This PhD thesis focuses on two chapters of the Miscellaneorum centuria secunda, a work Politian was composing during his last years as Philosophy Professor at the Florentine Studio (1493-1494): chapter 53 (Universale) and chapter 55...
moreThis PhD thesis focuses on two chapters of the Miscellaneorum centuria secunda, a work Politian was composing during his
last years as Philosophy Professor at the Florentine Studio (1493-1494): chapter 53 (Universale) and chapter 55 (Enthymema). They deal with two topical questions of Aristotelian philosophy, i. e. the interpretation of the concept of «universal» in Aristotle’s corpus and the appropriate definition of the «enthymeme», that is the rhetorical syllogism.
By a careful inspection of the manuscript of the second Miscellanea (ms. Venezia, Fondazione Giorgio Cini 1), this thesis
will propose a new kind of critical edition of the two chapters, showing the working method of the humanist through the different composition stages of the chapters. A study of the short Greek passages quoted and translated into Latin by Politian and a deep investigation into the diverse sources (such as the manuscripts of the ancient Aristotle’s exegetes) the humanist could have had in hand at his time will also emphasize the modernity of his conclusions. Anticipating the newest exegesis, in chapter 53 Politian clearly explains that there is no contradiction between the concept of ‘universal’ which Aristotle introduces in the Physics and the ‘universal’
he refers to in the Analytics: the difference is not in the meaning of «universal», but in the way the philosopher refers to it, since in the Physics his focus is on gnoseology, whereas in the Organon he is merely concerned with logic matters. Similarly Politian’s conclusions are in advance of his times in chapter 55, where he states that enthymemes are not characterized by the lack of one of the two syllogistic premises (as Medieval thinkers had claimed, especially under the influence of Quintilian’s interpretation of the
Aristotelian passage), but by the content of their argumentation, which is based on likelihood and signs (σηµεῖα), and not on necessity (as it occurs in logical syllogisms). Nevertheless Politian shows an unequivocal debt to Scholasticism, most especially with regard to the use of philosophical terms. By examining carefully the manuscript of his work (which is, in fact, still a draft) it becomes
clear that his corrections often aim at replacing less common words with synonyms taken from the Scholastic tradition. Furthermore, some textual references prove that Politian had close and continuous ties not only with other famous humanists of the Italian Renaissance, like Pico della Mirandola and Ermolao Barbaro, but also with the Scholastic thinkers of his time (like Francesco di Tommaso, a Dominican friar who lectured in Theology at the Studio, was surely a thomist and taught the young Politian Aristotelianlogic).
In conclusion, this thesis will suggest not only that Aristotelian philosophy was a subject of particular interest to a leading
humanist figure such as Politian, but also that the astonishing modernity of his Humanism, as a reflection of an old and contemporary discussion on the philosophy of Aristotle, comes from a renewed use of traditional methods and languages.
