Alexander of Aphrodisias

Alexander of Aphrodisias (fl. late 2nd and early 3rd centuries AD) was a prominent Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the ancient Greek commentators on the writings of Aristotle.

Biography

Alexander was born in the city of Aphrodisias in Caria, Asia Minor, sometime in the middle of the 2nd century AD. He moved to Athens, where he studied under prominent Peripatetic philosophers, including Aristoteles of Mytilene, Herminus, and Sosigenes the Peripatetic. Around 198 AD, the Roman emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla appointed him to the prestigious position of head of the Peripatetic school (the Lyceum) in Athens. His tenure as a teacher and scholar was highly productive, and he dedicated much of his career to defending and clarifying the orthodox philosophy of Aristotle against the competing doctrines of the Stoics, Epicureans, and Middle Platonists.

Philosophical Thought

Alexander's philosophical contributions are primarily characterized by his rigorous defense of Aristotelianism. He sought to present Aristotle's thought as a coherent and systematic whole, often smoothing over contradictions in the original texts.

Metaphysics and Universals

In metaphysics, Alexander staunchly defended Aristotle's hylomorphism and rejected the Platonic theory of Forms. He argued that universals do not exist independently of particular things. Instead, universals exist only in re (in the things themselves) and are abstracted by the human mind. For Alexander, the form of an object is inextricably linked to its matter, and there are no transcendent, immaterial archetypes governing the physical world.

Philosophy of Mind and Soul

Alexander's treatise De Anima (On the Soul) is a landmark in the history of psychology. He argued that the soul is the form of the living body, emerging from the specific mixture of bodily elements. Because the soul is inseparable from the body, Alexander concluded that the human soul is inherently mortal and perishes when the body dies.

His theory of the intellect was highly influential. He distinguished between the "material intellect" (the capacity to receive intelligible forms), the "acquired intellect" (the intellect in act when it thinks), and the "active intellect" (which actualizes the potential intellect). Alexander identified the active intellect with God, an external, immortal, and divine principle that illuminates the human mind, much like the sun illuminates physical objects.

Fate and Free Will

In his work De Fato (On Fate), Alexander presented one of the most robust ancient defenses of free will against Stoic determinism. He rejected the Stoic concept of an unbreakable chain of causes. Instead, Alexander defined fate as the nature of the universe, meaning that things generally happen according to natural laws. However, he argued that human beings possess the rational capacity to deliberate and choose between alternatives. While human nature inclines individuals toward certain actions, reason allows humans to act contrary to their natural impulses, thereby preserving moral responsibility.

Works

Alexander's literary output was vast, though only a portion of it survives today. His works are generally divided into commentaries on Aristotle and independent treatises.

Commentaries on Aristotle

Alexander was known in later antiquity simply as "The Exegete" (ho exēgētikos) due to the unparalleled quality of his commentaries. His surviving commentaries include those on Aristotle's Prior Analytics (Book I), Topics, Meteorologica, De Sensu (On Sense and Sensible Objects), and the first five books of the Metaphysics. These works are invaluable to modern scholars for preserving fragments of earlier Peripatetic thought and for providing detailed, line-by-line exegesis of Aristotle's often difficult texts.

Original Treatises

In addition to his commentaries, Alexander wrote several independent philosophical treatises that survive in Greek:

• ***De Anima* (On the Soul)**: A comprehensive discussion of the nature of the soul, perception, and the intellect.
• ***De Fato* (On Fate)**: A defense of human free will and a critique of Stoic determinism.
• ***De Mixtione* (On Mixture)**: An exploration of how physical bodies combine, defending the Aristotelian view against the Stoic theory of total blending.
• Mantissa: A collection of short essays on various psychological and physical topics, serving as a supplement to his De Anima.

Several other works, such as Medical Questions and De Universo (On the Universe), were historically attributed to him but are now generally considered pseudepigrapha.

Legacy and Influence

Alexander of Aphrodisias left an indelible mark on the history of philosophy. In late antiquity, his commentaries became the standard reference for both pagan and Christian philosophers, including Plotinus and later Neoplatonists, who frequently engaged with his interpretations even when disagreeing with them.

During the Islamic Golden Age, many of his works were translated into Arabic. He was highly regarded by Islamic philosophers such as Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, and Averroes (Ibn Rushd). Averroes, who himself became known as "The Commentator," relied heavily on Alexander's exegesis to reconstruct authentic Aristotelianism.

In the Latin West, Alexander's works were rediscovered during the Renaissance. His assertion that the human soul is mortal sparked intense debate, leading to the rise of "Alexandrist" philosophers, most notably Pietro Pomponazzi. The Alexandrists used Alexander's interpretations to argue that the mortality of the soul was the true philosophical position of Aristotle, creating a major intellectual rift with the Thomistic synthesis of Aristotle and Christian theology. Today, Alexander remains a central figure in the study of ancient philosophy and the transmission of Aristotelian thought.