Forms, Souls, and Embryos Neoplatonists on Human Reproduction

Forms, Souls, and Embryos allows readers coming from different backgrounds to appreciate the depth and originality with which the Neoplatonists engaged with and responded to a number of philosophical questions central to human reproduction, including: What is the causal explanation of the embryo’s formation? How and to what extent are Platonic Forms involved? In what sense is a fetus ‘alive,’ and when does it become a human being? Where does the embryo’s soul come from, and how is it connected to its body? This is the first full-length study in English of this fascinating subject, and is a must-read for anyone interested in Neoplatonism or the history of medicine and embryology.

IntroductionChapter 1: The Embryological BackgroundGeneral Background: Four Key Issues in Ancient EmbryologyEmbryology in PlatoChapter 2: The Metaphysical BackgroundMetaphysical Models in EmbryologyThe Biological Development of the Theory of FormsChapter 3: Neoplatonic Embryology: The Core TheoryThe One-Seed TheoryThe Origin and Nature of the SeedThe Maternal Actualization of the SeedOther External Factors in the Formation of the OffspringAppendix to Chapter 3: Eclectic TheoriesThe Commentary on the Hippocratic On the Nature of the Child by John of AlexandriaTheophilus Protospatharius’ On the Construction of the Human BeingPseudo-Galen’s De SpermatePseudo-Iamblichus’ Theology of ArithmeticPseudo-Galen’s Whether What is Carried in the Womb is a Living ThingThe Commentary on Aristotle’s On the Generation of Animals by Michael of EphesusMichael’s Interpretation of Aristotle’s EmbryologyMichael’s Interpretation of Plato’s EmbryologyChapter 4: Formation and Animation of the EmbryoThe Order of the Embryo’s FormationThe Animation of the EmbryoChapter 5: The Problem of TeratogenesisEpilogueBibliographyIndex LocorumSubject Index

James Wilberding is Professor of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at Ruhr University, Bochum (Germany). Previously he was a lecturer in Classics at Newcastle University (UK) and Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Williams College (USA).