Defining Philosophy (I): An Inquiry into the Internal Dynamics of Ammonius’ Prooimion to His Commentary on the Isagoge of Porphyry (in Isag. 1, 1–17 Busse)

Abstract

Introducing a work which forms, effectively, a type of philosophical preface to the Aristotelian Categories, the opening passage of Ammonius’ Commentary on Porphyry’s “Eisagoge” (In Isag. 1, 1–17 Busse) was originally intended as the very first step in a philosophical instruction. As such, it demanded considerable authorial effort: after all, it needs to account for several, often incompatible demands, such as establishing the authority of Ammonius (without sacrificing that of Porphyry), establishing the teacher–pupil relationship, indicating the skopos of the work (but also that of the entire philosophy course). As a result, the opening sentences of the Ammonian proem remain a testimony to the complexity and intricacy of exegetical effort itself, but also, on a more formal level, to the pedagogical mastery of the Alexandrian.