HPhil Seminar: April 4, 2024

The HPhil (History of Philosophy) Research Group of the Centre of Philosophy of the University of Lisbon announces the 2023/24 edition of its permanent seminar on the history of philosophy, devoted to the presentation of conferences by renowned specialists while also creating opportunities to emerging scholars, aiming to promote advanced studies in groundbreaking debates and the permanent training of its academic community.

In this session of the seminar, Riccardo Chiaradonna (Università Degli Studi Roma Tre) will present a paper, entitled “Time and Motion in Galen and Plotinus”, (abstract below)

The session will take place on April 4, 2024 at 5 p.m., in the Room C201.J (Room Mattos Romão, Department of Philosophy). Admission is free.

The session will also be streamed via Zoom video conference. at 5 p.m. (Lisbon GMT Time) / 6 p.m (Rome GMT+1 Time). All are welcome to join via this link.

Abstract

In my paper I will focus Plotinus’ discussion on time in treatise 3.7 On Eternity and Time. Plotinus’ outline of time and movement shows some interesting parallels with the extant evidence coming from Galen’s lost treatise On Demonstration. First I will focus on epistemology and I will elucidate Plotinus’ reference to the ‘more immediate apprehensions of thought’ (3.7.1). Plotinus states that we constantly use the terms ‘eternity’ and ‘time’ in everyday speech and believe that we have a clear experience of the meaning of them in our minds (eternity pertains to the sempiternal nature; time to what becomes, this universe), as we do in the case of more concentrated/immediate apprehensions of thought. I suggest that this passage is indebted to Galen’s account of principles and common notions. Then I will move on to Plotinus’ critical account of Aristotle’s definition of time. Plotinus remarks that Aristotle’s account of time as the measure of motion is circular and, in doing so, he aims to dismantle Aristotle’s connection between time and bodily motions: this approach paves the way for Plotinus’ own metaphysical account of time as the life of the soul. I will show that Plotinus incorporates arguments drawn from Galen’s lost On Demonstration and preserved in the Arabic tradition. There Galen claims that time is ‘self-subsisting’ and independent of motion. Both Galen and Plotinus aim to dismantle Aristotle’s connection between motion and bodily motions and both of them regard Aristotle’s definition as measure of motion according to before and after as a polemical target. Plotinus and Galen contend that celestial motions measure time so that we can determine a certain span of time (days, months, years) without this entailing that time is the measure of motion. What is certainly different is the framework within which these views are developed. Galen’s points are epistemic (time is self-subsisting and we have primitive evidence of this fact) whereas Plotinus’ discussion is metaphysical.