Pseudo-Aristotle

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Pseudo-Aristotle is the name for the open group of authors of those writings that were ascribed to Aristotle in antiquity or in the Middle Ages but were later proven to be spurious by research.

Since Aristotle was one of the best-known authors and since he had commented on almost all subject areas scientifically researched at the time, it could be considered plausible that he had written more writings than the generally known. Therefore, a large number of inauthentic works was ascribed to him ( pseudepigraphy ), which gave these writings attention and authority . In these pseudo-Aristotelian works, views were represented that differed greatly from those of Aristotle. This distorted the image of the personality and teaching of Aristotle for posterity.

The pseudo-Aristotelian works include:

  • possibly the writing The State of Athens , as the authenticity is disputed.
  • the Oikonomika ("About housekeeping ")
  • the Problemata physica ("Natural Problems "), a collection of around 890 problems from numerous areas of knowledge. This work had a strong aftereffect through its medieval and humanistic translations into Latin.
  • the Liber de causis
  • the natural philosophical text De mundo (" About the world ")
  • De pomo ("About the apple")
  • De coloribus ("About the colors")
  • De lapidibus ("About the stones")
  • Physiognomonica , a work on physiognomy composed of two parts from different origins
  • De plantis ("About the Plants"), a script whose original version came from the Peripatetic Nicholas of Damascus . It has been translated into Syriac, Arabic, Hebrew and Latin.
  • De virtute ("About virtue"), also called De virtutibus ("About the virtues") or De virtutibus et vitiis ("About the virtues and vices").
  • Secretum secretorum ("Secret of the Secrets"), a collection of advice that Aristotle supposedly gave to Alexander the Great . Translations of this work achieved an extraordinarily strong impact in the Arabic-speaking world as well as in the Latin-speaking scholarly world of the Middle Ages.
  • the Rhetorica ad Alexandrum ( "Rhetoric to Alexander"), a textbook of rhetorical technique
  • the theology of Aristotle , a text that summarizes the ideas of the Neoplatonist Plotinus
  • the divisiones ("divisions", Greek dihaireseis ), a collection of material on superordinate and subordinate terms.
  • De Melisso Xenophane Gorgia (abbreviated De MXG or MXG )
  • Quaestiones mechanicae , an important work on mechanics for the development of mechanics in the Renaissance

literature

  • Bernard Besnier among others: Aristote de Stagire. Dubia et spuria. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques. Volume supplément. CNRS Editions, Paris 2003, ISBN 2-271-06175-X , pp. 473-654
  • Charles B. Schmitt, Dilwyn Knox (Eds.): Pseudo-Aristoteles Latinus. A Guide to Latin works falsely attributed to Aristotle before 1500 (= Warburg Institute Surveys and Texts 12). The Warburg Institute, London 1985, ISBN 0-85481-066-8
  • Charles B. Schmitt, Jill Kraye, William F. Ryan (Eds.): Pseudo-Aristotle in the Middle Ages. The 'Theology' and other Texts (= Warburg Institute Surveys and Texts 11). The Warburg Institute, London 1986, ISBN 0-85481-065-X

Remarks

  1. ↑ An overview of the discussion is provided in the research report by Anna Santoni: La Constitution des Athéniens , in: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume Supplément , Paris 2003, pp. 203-207.
  2. ↑ See Mauro Zonta: Économiques , in: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume Supplément , Paris 2003, pp. 547–553 (research report, bibliography).
  3. ↑ Lou S. Filius: Problemata physica , in: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume Supplément , Paris 2003, pp. 575-598 (research report, bibliography).
  4. ↑ For the content, the text transmission and the Syrian and Arabic translations, see Wim Raven: De mundo , in: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume Supplément , Paris 2003, pp. 475–483 (research report).
  5. ^ Maroun Aouad: Le De pomo , in: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume 1, Paris 1989, pp. 537-541 (research report).
  6. ^ Hans B. Gottschalk : The De Coloribus and its Author . In: Hermes. Journal of Classical Philology . No. 92 , 1964, pp. 59–84 (He considers Theophrast or another contemporary to be possible as the author of the book.).
  7. ↑ Mauro Zonta: Pseudo-Aristote, De lapidibus , in: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume Supplément , Paris 2003, pp. 652-654 (research report).
  8. ↑ Henri Hugonnard-Roche: pseudo Aristote, De plantis in: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , band Supplément , Paris 2003, pp 499-505 (Research Report).
  9. ↑ See on this work by Michel Cacouros: Le traité pseudo-aristotélicien De virtutibus et vitiis , in: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume Supplément , Paris 2003, pp. 506-546 (research report).
  10. ↑ Mauro Zonta: Pseudo-Aristote, Secretum secretorum , in: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume Supplément , Paris 2003, pp. 648-651 (research report).
  11. ↑ See on this work Pierre Chiron: Pseudo-Aristote, Rhétorique à Alexandre , in: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume Supplément , Paris 2003, pp. 554–574 (research report, bibliography).
  12. ↑ See Maroun Aouad: La Théologie d'Aristote et autres textes du Plotinus Arabus , in: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume 1, Paris 1989, pp. 541-570 (detailed research report); Peter Adamson (2008):  Theology of Aristotle. In: Edward N. Zalta (Ed.): Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy . .
  13. ↑ Edition: Hermann Mutschmann (Ed.): Divisiones quae vulgo dicuntur Aristoteleae , Leipzig 1907. Translation: Hans Günter Zekl (Ed.): Aristoteles: Categories, Hermeneutik , Hamburg 1998 (Aristoteles: Organon , Volume 2), p. 189– 231. Detailed commentary: Cristina Rossitto: Aristotele ed altri: Divisioni , Padova 1984.