The Reception of Greek Ethics in Late Antiquity and Byzantium: Continuities and Transformations

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics – Greek manuscript on parchment (15th century) – National Library of Naples

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics – Greek manuscript on parchment (15th century) – National Library of Naples

We are pleased to announce the following conference at Corpus Christi College, Oxford in November 2018.

The Reception of Greek Ethics in Late Antiquity and Byzantium:Continuities and Transformations

Corpus Christi College - Oxford, Wednesday, 14 November 2018

The conference will look at writings on ethics and morality from Late Antiquity and Byzantium with the aim of examining their distinctive features and dialogue with existing philosophical models. This is a strand of research that has not previously been subject to systematic investigation, which has precluded a thorough appreciation of the reception of Greek ethics in various cultural and intellectual contexts. The topics to be explored involve:

-Commentaries on Aristotelian ethics

-Ethics and politics in Neoplatonism

-Moral excellence and gender differentiation

-Emotions and virtues in Patristic thought

-Ethos in the context of rhetorical theory, textual exegesis, education, and performance

Speakers include:

David Bradshaw (University of Kentucky)

Riccardo Chiaradonna (Roma Tre University)

Erika Gielen (University of Leuven)

Péter Lautner (Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest)

Byron MacDougall (Princeton University)

Ioannis Papadogiannakis (King’s College London)

Stratis Papaioannou (University of Crete)

Bert van den Berg (Leiden University)

Sophia Xenophontos (University of Glasgow)

Conclusions: Richard Sorabji (King’s College London/Wolfson College–Oxford)

We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of our sponsors, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Corpus Christi College and the University of Glasgow. The event is part of the AHRC-funded research project “The reception of Aristotle in Byzantium: the first critical edition of George Pachymeres’ Commentary on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics” (https://byzantinearistotle.arts.gla.ac.uk/ ).

More details about registration and the final programme will follow soon.

Organisers:

Sophia Xenophontos (University of Glasgow)

Anna Marmodoro (University of Durham/University of Oxford)