Alexander of Aphrodisias, Commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics, Books IV-V: New Edition

• Applicant: Dr. Pantelis Golitsis
• Subject Area: Greek and Latin Philology ; History of Philosophy
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 504820427

Aristotle's "Metaphysics", a treatise which shaped in a decisive manner the history of Arabic and Western philosophy, has a complex structure and diverse contents. Its guiding principles and main goals cannot be easily established. Alexander of Aphrodisias (fl. 200 AD), the "princeps exegetarum", as he was designated by Peripatetic philosophers of the 16th and 17th centuries, was the first to succeed in reading Aristotle's "Metaphysics" in a unitary way and interpreting it as a homogeneous treatise of first philosophy or theology. Thus, Alexander's commentary on Aristotle's "Metaphysics" shaped the form and content of Aristotelianism from late antiquity to modernity perhaps more than Aristotle himself. The present project aims at a critical edition (including notes) of Alexander of Aphrodisias' commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics, books IV-V. It will lead to the second and last volume of a new edition, which is based on the critical evaluation of the entire manuscript tradition of the commentary and also takes into account its indirect tradition, as well as the Latin translation of Juan Ginès Sepúlveda (1527).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants