adversus Colotem Di Plutarco
Subtitle: Storia Di una Polemica Filosofica
Publisher: Leuven University Press
Published: 2014
Language: eng; ita; grc
Number of pages: 326
ISBN-13: 9789462700093
Description: The 'Adversus Colotem, ' written around 100 A.D., is one of Plutarch's three extant anti-Epicurean treatises. It is a reply to Colotes' otherwise unknown book entitled 'On the fact that according to the doctrines of the other philosophers it is impossible to live'. This volume analyses the 'Adversus Colotem' as a whole and, in particular, explores its polemical target, its philosophical background. and its argumentative strategies. It consists of four chapters, devoted respectively to: 1) the structure of the 'Adversus Colotem'; 2) a critical examination of the ancient sources (Plutarch, Proclus, Macrobius, and the Herculaneum Papyri) concerning Colotes' life, philosophy, and role in the Epicurean tradition; 3) the thesis of the unity of the Academy, as it is defended by Plutarch in the 'Adversus Colotem'; and 4) the analysis of the section on Arcesilaus (Adv. Col. 1121 E-1123 A), which contains Arcesilaus' response to the apraxia charge. An English summary concludes the volume.