Boethius

Andrew Arlig

Boethius

Andrew Arlig

Pages 103 - 106

In addition to his classic The Consolation of Philosophy, Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (born ca. 475-77 CE, died ca. 524-26) translated and commented on much of Aristotle’s logic. He was also the author of several important syntheses of ancient logic and of five short theological treatises, that applied Greek philosophical principles to the Incarnation and the Trinity. Given that much of Aristotle’s work was unavailable in Latin until the end of the twelfth century, Boethius’s works were indispensable to early medieval thinkers as they explored topics in logic and metaphysics. Two of Boethius’s syntheses, On Division (1998) and On Topical Differences (1990), were routinely parts of the later medieval logical curriculum (Marenbon 2003: 168-70). These two handbooks, as well as his commentary on Cicero’s Topics (1833), were major sources for medieval mereological principles.

¹Department of Philosophy, Brooklyn College, CUNY

1 Abelard, P., (1954), De divisionibus incipit, in M. Dal Pra, ed., Scritti filosofici, Milan: Fratelli Bocco.

2 Arlig, A., (2009), “The Metaphysics of Individuals in the Opuscula sacra”, in Marenbon, J. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Boethius, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 129-54.

3 Boethius, (1833), In topica Ciceronis commentaria, ed. J. C. Orelli, in Cicero Opera Omnia, vol. 5, pt. 1, Turin: Orelli, Fuesslini & Co.

4 Boethius, (1990), De topicis differentiis, in D. Z. Nikitas, ed., De topicis differentiis und die byzantinische Rezeption dieses Werkes, Athens and Paris: The Academy of Athens and Librairie J. Vrin.

5 Boethius, (1998), De divisione liber, ed. and trans. J. Magee, Leiden: E. J. Brill

6 Boethius, (2000), De consolatione philosophiae / Opuscula Theologica, ed. C. Moreschini, Munich and Leipzig: Saur.

7 Henry, D. P., (1991), Medieval Mereology, Amsterdam: B. R. Grüner.

8 Marenbon, J., (2003), Boethius, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

9 Radulphus, Brito, (1978), Commentary on Boethius’ “De differentiis topicis” in Green-Pedersen, N. J. (ed.) Cahiers du l’Insti-tut du Moyen-age Grec et Latin 26, 1-92.

10 Stump, E.trans. (1978) Boethius’s ‘De topicis differentiis’, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

11 Stump, E.trans. (1988) Boethius’s ‘In Ciceronis topica’, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

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Boethius

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