially its cornerstone that politics should not be about the comprehensive good. He presents the fundamentals of the idea of a truer liberalism as derived from human nature, with particular attention to the role and power of religion, using the political thought of Aristotle, the founding fathers of the United States, thinkers of the Roman Empire, and contemporary practice. Political Illiberalism concludes with reflections on morals in the political context of the comprehensive good. Simpson views the modern state as despotically authoritarian; consequently, seeking liberty within it is illusory. Human politics requires devolution of authority to local communities, on the one hand, and a proper distinction between spiritual and temporal powers, on the other. This thought-provoking work is essential for all political scientists and philosophy scholars.
The book with supplement is also available from my website aristotelophile.com and in print from Amazon.com
http://www.unz.com/audio/kbarrett_peter-simpson-on-why-theocracy-is-better-than-secular-liberalism/