[PHILOS-L] Phusis kai Phuta: Friday 29 May, Camille Safré (Univ. Nantes/Univ. Paris 1) - Rooted in the earth, rooted in the air, rooted in the sky: an attempt to compare Plato's Timaeus, 90a1-b1, and Anonymus Londiniensis, VI, 13-31
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Leon Wash
May 24, 2026, 10:46:53 PM (20 hours ago) May 24
to PHIL...@listserv.liv.ac.uk
Dear friends, dear colleagues,
We are delighted to announce the next Phusis kai phuta webinar, which will take place on Friday, 29 May, at 4PM Paris (10AM New York).
Camille Safré (Univ. Nantes & Univ. Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) will present:
“Rooted in the earth, rooted in the air, rooted in the sky: an attempt to compare Plato's Timaeus, 90a1-b1, and Anonymus Londiniensis, VI, 13-31”
Abstract: Plato’s Timaeus and the Anonymus Londiniensis’ papyrus, despite the many differences and centuries that separate them, both display a quite similar botanical analogy comparing human beings to plants in so far as each one is rooted in a surrounding environment with which it is closely connected. In both texts, this analogy takes place within an immediate medical context: on the one hand, Timaeus compares human being to a “celestial plant” (90a1-b1) at the end of his presentation on diseases (81e-92c), defining health as a balance between body and soul (87c-88c), where each part requires a specific care in terms of food and movement (90c); on the other hand, in the section so-called “Meno’s doxography”, the Anonymus likens men, who are rooted in the air, to plants owing to their being rooted in the earth or in humidity (VI, 12-31) as a further illustration of the doctrine he attributes to the “Aristotelian Hippocrates” (Van der Eijk 2012) – that is to say Hippocrates viewed through the lens of the Peripatic interpretation and transmission. This paper will attempt to show that an inspiration from the famous Platonic analogy (or from a common potential model) is also a possible alternative reading of this passage, apart from the Aristotelian intertext.
If you would like to attend, and are not already on our mailing list, please email alessandro.buccheri(at)ephe(dot)psl(dot)eu, amace(at)univ-fcomte(dot)fr, or leonwash(at)gmail(dot)com, and we will add you to our mailing list to receive a link for each session.
The full Phusis kai phuta program for this academic year is available at phusiskaiphuta.wordpress.com.
With our kind regards,
Alessandro Buccheri (Paris)
Arnaud Macé (Besançon)
Leon Wash (Dublin)
Philos-L "The Liverpool List" is run by the Department of Philosophy, University of Liverpool https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/philosophy/philos-l/
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We are delighted to announce the next Phusis kai phuta webinar, which will take place on Friday, 29 May, at 4PM Paris (10AM New York).
Camille Safré (Univ. Nantes & Univ. Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) will present:
“Rooted in the earth, rooted in the air, rooted in the sky: an attempt to compare Plato's Timaeus, 90a1-b1, and Anonymus Londiniensis, VI, 13-31”
Abstract: Plato’s Timaeus and the Anonymus Londiniensis’ papyrus, despite the many differences and centuries that separate them, both display a quite similar botanical analogy comparing human beings to plants in so far as each one is rooted in a surrounding environment with which it is closely connected. In both texts, this analogy takes place within an immediate medical context: on the one hand, Timaeus compares human being to a “celestial plant” (90a1-b1) at the end of his presentation on diseases (81e-92c), defining health as a balance between body and soul (87c-88c), where each part requires a specific care in terms of food and movement (90c); on the other hand, in the section so-called “Meno’s doxography”, the Anonymus likens men, who are rooted in the air, to plants owing to their being rooted in the earth or in humidity (VI, 12-31) as a further illustration of the doctrine he attributes to the “Aristotelian Hippocrates” (Van der Eijk 2012) – that is to say Hippocrates viewed through the lens of the Peripatic interpretation and transmission. This paper will attempt to show that an inspiration from the famous Platonic analogy (or from a common potential model) is also a possible alternative reading of this passage, apart from the Aristotelian intertext.
If you would like to attend, and are not already on our mailing list, please email alessandro.buccheri(at)ephe(dot)psl(dot)eu, amace(at)univ-fcomte(dot)fr, or leonwash(at)gmail(dot)com, and we will add you to our mailing list to receive a link for each session.
The full Phusis kai phuta program for this academic year is available at phusiskaiphuta.wordpress.com.
With our kind regards,
Alessandro Buccheri (Paris)
Arnaud Macé (Besançon)
Leon Wash (Dublin)
Philos-L "The Liverpool List" is run by the Department of Philosophy, University of Liverpool https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/philosophy/philos-l/
Messages to the list are archived at http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/archives/philos-l.html. Recent posts can also be read in a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/PhilosL/
Follow the list on Twitter @PhilosL. Follow the Department of Philosophy @LiverpoolPhilos
To sign off the list send a blank message to philos-l-unsub...@liverpool.ac.uk.
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