The beginning of life according to Iamblichus. On De anima embryology

Keywords:

Iamblichus, embryology, Neoplatonism, Stoicism

Abstract

Section 32 of Iamblichus’ De anima begins with the analysis of three possible explanations about the way the soul enters the body. The first two are anonymous while the third one is attributed by the philosopher of Chalcis to Plotinus’s followers. The theme is announced in the previous section (31) where from the beginning a reference to “Hippocrates, the Asclepiade” can be read connected to a previous lost sentence which would mark the argument’s outset. As a possible source for Iamblichus, Porphyry is often cited. Porphyry includes views from Hippocrates, from an anonymous philosopher, and from Numenius of Apamea about the moment when life begins and the soul naturally becomes associated with the body. In the development of the aforementioned sections 31 and 32, an implicit knowledge of the embryological hypotheses of the time is appraised.

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Author Biography

Juan Carlos Alby, Universidad Nacional del Litoral; Universidad Católica de Misiones; Universidad Católica de Santa Fe

Juan Carlos Alby. Doctor en Filosofía (Universidad Católica de Santa Fe), Licenciado en Filosofía (Universidad Católica de Santa Fe), Bioquímico (Universidad Nacional del Litoral). Ha publicado La medicina filosófica del cristianismo antiguo, Santa Fe, UCSF, 2015 y Tiempo y acontecimiento en la antropología de Ireneo de Lyon, Santa Fe, UCSF, 2016, segunda
edición corregida y aumentada. Docente e investigador de la Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias y de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas de la UNL. Investigador por Rectorado
de la UCSF y Director de proyectos de investigación sobre los orígenes del cristianismo y la
medicina tardo-antigua. Miembro de la Asociación Internacional de Estudios Patrísticos (AIEP) y de la Sociedad Internacional de Literatura Bíblica.

Published

2021-05-18

How to Cite

Alby, J. C. (2021). The beginning of life according to Iamblichus. On De anima embryology. Circe De clásicos Y Modernos, 25(1), 13–28. Retrieved from https://cerac.unlpam.edu.ar/ojs/index.php/circe/article/view/5819