Epistemic Authority and Traditions of Wisdom: Iamblichus on Non-Hellenic Myths
21-3-2023
Brief
Non-Hellenic wisdom enjoys a high epistemic authority among ancient Platonists, and especially in the thought of Iamblichus. This is widely recognized in the scholarly literature. It is possible, however, to make finer distinctions. Using a model designed to distinguish different types of epistemic authority, Speaker shall argue that Iamblichus attributes different degrees and types of epistemic authority to different traditions, and in different epistemic domains. This will be shown on the basis of Iamblichus' Response to Porphyry (also known as De mysteriis) and of the Pythagorean Life.
Speaker Bio
Jan Opsomer is Research Professor of Philosophy at the KU Leuven, Belgium. Previously he was a Professor at the University of South Carolina, USA and at the Universität zu Köln, Germany. He is the author of books and articles in the field of ancient Platonism. He has contributed the survey article on Iamblichus to the new Ueberweg (2018). He is the holder of an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (PlatoViaAristotle, Grant agreement No. 885273).