The Library
Galen and the Arabic traditions of Plato's Timaeus
Tools
Tools
Tools
Das, Aileen R. (2013) Galen and the Arabic traditions of Plato's Timaeus. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
Research output not available from this repository.
Request-a-Copy directly from author or use local Library Get it For Me service.
Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b2728754~S1
Abstract
This study surveys Galen of Pergamum's (AD 129–c. 216) impact on the Arabic traditions of Plato's Timaeus in the ninth to thirteenth centuries. It draws attention to the important role that Galen's two exegeses On the Medical Statements in Plato's Timaeus (Περὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ Πλάτωνος Τιμαίῳ ἰατρικῶς εἰρημένων) and the Synopsis of Plato's Timaeus played in transmitting the dialogue into Arabic, and thus shaping medieval Arabic thinkers' understanding of its doctrines. The first of these two texts is fragmentary in Greek and Arabic; this study offers a comprehensive overview of the surviving material and reassesses its authenticity. The Synopsis is preserved in a medieval Arabic translation, and my examination of this work reconsiders its attribution to an associate of the famous translator Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq (d. c. 873 or 877). The analyses of these treatments also highlight Galen's critical approaches to the Timaeus, specifically how he interprets it in light of his medical knowledge and the intellectual context of Middle Platonism. By exploring the use of the Timaeus commentary and Synopsis in the works of ar-Rāzī, al-Bīrūnī, Ibn Sīnā, Mūsā ibn ʿAzrā, Yehuda Halevi, Ibn Rušd, and Mūsā ibn Maymūn, this study shows that Galen's approach helped broaden the dialogue's application to other fields of learning besides philosophy, such as medicine, poetics, and theology.
| Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PA Classical philology | ||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Plato. Timaeus -- Criticism and interpretation, Plato. Timaeus -- Translations into Arabic, Galen -- Criticism and interpretation | ||||
| Official Date: | September 2013 | ||||
| Dates: |
|
||||
| Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
| Theses Department: | Department of Classics and Ancient History | ||||
| Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
| Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
| Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Pormann, Peter E. ; Vanhaelen, Maude | ||||
| Sponsors: | University of Warwick | ||||
| Extent: | xx, 268 leaves | ||||
| Language: | eng |
Request changes or add full text files to a record
Repository staff actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
