Aristotle in Dialogue with Plato: Revisiting the Puzzle in Aristotle’s De Anima III.2 (425b12–25)

Voula Tsouna

Jump to Content

Chapter 7 Aristotle in Dialogue with Plato

Revisiting the Puzzle in Aristotle’s De Anima III.2 (425b12–25)

in New Essays on the Platonic Tradition

Autor:in:

Voula Tsouna

Voula Tsouna
Search for other papers by Voula Tsouna in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

Art:: Kapitel

Seiten:: 133–161

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004751149_008

Über Institut einloggen

Sofortzugang erwerben (PDF-Download und unbegrenzter Online-Zugang):

42,00 €35,00 € excl. VAT

Add to Cart

Token einlösen

Abstract

Aristotle’s main task in De anima III.2 is to address the question how we have second-order perception, namely how we perceive that we are perceiving. The opening argument is formulated in a dialectical manner and constitutes an object of debate regarding both its details and the rôle that it plays in Aristotle’s account of perceptual awareness. Notably, it is commonly believed that Aristotle merely sets up alternative approaches to certain puzzles about second-order perception without committing himself to a specific position, and also that, in so far as the argument involves relatives, he builds it out of nowhere. Aristotle, Bertrand Russell claimed, was the first philosopher to understand something about relatives and relations, contrary to Plato who understood nothing at all. While the latter idea has been overturned by recent work on the subject, Aristotle’s unacknowledged debts to Plato and his school remain underestimated and understudied. The present paper aims to redress the situation is a small and local way, by revisiting a hypothesis first expressed by Paul Shorey in 1901 and, a few years later, by Robert Hicks in 1907, namely that the problem introduced at De anima III.2 (425b18–19) has its origin in the so-called Argument from Relatives in Plato’s Charmides (167c8–169c2). Historically, I hope to show that this hypothesis is likely to be correct, and that Aristotle considered carefully the questions raised by Socrates in the Charmides regarding perceptual relativity and second-order perception. Philosophically, I contend that the two passages under discussion are worthy of parallel study, even on the assumption that there is no historical connection between them. For their comparative discussion throws significant light on the nature of relatives, in particular reflexive relatives, as well as on the logical and semantic relations holding between second-order perceptual relatives and their respective objects.

Zitierungsangaben

Save
Cite
Inhalt per Mail versenden

Link teilen

Sie können einen Link zu dieser Seite per E-Mail senden:
Inhalt per Mail versenden
oder den Link direkt kopieren:

https://brill.edhh.ma/abstract/book/9789004751149/BP000007.xml
Der Link wurde nicht kopiert. Ihr aktueller Browser unterstützt das Kopieren über diese Schaltfläche möglicherweise nicht.

Link wurde kopiert

Reduzieren
Erweitern
Nach oben

New Essays on the Platonic Tradition

In Honour of Paul Kalligas

Reihe: Studies in Platonism, Neoplatonism, and the Platonic Tradition, Band: 35

Cover New Essays on the Platonic Tradition

ISBN:: 9789004751149

Verleger:: Brill

Print-Publikationsdatum:: 26 Feb 2026

Fachgebiete
- Philosophie

Front Matter

Part 1

Part 2

Back Matter

ProCite

RefWorks

Reference Manager

BibTeX

Zotero

EndNote

Kennzahlen

	Insgesamt	Letzte 365 Tage	In den letzten 30 Tagen
Aufrufe von Kurzbeschreibungen	21	21	14
Gesamttextansichten	2	2	1
PDF-Downloads	8	8	1

Afrikanistik	Internationale Beziehungen	Nahost- und Islamwissenschaften
Altorientalistik und Ägyptologie	Internationales Recht	Pädagogik
Amerikanistik	Judaistik	Philosophie
Asienwissenschaften	Klassische Altertumswissenschaft	Religionswissenschaft
Bibelauslegung	Kunstgeschichte	Slawistik und Eurasienkunde
Biologie	Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaften	Sozialwissenschaften
Biowissenschaften	Medienwissenschaft	Sprachen und Linguistik
Buchgeschichte und Kartographie	Menschenrechte und humanitäres Völkerrecht	Theologie und Christentum
Geschichte	Musikwissenschaft

Fachgebiete

Autor:innen

Open Access

Produkt-Informationen

Über uns

Kontakt

Chapter 7 Aristotle in Dialogue with Plato

Revisiting the Puzzle in Aristotle’s De Anima III.2 (425b12–25)

Abstract

Zitierungsangaben

Link teilen

New Essays on the Platonic Tradition

In Honour of Paul Kalligas

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Verweisliste

Kennzahlen

Kennzahlen