Natural Spectaculars: Aspects of Plutarch's Philosophy of Nature: Plutarchea Hypomnemata

As a philosopher and intellectual, Plutarch was very interested in the natural world around him, not only in terms of its elementary composition and physical processes but also with respect to its providential ordering and "wonders." His natural philosophical writings teach us much about his perception of physical reality and about his well-reflected attitude to the natural spectacle. He found his greatest inspiration in the ontological and epistemological framework of Plato's Timaeus, but many other philosophers and writers were also of seminal interest to his project. Clearly, the literary value of Plutarch s natural philosophical writings should not be underrated, nor should their rhetorical goals be discarded as futile.

Recently scholars have begun to reassess the ancient scientific value of Plutarch s natural philosophical writings. Natural Spectaculars aims to give further impetus to this project by treating several aspects of Plutarch s natural philosophy that have not been explored before.

Contributors: Paola Volpe Cacciatore (Universita degli Studi di Salerno), Angelo Casanova (Universita degli Studi di Firenze), Bram Demulder (KU Leuven), Ana Ferreira (Universidade do Porto), Israel Munoz Gallarte (Universidad de Cordoba), Luisa Lesage Garriga (Universidad de Malaga), Aurelio Perez Jimenez (Universidad de Malaga), Lautaro Roig Lanzillotta (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen), Delfim Ferreira Leao (Universidade de Coimbra), Michiel Meeusen (KU Leuven), Jan Opsomer (KU Leuven), Aldo Setaioli (Universita degli Studi di Perugia), Suzan Sierksma-Agteres (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen), Fabio Tanga (Universita degli Studi di Salerno)"