History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps HoP 201 - Stephen Gersh on Medieval Platonism
Dec 5, 2014
Stephen Gersh, a doctoral advisor in medieval Platonism, joins to discuss Platonism's sources and influence in the Middle Ages. They explore the limited knowledge of Plato at that time, the role of Byzantine philosophy in reviving Plato's works, the transmission and transformation of Platonism in the Latin West by key figures such as Augustine and Boethius, the association between Platonism and the liberal arts, and how medieval writers dealt with non-Christian aspects of texts, including the challenge of interpreting the works of Proclus.
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Plato Mostly Came Indirectly To The West
- For most of the Latin Middle Ages, Plato was known indirectly, with the Timaeus as the primary directly read dialogue.
- Full direct knowledge of Plato's dialogues in the West only becomes widespread in the 15th century with Renaissance translations.
Timaeus Framed Medieval Cosmological Debates
- The Timaeus shaped medieval cosmology by offering a two-worlds theory and a cosmic soul that Christian thinkers had to reconcile with Genesis.
- Medieval readers wrestled with whether matter pre-existed creation and how a world-soul fits Christian doctrine.
Platonism Came Through Many Medieval Texts
- Key non-dialogue channels transmitted Platonism: Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, Macrobius, Calcidius, Marcianus, and Boethius.
- This transmitted Platonism is filtered through late-antique and Neoplatonic interpretation, not the pure dialogues.