Being and Non-being in Ancient Philosophy 3800-BNB25-S

The seminar will be devoted to topics connected with the concepts of being, non-being and existence in Ancient Philosophy. The following three sets of topics are planned:
1) Do we find the concept of existence in classical Ancient Greek philosophy? If not, how is the Ancient Greek concept of being different from the contemporary one? What is the meaning of non-being in classical Greek philosophy?
There is a well known thesis by Charles Kahn that classical Greek philosophy didn’t have a concept comparable to our concept of existence (Latin existere). Instead, the Greek philosophers operated with a concept of being (einai, to on) which was concentrated on the predicative aspect (connected with being a definite nature, being something) and the veritative aspect (connected with truth) of being. In this part of the seminar we will be interested in examining Kahn’s thesis: we will read his texts, the criticisms of his thesis and of course some texts by classical Greek philosophers (Plato, Aristotle).
While examining the Greek concept of being we will also be interested in its opposite – the concept of non-being. In Plato’s “Sophist” we not only find an analysis of being, but also a novel, revolutionary even, conception of non-being. We will read this dialogue, together with some other texts by Plato that can give us an idea about his understanding on non-being.
2) What is the understanding of non-being when Christian, Jewish and Pagan philosophers debate the problem of creatio ex nihilo? (creation out of non-being).
The Christian idea that God created the world out of nothing (Latin ex nihilo) has been very influential in the development of European philosophy. But what is the meaning of nihilo in this phrase? How do the first Jewish and Christian philosophers understand non-being? In this part of the seminar we will consider different approaches of those early Jewish and Christian philosophers (Philo of Alexandria, Justin the Martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, Origen, Augustine) towards non-being, with particular focus on how the Platonic concept and the new understanding of non-being intertwine.
3) What is the concept of being in Neoplatonism? Does the concept of hypostasis introduce something comparable to our notion of existence?
It is sometime thought that in Neoplatonism the emergence of new ontological concepts such as hyparxis and hypostasis brings a deeper appreciation for the existential aspect of being (a connection with Kahn’s thesis). This claim has been made, among other scholars, by Pierre Hadot and David Bradshaw. In this part of the seminar we will discuss a chapter in Riccardo Chiaradonna’s book “Ontology in Early Neoplatonism”, where he critically analyzes this thesis. In this context we will read some passages form Plotinus’s “Enneads” to find out, what is the meaning of hypostasis in his texts and what is his approach towards the concept of being.