Fragments in Ancient Greek with German translation; introduction and commentary in German.

Por mucho tiempo se ha sostenido que, de entre los primeros presocráticos, Anaxímenes es quien poseía la teoría más detallada sobre el cambio. En efecto, su teoría del cambio fue una de sus contribuciones fundamentales a la historia de la filosofía. Hace treinta años esa opinión fue puesta en tela de juicio y el argumento fue recientemente repetido en una edición revisada de Anaxímenes. Hasta el momento, no tengo noticia de que tal cuestión haya sido respondida. En el presente ensayo (...) quisiera argumentar que, aunque hay algo erróneo en la interpretación tradicional de la teoría del cambio de Anaxímenes, no es lo que los objetores dicen que es: en verdad Anaxímenes posee una importante teoría del cambio, de la cual se tiene una significativa evidencia antigua. (shrink)

The following remarks are frankly speculative, and their subject one on which certainty is unlikely to be attained. It seems worth offering them because, though the conclusions are only tentative, they were reached by way of some observations which have a certain interest of their own. Anaximenes, we are told, said that the sun is flat like a leaf, and that it and the other heavenly bodies ‘ride upon’ the air owing to their flat shape, as does the earth (...) also. (shrink)

Anaximenes is usually considered to be a material monist recognizing transparent atmospheric air as a principle (ἀρχή). In the cosmogonic explanation of the origin of the earth and the heavenly bodies, the Greek term ἀήρ turns out to mean rather ‘opaque damp mist’. However, Not only does it accord with archaic usage, but also with how it was used in his mentor, Anaximander. Yet, in cosmology ἀήρ means ‘air’ serving as stuff on which the earth and the heavenly bodies (...) float. Hence, in keeping with contemporary usage, Anaximenes recognised two kinds of ἀήρ, distinguishing them functionally. Whereas mist is conceived of as a generating substance, air functions only as carrying stuff. (shrink)

The edition of the works of the three sixth-century BC Milesian philosophers, Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes, follows the chronological arrangement (from Plato and Aristotle to Albertus Magnus) of the underlying concept of the new edition of Pre-Socratic philosophers - that is to document their transmission and the intentions behind the various traditions. The Greek, Latin, Syrian, Arabic, and Hebrewtextual evidence is presented together with a German translation. The texts are supplemented by explanatory footnotes, a critical apparatus (if applicable) and, (...) above all, an apparatus listing similia to support the understanding of the branches of transmission. The evidence for Thales is composed of a total of some 600 references and texts (vol. 1), for the other two Milesians ofabout 250 each (vol. 2). Extensive indices ensure that the volumes are easy to use. (shrink)

A number of aspects of the cosmology of Anaximenes of Miletus have not yet been convincingly explained, but we can assume that a starting point was the notion of a universe stretching only between a flat earth and heaven. This gave the cosmology its “meteorological” character: heavenly bodies were viewed as ignited evaporations of moisture. They were thought of as moving only above the earth’s surface, and their rising and setting were explained as an optical illusion. Similar approaches appear (...) not only in the Greek epic tradition but even in the writings of Xenophanes. It can therefore be assumed that Anaximenes’s conception is representative of contemporary Ionian explanations of cosmological events. (shrink)

Fuhrmann's work on the manuscripts of Anaximenes', finally made public in his Teubner text , has left the ground clear for critical operations. A solid start was made by Spengel and Kayser ; but that there are still serious flaws in the text has recently been shown by R. Kassel . The main purpose of the following notes is to air difficulties, some afresh, some for the first time.The second example is apt, the first not, because the author is (...) discussing not outright illegality, which falls within the compass of TO, but two ways of bringing within the compass ofacts that are not expressly illegal. Deletion of the first example must therefore be considered. It should not be thought, however, that there is anything wrong with the asyndetic coupling of two examples that both lead off with. (shrink)

Fuhrmann's work on the manuscripts of Anaximenes', finally made public in his Teubner text, has left the ground clear for critical operations. A solid start was made by Spengel and Kayser ; but that there are still serious flaws in the text has recently been shown by R. Kassel. The main purpose of the following notes is to air difficulties, some afresh, some for the first time.The second example is apt, the first not, because the author is discussing not (...) outright illegality, which falls within the compass of TO, but two ways of bringing within the compass ofacts that are not expressly illegal. Deletion of the first example must therefore be considered. It should not be thought, however, that there is anything wrong with the asyndetic coupling of two examples that both lead off with. (shrink)

En este trabajo discuto el argumento de Crisipo a favor de la indestructibilidad del cosmos que aparece en Eusebio, Praeparatio Evangelica 15.18.1-3. Este argumento complementa al que aparece en Plutarco, De Stoicorum Repugnantiis1052C, pero descansa sobre una base distinta, a saber, la teoría de la disolución de los cuerpos complejos en los cuatro elementos y la teoría sobre cómo estos últimos se transforman los unos en los otros. Según veremos, existen antecedentes importantes de estas teorías en Anaxímenes y su teoría (...) del cambio. Al final, me ocupo de dos objeciones que los propios estoicos formularon en contra del argumento de Crisipo. (shrink)

Aēr in Homer has rarely been discussed; the few studies that do exist focus on the word's semantics and scope of reference. This article proposes that we focus instead on how aēr works and what aēr does, both to characters within the Iliad and the Odyssey and, especially, for the poet responsible for composing them. First, I argue that aēr offers the poet a stratagem for navigating complex narrative demands and that it is best understood primarily in terms of the (...) phenomenological effects it produces on Homeric characters. Next, I consider the implications of this argument for discussions of Homeric things and objects, particularly those influenced by New Materialism. Finally, I explore the consequences of this argument for our understanding of the Presocratic thinker most associated with aēr, Anaximenes. (shrink)