Online Lecture on «"It is necessary that the good always has evil as its contrary." Proclus and Simplicius on Plato’s Theaetetus 176 a» by Carlos Steel
With the kind support of the A. S. Onassis Foundation (2023 grant), the research project “Between Athens & Alexandria. Platonism, 3rd-7th c. CE” (2022-2024), in collaboration with the Alexandria Center for Hellenistic Studies of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, organise a lecture series on late antique Neoplatonism. The meetings take place on Zoom at 7.00 pm (Athens time). The Spring 2024 lectures focus on Neoplatonic commentaries on Plato’s dialogues, which, together with Aristotelian hypomnemata, form the main way of philosophising in Late Antiquity, and beyond.
All welcome!
Οn Wednesday Apr. 17, at 19:00 (Athens time) Emeritus Professor Carlos Steel (University of Leuven) will give a lecture on «"It is necessary that the good always has evil as its contrary." Proclus and Simplicius on Plato’s Theaetetus 176 a».
Abstract
If all things ultimately proceed from the One-Good, how can Socrates say that evil occurs by necessity and that it is contrary to the Good? In my lecture I will present how Proclus and Simplicius explain this provocative Platonic text. The necessity of evil is due to the fact that the procession of all things must include things that may change and go wrong. “If the creator had really wanted to create a world where no evil could occur, he would no longer be good.” (Simplicius). All forms of evil originate as defects, shortcomings in beings. They have no being of their own, but owe their reality to the fact that they are present in beings, parasite on them as para-hypostaseis. For that reason, Socrates in Theaetetus calls evil not a contrary to the good, but a subcontrary (hupenantion).
You can register in advance to our seminar meetings using the following LINK.