Aristotle's Categories and Porphyry 9004320709, 9789004320703

Citation preview

ARISTOTLE'S CATEGORIES AND PORPHYRY

PHILOSOPHIA ANTIQUA A SERIES OF STUDIES ON ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY EDITED BY

WJ. VERDENIUS ANDj.C.M. VAN WINDEN

VOLUME XLVIII

CHRISTOS EVANGEUOU

ARISTOTLE'S CATEGORIES AND PORPHYRY

ARISTOTLE'S CATEGORIES AND PORPHYRY BY

CHRISTOS EVANGELIOU

SECOND EDITION

EJ.BRILL

LEIDEN · NEW YORK · KOLN 1996

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Evangeliou, Christos. Aristotle's Categories and Porphyry I by Christos Evangeliou. p. em.- (Philosophia antiqua, ISSN 0079-1687; v. 48) Based on the author's thesis (Ph.D.)--Emory University. Bibliography: p. Includes index. ISBN 90 04 085386 (pbk.) 1. Aristotle. Categoriae. 2. Porphyry, ca. 234-ca. 305-Contributions in interpretation of Aristotle's doctrine of categories. 3. P1otinus-Contributions in interpretation of Aristotle's doctrine of categories. 4. Categories (Philosophy)-History. I. Title. II. Series. B438.E9 1988 16o--dcl9 87-32284

CIP

ISSN 0079-1687 ISBN 90 04 08538 6

© Copyright 1988, 1996 by E.]. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands

All rights reserved. No part of this publication 71101 be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval vstem, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, plwtocopying, recording or othmvise, without prior written permission .from the publisher. Authorization to plwtocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by E.]. Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directfy to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Darwers .MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS

To my Father and the memory of my Mother IIoAAot 1tOAA~~ xa-re.[l&Aovto cppovt(oOt~ d~ 'tO 'tW\1 XOt'tTJ"(OpLwv 'tOu 'ApLa'tO't€Aou~ ~L~A(ov.

Simplicius (CAG, VIII, 1, 1-2)

CONTENTS Prologue... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction .................................................................. . 1. Porphyry the Philosopher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. The Problem of Aristotle's Categories............................ 3. Scope and Method of the Study...................................

XI XIII

1 7 10

PART ONE

PORPHYRY ON ARISTOTLE'S CATEGORIES 1. Traditional Questions Related to the Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. An Established Tradition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. On the Title of the Treatise........................................ 3. On the Purpose of the Treatise.................................... 4. Alternative Proposed Interpretations.............................. 5. Conclusion..............................................................

17 17 19 23 27 33

2. Porphyry's Comments on Categor£es, I............................... 1. The Division of the Treatise into Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Ambiguity and its Kinds .. . . . .. . . . . . . . .. ... . .. .. ... .. . . .. . .. . .. .. . . . 3. Fourfold Division of ovtrx... ... . .. . . .. . .. . ..... .. . . . . .. . ... ... . . . . . .. 4. The Problem of Subordination..................................... 5. Twofold Division of AE"(OfLEVtX • • • • • • • • • • • . . . • • • • • • • • • • • . • • . • • • . • . . • . . 6. Conclusion..............................................................

35 35 37 51 53 56 57

3. Porphyry's Comments on Categor£es, II.............................. 1. The Category of oua£rx................................................ a. Primary and Secondary oua£rx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b. Characteristics of oua£rx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. The Category of 1tocr6v . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . a. Kinds of 1tocr6v .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b. Characteristics of 1tocr6v........................................... 3. The Category of 1tp6c; 'tL.............................................. a. Kinds of 1tp6t; 'tL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b. Characteristics of 1tp6c; 'tL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

59 60 60 66 73 73 76 79 81 81

VIII

CONTENTS

4. The Category of 1tOL6v................................................ a. Kinds of 1tOL6v....................................................... b. Characteristics of 1toL6v . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. The Other Six Categories........................................... 6. Conclusion..............................................................

84 84 85 87 88

PART TWO

ARISTOTLE'S CATEGORIES, PLOTINUS AND PORPHYRY 4. Plotinus' Criticism of Aristotle's Categories ... .. .. . . . . .. . . . .. .. . .. 1. Introductory Remarks................................................ 2. An Old Ontological Controversy.................................. 3. The Tenfold Division of ovrcx... .. . ... ...... .... .. .. . ... . . . . . . . .. .. . 4. The Fourfold Division of ov"tcx...................................... 5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

93 93 95 96 125 127

5. Plotinus' Reduction of Aristotle's Categories...................... 1. The Platonic Division of ovrcx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Being, Becoming and Their Relation............................. 3. Plotinus' Categories of Becoming . . . .. .. . . .... .. . . .. .. ... . .. ... . . . a. The Category of oua(cx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b. The Category of 1toa6v................................ .. . . . . . . . . . . c. The Category of 1tOL6v ...... .. .. .......... ...... .... ..... ... .. . ... d. The Category of x(VT)aL~ ... ... .. ... ... . . . ..... .. .... ..... ... .. ... . e. The Category of 1tp6~ "tL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. Conclusion..............................................................

129 130 138 143 144 150 155 158 161 162

6. Plotinus, Porphyry and Aristotle's Categories..................... 1. Diversity in Unity..................................................... a. Points on which the Two Philosophers Differ............... b. The Common Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Nature and Importance of their Disagreement................. 3. Conclusion..............................................................

164 164 164 174 177 181

Glossary of Greek Terms . .. . . .. .. . . . .. .. .... .. .. . . .. . .. . . ... .. .. .. .. ... ...

182

Bibliography................................................................... A. Primary Sources.......................................................

188 188

CONTENTS

IX

B. Secondary Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a. Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b. Articles...............................................................

188 188 196

General Index.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

205

PROLOGUE Aristotle's doctrine of categories is important for the history of Hellenic and Western philosophy. He used it skilfully for reformulating and resolving many traditional problems of logical, ontological, epistemological and ethical import. In his hands the doctrine also became a powerful tool for criticizing the Presocratics and the Academics. The latter remained divided in their opinions about it to the end of the third century A.D. Plotinus was the last Platonist to criticize Aristotle's categories, especially in their ontological pretensions. Ironically, it was Porphyry, Plotinus' most brilliant disciple, who put an end to the prolonged controversy about the merit of Aristotle's categorial doctrine by favorably commenting on it. Thereafter, the doctrine became part of the Neoplatonic School curriculum. In this respect, Porphyry initiated a new policy of reconciliation between Platonism and Aristotelianism. This work is a systematic study of Porphyry's interpretation of Aristotle's doctrine of categories. In view of Plotinus's sharp criticism of it, Porphyry's sympathetic treatment of this doctrine appears problematic. By textual analysis and critical argument, this study attempts to elucidate the question of how and why the two philosophers differ in their approaches to the problem which Aristotle's categories presented to them. The book is a revision of my doctoral dissertation which was accepted by the Philosophy Department at Emory University. To improve the original, I have incorporated the following changes: I updated and expanded the bibliography; instead of MacKenna's translation of the Enneads, I used Professor Armstrong's new and more accurate translation (he kindly allowed me to use his completed but unpublished translation of Ennead VI, for which I am grateful); I used, occasionally, Professor Apostle's translation of the Categories, instead of Ackrill's which I followed in the main; I provided my own version of some difficult passages (parallel to theirs), when neither appeared satisfactory; I tried to keep the discussion close to the original texts and chiefly between the protagonists, Aristotle, Porphyry, Plotinus, Plato and the ancient commentators. The perceptive reader, I trust, will not fail to see the relevance of those commentaries to modern scholarly debates regarding Aristotle's categories. The list of people who helped me in one way or another during the long period of the execution of this project is lengthy. To those who read the entire manuscript or heard parts of it read in professional meetings

XII

PROLOGUE

and kindly gave me their valuable comments, wise suggestions, and/or constructive criticisms, I am grateful. The list includes the following Professors: J. Anton, N. Fotion, I. Leclerc, Th. Flynn, J. Gouinlock, W. Edwards, R. Makkreel, and P. Kuntz, (all at Emory University at that time), R.B. Harris, A. Preus, J. Findlay, J. Rist, Father Owens, R. Turnbull, J. Dillon, M. Wagner, L. Bargeliotes, E. Moutsopoulos, and K. Boudouris, (the last three at the University of Athens, Greece). I would also like to thank my editor, Mr. Deahl, for his cooperation and understanding. To my wife, Karen, I owe a special appreciation for her encouragement, constant support, and many sacrifices, all for the sake of