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Proclus on Whole and Part: A Reappraisal of Mereology in Neoplatonic Metaphysics
Series: - Philosophia Antiqua, Volume: 172
Author:
No late ancient philosopher has written more extensively on part-whole relations than the Neoplatonic commentator Proclus. In Proclus on Whole and Part, Arthur Oosthout unfolds, for the first time, Proclus’ detailed and systematic analysis of (Neo-)Platonic mereology in full. Oosthout weaves together a great number of previously disconnected scholarly inquiries into Proclus, while adding many critical notes and new insights of his own. He bases this new synthesis on a detailed theoretical framework built not only on the metaphysical theories of Plato and Aristotle, but also on the arguments of prominent scholars of modern mereology.
Arthur Oosthout, Ph.D. (2022), is a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the KU Leuven who specialises in late ancient Neoplatonism. His publications include a contribution to the recent volume Longing for Perfection in Late Antiquity (Brill, 2023).
"In this monograph, Arthur Oosthout lays out meticulously Proclus’ mereology and its integration into his Neoplatonic system, showcasing both its continuity with the Platonic and Aristotelian heritage as well as its relation to modern mereology. [...]The fourth chapter acts arguably as the heart of the book since it discusses the three different types of wholeness according to Proclus [...]: (1) the whole before the parts; (2) the whole composed of parts; (3) the whole in the part. [...]The bibliography is rich and up to date. [...] Oosthout has done a great service to Neoplatonist studies by illuminating an important aspect of Proclean thought. His comparison of Proclus with contemporary philosophy should be taken as an example for further research on Neoplatonist metaphysics." - Rareș Ilie Marinescu, University of Toronto, in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"The present monograph [...] is generally lucid in the presentation of the material, well-structured, and exegetically meticulous. It stands as a solid contribution to the growing philosophically informed literature on the writings of the greatest and most influential of the Platonists in late antiquity. [...] (it) is itself a worthy contribution to establishing Proclus’s philosophical bona fides among those engaged in the contemporary debate about wholes and parts." - Lloyd P. Gerson, University of Toronto, in: The Thomist (April 2026).
"The present monograph [...] is generally lucid in the presentation of the material, well-structured, and exegetically meticulous. It stands as a solid contribution to the growing philosophically informed literature on the writings of the greatest and most influential of the Platonists in late antiquity. [...] (it) is itself a worthy contribution to establishing Proclus’s philosophical bona fides among those engaged in the contemporary debate about wholes and parts." - Lloyd P. Gerson, University of Toronto, in: The Thomist (April 2026).
Acknowledgements
Figures and Tables
1 Introduction
1.1 Status Quaestionis
1.2 A Preview of Proclean Mereology
1.3 Overview of the Study
1.4 Essential Proclean Concepts and Terminology
1.5 Critical Editions and Translations
2 Mereology 101
2.1 Classical Extensional Mereology
2.2 Davis Lewis’s Argument for Unrestricted Composition
2.3 Peter Van Inwagen and the Special Composition Question
2.4 The Whole as a Structure in Plato
2.5 Structure as a Part in Aristotle
2.6 The Two Sides of Modern Mereology
3 Quantity versus Complexity
3.1 Proclus’ Rule in the Elements of Theology
3.2 ‘A Being First, Then a Living Being’: the Proclean Rule in Action
3.3 Stacking Material Substrates: the Proclean Rule and Demiurgy
3.4 The Compatibility of the TP- and IP-Passages
3.5 The Double Meaning of Συνθετωτερον
4 A Wholesome Trinity
4.1 The Basics of the Threefold Wholeness
4.2 Whole above Part: the Roots of Proclean Mereology
4.3 Two Examples from Proclus’ Cosmology
4.4 The Whole in Each Part: a Reappraisal of Previous Readings
4.5 Stronger Apart and Stronger Together
5 Dividing the Indivisible
5.1 Balancing the Relativistic Whole and the Determinate Whole
5.2 The Distinctive Character of the Intelligible Whole
5.3 Unfolding the Heaven
5.4 The Evolution of Whole into Part
5.5 The Division of the Platonic Forms by the Intellective Gods
5.6 The Development of Axiology, Cosmology, and Perfection
5.7 The Indivisible Divided
6 Uniting the Imperfect
6.1 The Mereological Role of Time
6.2 Between a Systematic and an Exegetical Mereology
6.3 Material Existence and the Partial Wholeness of the Individual
6.4 The Question of the Partial Good
7 The Best Kind of Whole (for a Neoplatonist)
7.1 Reflecting on the Sum of the Parts
7.2 What Is Proclus’ Definition of the Whole(Some)?
7.3 Is Proclus’ Mereology Consistent?
7.4 Is the Proclean Whole Fuzzy or Fantastical?
7.5 Are Proclean Compounds Whole in an Ethical Sense?
7.6 Is Proclus’ Mereology Actually Any Good?
Bibliography
Index locorum
Index nominum
Index rerum
Figures and Tables
1 Introduction
1.1 Status Quaestionis
1.2 A Preview of Proclean Mereology
1.3 Overview of the Study
1.4 Essential Proclean Concepts and Terminology
1.5 Critical Editions and Translations
Part 1: The Mereological Question
2 Mereology 101
2.1 Classical Extensional Mereology
2.2 Davis Lewis’s Argument for Unrestricted Composition
2.3 Peter Van Inwagen and the Special Composition Question
2.4 The Whole as a Structure in Plato
2.5 Structure as a Part in Aristotle
2.6 The Two Sides of Modern Mereology
Part 2: The Central Tenets of Proclean Mereology
3 Quantity versus Complexity
3.1 Proclus’ Rule in the Elements of Theology
3.2 ‘A Being First, Then a Living Being’: the Proclean Rule in Action
3.3 Stacking Material Substrates: the Proclean Rule and Demiurgy
3.4 The Compatibility of the TP- and IP-Passages
3.5 The Double Meaning of Συνθετωτερον
4 A Wholesome Trinity
4.1 The Basics of the Threefold Wholeness
4.2 Whole above Part: the Roots of Proclean Mereology
4.3 Two Examples from Proclus’ Cosmology
4.4 The Whole in Each Part: a Reappraisal of Previous Readings
4.5 Stronger Apart and Stronger Together
Part 3: Part and Whole in Proclus’ Theology and Cosmology
5 Dividing the Indivisible
5.1 Balancing the Relativistic Whole and the Determinate Whole
5.2 The Distinctive Character of the Intelligible Whole
5.3 Unfolding the Heaven
5.4 The Evolution of Whole into Part
5.5 The Division of the Platonic Forms by the Intellective Gods
5.6 The Development of Axiology, Cosmology, and Perfection
5.7 The Indivisible Divided
6 Uniting the Imperfect
6.1 The Mereological Role of Time
6.2 Between a Systematic and an Exegetical Mereology
6.3 Material Existence and the Partial Wholeness of the Individual
6.4 The Question of the Partial Good
Part 4: Bringing the Parts Together
7 The Best Kind of Whole (for a Neoplatonist)
7.1 Reflecting on the Sum of the Parts
7.2 What Is Proclus’ Definition of the Whole(Some)?
7.3 Is Proclus’ Mereology Consistent?
7.4 Is the Proclean Whole Fuzzy or Fantastical?
7.5 Are Proclean Compounds Whole in an Ethical Sense?
7.6 Is Proclus’ Mereology Actually Any Good?
Bibliography
Index locorum
Index nominum
Index rerum
The book is primarily intended for specialists of late ancient philosophy specifically and ancient philosophy more generally, but is also relevant for experts in contemporary mereology.