User:Carchasm/sandbox/Anonymous Commentary on Plato's Theaetetus

The Anonymous Commentary on Plato's Theaetetus is an Ancient Greek partially extant philosophical work from the early Roman era that contains an exposition on Plato's Theaetetus in the form of a line-by-line commentary of a philosophical text. The very beginning of the work is missing and the work cuts off partway through the dialogue, and its autho has not been definitively identified, making the exact date of composition difficult to establish. It has been dated to some time between the late 1st century BCE through the middle of the 2nd century CE, making it one of the few historical examples of Middle Platonist literature.

In the surviving portion of the commentary, the anonymous commentator discusses major themes of Plato's theories of knowledge such as Definitions of knowledge, Justified true belief, and the Problem of the criterion, and compares the account of knowledge in the Theaetetus to the Meno, Protagoras and the Sophist (dialogue). In addition, the commentator provides a summary of other interpretations of the dialogue during his time and presents a number of arguments against rival philosophical schools, especially Stoicism, Academic skepticism, and Pyrrhonism. The commentator also provides an in-depth analysis of the mathematical proof given by Theaetetus and adds background historical detail on many of the people in the story and speculations on Plato's intentions in composition of the work.

The commentary was lost along with the majority of Commentaries on Plato and did not survive in any known manuscript tradition. It was entirely unknown until the chance discovery of a single manuscript in 1901 on a papyrus fragment in Egypt. Its publication in 1905 attracted little interest at the time, as the commentators were not seen as original philosophers by classical scholarship of the time. In the second half of the 20th century, however, renewed interest in Ancient Roman philosophy and the philosophy of the ancient commentators has elevated it to one of the most important primary sources documenting the historical developments of Platonism and the commentary tradition in the early centuries of the Roman empire.

Background

Ancient commentaries

See also: Commentaries on Aristotle

In addition to original philosophical works, many philosophers in antiquity wrote commentaries on the works of other philosophers, most commonly Plato and Aristotle. Rather than simply reviewing or summarizing a philosophical or religious text, these works went through a line-by-line, highlighting specific passages and providing background or expositions. Many philosophical commentaries were intended as school notes, that expanded on the details of a philosophical work for students, while others, such as the Theaetetus commentary, were more complex expositions and interpretations that were intended for a more advanced audience within a philosophical school.

One of the earliest surviving philosophical commentaries on any type of work is the Derveni papyrus, which contains an allegorical philosophical commentary on an Orphic cosmogony that dates to the middle of the 5th century BCE. However, the first known commentary on a work of Plato was written in the third century BCE by Crantor of Soli, the last scholarch of the Old Academy, while the first known commentary on a work of Aristotle dates to the 1st century BCE, approximately the same time as the earliest possible dates of composition for the Theaetetus commentary.

Theaetetus

Main article: Theaetetus (dialogue)

See also: Theaetetus (mathematician)

Plato's Theaetetus is one of his major works of epistemology. The Theaetetus was a central part of Platonism throughout antiquity, and a number of philosophers wrote commentaries on it, especially after it became a part of the curriculum of the later Neoplatonist school of Iamblichus.

In the dialogue, Socrates and an Athenian youth named Theaetetus, investigate the nature of knowledge (episteme). Socrates and Theatetus discuss three potential definitions - knowledge as perception, knowledge as true belief (pistis), and knowledge as "justified true belief," although the dialogue ultimately ends in aporia as this definition, too, is shown to be unsatifactory.

Like many of the characters in Plato's dialogues, Theaetetus is a historical figure who is known to us independently of Plato. Both Theatetus and his mentor, Theodorus of Cyrene were Ancient Greek mathematicians who are known through citation of their work in Euclid's Elements.

Middle Platonism

Main article: Middle Platonism

The Anonymous commentary is one of the few surviving Platonist works from the period of Middle Platonism, the name given to the traditions of Platonism that flourished from the early 1st century BCE, when Antiochus of Ascalon broke with the Academic skepticism of Philo of Larissa, through the ascendancy of the mature Neoplatonism of Plotinus in the early to middle 3rd century CE. Other surviving works include the Introduction to Plato's Dialogues (Eisagoge) of Albinus and the Handbooks of Platonism (didaskalia) written by Alcinous and Apuleius.

In rejecting Academic Skepticism, Antiochus and the later Middle platonists were attempting to bring Platonism closer to what they believed were the original doctrines of the Old Academy, as well as revive Plato's unwritten doctrines, which are not included in any of his written works but attested by other philosophers including Aristotle. Compared to academic skepticism, Middle Platonism focuses more strongly on esoteric interpretations of Plato's written work, especially the theory of forms the the theories on the soul, Pythagorean doctrines such as Mathematicism.

The destruction of the physical Platonic Academy along with most of the city of Athens in 87 BCE by Sulla as part of the Third Mithridatic war pushed the centers of philosophical influence away from Athens and towards Alexandria, and later, Rome. In Alexandria, Eudorus developed a synthesis of Platonist doctrine with pseudigraphic Pythagorean literature, while Philo of Alexandria syncretized Platonism with Hellenistic Judaism. In the late first century CE, an adherent of Middle Platonism, Plutarch, the biographer of the Parallel Lives wrote a number of essays outlining philosophical doctrines in his Moralia. In the early to middle of the second century, the school of Gaius the Platonist also produced a number of works that have survived in the Platonic appendix to the Manuscripts of Plato, including the didaskalia of Alcinous and the Eisagoge of Albinus. Many of the surviving works of Apuleius, also in the middle of the second century, show similarities to these works, as do the philosophical works of Galen. In the second half of the second century CE, after the latest possible date of composition for the Anonymous Commentary, Numenius of Apamea would go on to synthesize the doctrines of Middle Platonism with another school of Ancient Roman philosophy, Neopythagoreanism. This synthesis of doctrines would then be adopted by Ammonius Saccas, a historically obscure figure from Alexandria who had a number of influential students including Origen of Alexandria and Plotinus, the latter of whom who would later open a school in Rome. The publication of Plotinus's work, the Enneads by his student Porphyry would go on to systematize Neoplatonism, which became the dominant philosophical school throughout Late antiquity from the middle of the third century CE until the late 6th century CE.

Dating and authorship

The commentary is generally believed to date from 45 BCE to 150 CE, although attempts to establish a more exact dating have proven contentious. The fragmentary nature of the work make questions of the date and authorship of the work difficult to answer more exactly, as few other philosophical works from the period have survived.

The terminus ante quem is based on the dating of the papyrus that the commentary is preserved on, which is from the first half of the second century CE. Although no part of the work survives which would allow a definitive identification of its author, similarities in style and doctrines suggest that the author may have been associated with the school of Gaius the Platonist. A number of similarities in doctrine have been noted with the surviving work of the Middle Platonist Albinus. The author of the commentary refers to other commentaries they have written, on the Timaeus, the Phaedo, and the Symposium, while Albinus was known to have written a commentary on the Timaeus, and possibly the Phaedo. The commentator also quotes the same definition of knowledge from the Meno as Albinus in his suriving Introduction to Plato's Dialogues, although using slightly different language, suggesting a similarity of argumentation style with potentially different authorship, although Albinus' authorship cannot be ruled out on this basis alone as he may have simply quoted the Meno incorrectly at one time and correctly at another. Another potential candidate is Maximus of Nicaea, another, otherwise unknown commentator listed by Proclus in a list of Middle Platonist commentators which Proclus gives in his commentary on Plato's Republic.

Outline

The commentary is only partially preserved, starting in the middle of the introduction to the commentary itself and cutting off partway through. The extant portion covers only the beginning 15% of the dialogue,}} which begins its coverage of the Theatetus at the end of the prelude, a brief frame story that is set in Ancient Athens after a battle at Corinth, where a mortally wounded Theaetetus is returning to Athens. The Socratic philosopher Euclid of Megara tells his friend Terpsion that he has a written record of a dialogue between Socrates and Theaetetus, which occurred when Theaetetus was quite a young man. This dialogue is then read aloud to the two men by a slave owned by Euclid.

In this portion of the Theaetetus covered by the dialogue, Socrates asks Theodorus if he has any promising geometry students, and Theodorus introduces him to Theaetetus. Socrates challenges Theaetetus to explain to him the nature of knowledge,(145c) and they proceed to discuss the difference between knowledge and wisdom (145d-146a) and the differences between examples of knowledge and knowledge itself(146d-147c). Theaetetus gives an example of a mathematical proof (147d-148b), and Socrates explains his philosophical method for bringing out ideas, which he compares to midwifery. Socrates and Theatetus then begin to discuss knowledge gained from sense-perception and examine Protagoras' famous maxim "Man is the measure of all things," although the commentary cuts off partway through this discussion. The Commentator follows along the dialogue, adding explication of the readings of certain parts of the dialogue, giving cultural or historical background, and occasionally going into in-depth explication of certain philosophical arguments.

Introduction (1.1-5.2)

The first column of text from the papyrus is vary fragmentary, rendering it unreadable. The surviving portion opens at the end of an explanation of the purpose of the Theaetetus dialogue, which the commentator claims is catharsis against the doctrine of Protagoras, whose work On Truth the commentator claims Theaetetus had recently read.

The commentator then states that some other Platonists believe that the purpose of the dialogue is to outline the Problem of the Criterion, to give an argument in the Theaetetus about what knowledge is not (i.e. sense perception) in order to follow it up in the Sophist, with what knowledge is (i.e. the forms). However, the commentator says that these people are mistaken, and that the true purpose of the dialogue is to explain what the essence (ousia) of knowledge is.

Nature of the soul (8.1 - 13.43)

As Theodorus and Socrates discuss Theaetetus, the commentator outlines various attributes and virtues and relates them to the divisions in Plato's theory of soul and the concept of Kalos kagathos.

Themes

The arguments on knowledge provide valuable historical context for the development of Platonic epistemology, as well as preserving information on other philosophical traditions of the time which the commentator argues against, such as Pyrrhonism, Stoicism, and Epicureanism.

Recollection

Main article: Anamnesis (philosophy)

The Theaetetus commentary shows similarities with the works of Alcinous in their exposition on Anamnesis, Plato's theory of "recollection" as outlined in the Meno and Phaedo. Both the anonymous commentator and Alcinous, treats recollection as a natural process of remembering that unfolds from memories of previous lives. However, this expostion show marked differences with the exposition of works of Plutarch, Numenius of Apamea, and Celsus. which treat Anamnesis as a more deep and intentional form of contemplation.

Academic skepticism

The Theaetetus commentator says that some consider Plato to be an "Academic" meaning a member of Academic skepticism, and holding no doctrines. As a central work of Plato's epistemology that ends in aporia, the Theaetetus would have appealed to the Skeptical Academy, making it an important work for the Middle Platonists to address in their less skeptical doctrines.

Stoicism

Anon mentions the Stoics four times by name in the commentary.

Legacy

The commentary did not survive through medieval manuscript transmission. The sole surviving manuscript is a papyrus fragment which was discovered in 1901 in Egypt. The commentary was published in 1905 by Hermann Diels. The commentary attracted little attention at first, as the arguments in it were seen as relatively undeveloped and historians of philosophy and classical scholars of the late 19th and early 20th centuries did not see the commentators on Plato as original philosophers in their own right. Eduard Zeller dismissed the eclectism of the period. However, more recent scholarly interest in the historical developments of Ancient Roman philosophy and the commentary tradition in general have prompted more analysis as the commentary is both the only extant commentary on Plato from the period, and the earliest extant Ancient Greek commentary of a philosophical text.

Notes

References to the Theaetetus are given in Stephanus pagination, while page and line numbers are given for the commentary based on Diels.

Editions and translations

• Heiberg, Johan Ludvig; Schubart, Wilhelm (1905). Diels, Hermann (ed.). Anonymer kommentar zu Platons Theaetet (papyrus 9782) nebst drei bruchstücken philosophischen inhalts (pap. n. 8; p. 9766. 9569) (in Ancient Greek and German). Weidmann.
• "'Commentarium in Platonis "Theaetetum"'". Corpus dei papiri filosofici greci e latini : CPF : testi e lessico nei papiri di cultura greca e latina (in Italian and Ancient Greek). Vol. III. Firenze. 1995. pp. 227–562. ISBN 9788822243010.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Hene, Bernd (2018). Ein anonymer Kommentar zu Platons Theaitetos und seine philosophische Bedeutung (Diss. Leuven) (in Ancient Greek and German).
• Boys-Stones, George (5 May 2019). "(anon.) Commentary on the Theaetetus P.Berol. inv. 9782 draft translation". academia.edu. Retrieved 11 February 2023.

References

• Bonazzi, Mauro (2008). "The Commentary as Polemical Tool: The Anonymous Commentator on the Theaetetus against the Stoics". Laval théologique et philosophique. 64 (3): 597–605. doi:10.7202/037693ar.
• Boys-Stones, George (21 December 2017). "Epistemology" (PDF). Platonist Philosophy 80 BC to AD 250: An Introduction and Collection of Sources in Translation. Cambridge University Press. pp. 367–393. ISBN 978-1-108-22809-1. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
• Chappell, Timothy D. J. (1 January 2005). Reading Plato's Theaetetus. Hackett Publishing. ISBN 978-0-87220-760-8. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
• Dillon, John M. (1996). The Middle Platonists, 80 B.C. to A.D. 220. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-8316-5. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
• Hene, Bernd (9 April 2019). "Wissen und Meinung im anonymen Theaitetoskommentar". In Bonazzi, Mauro; Ulacco, Angela; Forcignanò, Filippo (eds.). Thinking, Knowing, Acting: Epistemology and Ethics in Plato and Ancient Platonism. BRILL. pp. 251–278. ISBN 978-90-04-39899-3. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
• Levy, Carlos (28 January 2010). Bett, Richard (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Scepticism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-87476-2. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
• Matoso, Renato (1 September 2019). "The Anonymous' Commentary on Plato's Theatetus and a Middle-Platonic Theory of Knowledge". Revista Archai (27). doi:10.14195/1984-249X_27_6. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
• Sedley, David (1996). "Three Platonist Interpretations of the Theaetetus". In Gill, Christopher; McCabe, Mary Margaret (eds.). Form and Argument in Late Plato. Clarendon Press. pp. 79–103. ISBN 978-0-19-824012-9. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
• D. N. Sedley, ‘A New Reading in the Anonymous "Theaetetus" Commentary (PBerol. 9782 Fragment D)’, Papiri Filosofici. Miscellanea di Studi 1 (Florence, 1997), 139-44.
• Tarrant, H. (1983). "The Date of Anon. In Theaetetum". The Classical Quarterly. 33 (1): 161–187. ISSN 0009-8388. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
• Tarrant, Harold (2000). Plato's First Interpreters. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-3792-2. Retrieved 11 February 2023.

External links

• "Papyrus 9782: Commentary on Plato's Theaetetus - Record at the Berlin Papyrus Databank". Berliner Papyrusdatenbank (in German). Retrieved 9 February 2023.
• Chappell, Sophie-Grace (2005). "Plato on Knowledge in the Theaetetus". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
• Silverman, Allan (2003). "Plato's Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.