Aristotelian noetic in the work of Alexander of Aphrodisias

• Grant number: 15/13683-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: September 01, 2015
• End date: February 29, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - History of Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Marco Antônio de Ávila Zingano
• Grantee: Fernanda de Araujo Izidório
• Supervisor: Marwan Rashed
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris 4), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/07827-0 - The concept of active intellect in Aristotle, BP.MS

Abstract

In this research internship abroad, we will devote ourselves to studying the interpretation held by Alexander of Aphrondisias on Aristotelian theory of intellection. Our main Master's Research Project aims to circumscribe the problems concerning the concept of active intellect in Aristotle's De Anima and, for this reason we have been reading the main commentaries in this tradition on the passage and trying to notice how they identify the gaps in the Stagirite's argumentation and seek to fill them. Therefore, it is essential for our task to turn our attention to the work of Alexander, the greatest Aristotelian exegete in Antiquity. For this, we will start by reading his own De Anima and De Intellectu, noticing how both treatises try to explain the main concepts used by Aristotle in De Anima III 4-8, with special attention to his own characterization of the active intellect. Next, we will try to track which passages of the Aristotelian treatise on the soul and of the other works of the corpus he makes use of to build his own argumentation. In the end, we will consider what his commentary reveals about the inherent difficulties of Aristotle's text and how much it allows us to understand the nature of the philosophical commentary and on the historian of philosophy's work. This research will be supervised by Professor Marwan Rashed, who has a renowned work on ancient commentaries on Aristotle, especially on Alexander of Aphrodisias. At Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris 4) we will have better access to the main bibliography on the subject than is available in São Paulo. We will also attend the seminars at the Centre León Robinfor Study of Ancient Thought, which will really enrich our Master's work. (AU)