The Peripatetics

Reviews / Votes

This is an accessible and reliable introduction to a little-known, but historically pivotal, tradition within ancient thought: the followers of Aristotle from his immediate successors to the great commentator Alexander of Aphrodisias. Baltussen is particularly interesting on the question of authority. He shows that allegiance to Aristotle was compatible with originality, and charts disagreements between the Peripatetics as well as their attempts to defend the Aristotelian position against rival schools. Ultimately Aristotle would become "the" philosopher, and study of his works would become synonymous with philosophy itself; Baltussen explains the pre-history of that development.

- Professor Peter Adamson, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany

"...it is clear that this new book by Han Baltussen well serves its purpose, namely, to become an introductory reading for students and scholars interested in the development of an important but relatively neglected tradition."

- Eugene Afonasin, Novosibirsk State University, Russia, in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review