Monstrosity and Philosophy

The concept of monstrosity in ancient philosophy and culture Taking a continental approach to Greek and Latin culture, both pagan and early Christian, Filippo Del Lucchese covers all the major figures in ancient thought, from Hesiod to Augustine, through Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus and Lucretius, the Stoics and the Sceptics, up to the Middle Platonists, the Neoplatonists and the early Fathers. Far from being a peripheral problem, Del Lucchese shows that monstrosity is one of the main conceptual challenges for every philosophical system. He reveals how ancient philosophers explore metaphysics, ontology, theology and politics as they respond to the threats presented by the radical alterity of monstrous manifestations, both in nature and in thought. Filippo Del Lucchese is Senior Lecturer in History of Political Thought at Brunel University, London and Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg.