Full Description
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.
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Embryological Background
General Background: Four Key Issues in Ancient Embryology
Embryology in Plato
Chapter 2: The Metaphysical Background
Metaphysical Models in Embryology
The Biological Development of the Theory of Forms
Chapter 3: Neoplatonic Embryology: The Core Theory
The One-Seed Theory
The Origin and Nature of the Seed
The Maternal Actualization of the Seed
Other External Factors in the Formation of the Offspring
Appendix to Chapter 3: Eclectic Theories
The Commentary on the Hippocratic On the Nature of the Child by John of Alexandria
Theophilus Protospatharius' On the Construction of the Human Being
Pseudo-Galen's De Spermate
Pseudo-Iamblichus' Theology of Arithmetic
Pseudo-Galen's Whether What is Carried in the Womb is a Living Thing
The Commentary on Aristotle's On the Generation of Animals by Michael of Ephesus
Michael's Interpretation of Aristotle's Embryology
Michael's Interpretation of Plato's Embryology
Chapter 4: Formation and Animation of the Embryo
The Order of the Embryo's Formation
The Animation of the Embryo
Chapter 5: The Problem of Teratogenesis
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index Locorum
Subject Index
