Books in the Ancient Commentators on Aristotle series

Here is a battle royal between the Neoplatonist Simplicius and the Aristotelian Alexander on the origins, if any, of the universe. A parallel battle had already been conducted by Philoponus and Proclus, arguing that Plato's "Timaeus" gives a beginning to the universe. Simplicius denies this.

Philoponus was a brilliant Christian philosopher, steeped in Neoplatanism, who turned the pagans' ideas against them. Here he attacks the devout Athenian pagan philosopher, Proclus, defending the Christian view that the universe had a beginning against Proclus' arguments to the contrary.

This series translates the 15,000 pages of philosophical writings by the ancient Greek commentators on Aristotle, written mainly between 200 and 600 AD. Now translated into English, these works include introductions, notes and comprehensive indexes, filling a gap in the history of European thought.