Causation and Creation in Late Antiquity

Cambridge University Press, 2/26/2015
EAN 9781107061538, ISBN10: 1107061539

Hardcover, 312 pages, 22.8 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm
Language: English

Written by a group of leading scholars, this unique collection of essays investigates the views of both pagan and Christian philosophers on causation and the creation of the cosmos. Structured in two parts, the volume first looks at divine agency and how late antique thinkers, including the Stoics, Plotinus, Porphyry, Simplicius, Philoponus and Gregory of Nyssa, tackled questions such as: is the cosmos eternal? Did it come from nothing or from something pre-existing? How was it caused to come into existence? Is it material or immaterial? The second part looks at questions concerning human agency and responsibility, including the problem of evil and the nature of will, considering thinkers such as Plotinus, Porphyry, Proclus and Augustine. Highlighting some of the most important and interesting aspects of these philosophical debates, the volume will be of great interest to upper-level students and scholars of philosophy, classics, theology and ancient history.

Introduction Anna Marmodoro and Brian D. Prince
Part I. The Origin of the Cosmos
1. Two early Stoic theories of cosmogony Ricardo Salles
2. Plotinus' account of demiurgic causation and its philosophical background Riccardo Chiaradonna
3. Creation and divine providence in Plotinus Christopher Isaac Noble and Nathan M. Powers
4. Waiting for Philoponus Richard Sorabji
5. Gregory of Nyssa on the creation of the world Anna Marmodoro
6. Simplicius on elements and causes in Greek philosophy
critical appraisal or philosophical synthesis? Han Baltussen
Part II. The Origins of Human Agency
7. Divine and human freedom
Plotinus' new understanding of creative agency Kevin Corrigan
8. Consciousness and agency in Plotinus D. M. Hutchinson
9. Neoplatonists on the causes of vegetative life James Wilberding
10. Astrology and the will in Porphyry of Tyre Aaron P. Johnson
11. Proclus on the ethics of self-constitution Michael Griffin
12. Deficient causes
Augustine on creation and angels Gillian Clark
13. Willed causes and causal willing in Augustine Mark Edwards
References
Index locorum
General index.