[...]... departures from Plato and draw from him only what they consider to be Platos doctrine This is even more the case with the Stoics Platonists like Antiochus criticize them, and still draw from them what they regard as essentially Platonic doctrine Secondly, Platonists frequently make arguments that indicate their reliance on Aristotle or are conditional on their perceived function as sources of Platonic doctrine... of the Platonists who sympathized with a Platonic view which they found in Aristotle were also sympathetic towards him, and they sometimes refrained from criticizing him But this is not always the case The same Platonists often accused Aristotle, as well as the Stoics, of stealing or distorting Platos doctrine Apart from Antiochus who accused the Stoics of stealing Platos doctrines and the Platonists. .. disguise, on the grounds that Aristotle and the Stoics had drawn their doctrines from Plato, and in this sense their work somehow also was the intellectual property of the Platonists Clement (writing c ad 200) reports that Platonists used to write entire books to show that the Stoics and Aristotle had stolen their doctrines from Plato. 67 In this way Platonists apparently tried to justify their dependence on. .. accessing Platos thought, and that they did so in three main ways: (a) Aristotles reports on Platos views were taken as preserving Platos teaching; (b) those views of Aristotle which were found also in Platonic dialogues were taken as recasting doctrines of Plato in a more systematic form; (c) Aristotles developments, mainly in logic, were often thought to be preWgured in Plato Platonists thus tended to. .. 1436), and yet he thinks that Plato also maintained the self-suYciency of virtue, which the Stoics developed as one of their doctrines.66 And Antiochus relies on Aristotle for reconstructing Platos ethics, but Wnds Stoic epistemology closer to Platos spirit, as I show in detail in Chapter 1 Platonists were actually prepared to argue at length that Aristotelian and Stoic writings contain Platos views in. .. Aristotelian with Platonic deWnitions of justice in his account of 62 On the question how Plato inspired the Stoic and Aristotelian theology, see Solmsen (1942: 13148) 22 Introduction Platos doctrines (De Platone 2 229 referring to NE 1130a910), or why he presents as Platonic doctrine the mixed constitution which goes back to Aristotle (De Platone 2 2601; cf Politics 1265b331266a30);63 or why Alcinous... (Dillon 1977: 51, 195), to speak of syncretism of Aristotelian and Platonic doctrines (cf Donini 1974: 53), about contamination of Platos philosophy with Aristotelian and Stoic components or about reconciliation of Platonism with Aristotle and the Stoics (Whittaker 1987: 11017; Zambon 2002: 29, 317) Similarly scholars miss the point when they speak of stoicizing or Aristotelizing Platonism (e.g Graeser... question of what Aristotle had to oVer to Platonists 2 WHY ARISTOT LE? THE PROBLEM OF RECONSTRUC TING PL ATOS PHILOSOPHY Ancient Platonism is characterized by one crucial feature: the paradoxical tension between Platos way of philosophizing, and the way Platonists tended to consider the man and his work And since this is a book about ancient Platonism we should be clear from the start about the distinction... between Platonic and Aristotelian doctrines,88 but, as I argue in Chapter 4, the evidence about him suggests that his attitude to Aristotle was not hostile Works like those of Atticus and Taurus show how strong the tendency of contemporary Platonists was to rely on Aristotle for understanding Plato There are two key factors which determine the formation of views of Platonists as to how close to Plato is... to Platos doctrines Since so many diVerent doctrines had Platonic credentials, Platonists were concerned to make a convincing argument that their individual view, rather than any other, was right And since Platos views were regarded as the right ones, the implication was that the view they were defending was necessarily Platos Platonists typically tried to discredit other interpretations of Plato before . Processes, and States Helen Steward Things that Happen Because They Should A Teleological Approach to Action Rowland Stout Plato and Aristotle in Agreement? Platonists on Aristotle from Antiochus to Porphyry GEORGE. did Aristotle become so important to the Platonists as to be considered an authority deserving extensive commentary? One may be tempted to think that Aristotle became a useful guide to Platonists. and his work. And since this is a book about ancient Platonism we should be clear from the start about the distinction between Platonic (i.e. Plato s) philosophy and Platonist in- terpretations