The Peripatetics explores the development of Peripatetic thought from Theophrastus and Strato to the work of the commentator Alexander of Aphrodisias. The book examines whether the internal dynamics of this philosophical school allowed for a unity of Peripatetic thought, or whether there was a fundamental tension between philosophical creativity and the notions of core teachings and canonisation. The book discusses the major philosophical preoccupations of the Peripatetics, interactions with Hellenistic schools of thought, and the shift in focus among Greek philosophers in a changing political landscape. It is the first book of its kind to provide a survey of this important philosophical tradition.

Contents

Sources and Abbreviations

Preface

1 Aristotle’s Heirs

2 The Natural World and its (hidden) Foundations

3 Things and Words: Language, Logic and Reasoning

4 Ethics and Politics: On Morality and Citizenship

5 Continuity and Criticism in the Peripatos

6 Intellectual Context: Rivals and Devotees

7 Epilogue: From Theophrastus to Alexander of Aphrodisias

Appendix A: Known Peripatetics 322 BCE – 250 CE

Appendix B: Modern Editions & Commentaries on the Peripatetics

Bibliography

Index