After Proclus

Chapter Summary

Both because this passage recalls Proclus' discussion of the four ways in which something can be said to be by nature and because Ammonius had assured his readers in the introduction to his commentary that his Commentary on De Interpretatione is basically that of Proclus. The example recalls, of course, the discussion of the names of Hector and Astyanax in the Cratylus. As Proclus had highlighted in his Commentary on the Parmenides,names belong primarily to the intelligible Forms. What is more,it can be argued that Simplicius' Commentary on the Categories bears the marks of Athenian Neoplatonism. First, there is Simplicius' account of the relation between concepts,things,and language. First,Aristotle does not take into consideration the One, and,Second he rejects the natural character of names. This discussion, though,is absent from Archytas and the Neoplatonists felt urged to account for this.

Keywords: After Proteus; character; commentary; De Interpretatione; Introduction; NeoPlatonism; passage