How Long to Read Damascius' Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles

How Long Does it Take to Read Damascius' Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles?

It takes the average reader 9 hours and 20 minutes to read Damascius' Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles by Sara Ahbel-Rappe

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

Damascius was head of the Neoplatonist academy in Athens when the Emperor Justinian shut its doors forever in 529. His work, Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles, is the last surviving independent philosophical treatise from the Late Academy. Its survey of Neoplatonist metaphysics, discussion of transcendence, and compendium of late antique theologies, make it unique among all extant works of late antique philosophy. It has never before been translated into English. The Problems and Solutions exhibits a thorough?going critique of Proclean metaphysics, starting with the principle that all that exists proceeds from a single cause, proceeding to critique the Proclean triadic view of procession and reversion, and severely undermining the status of intellectual reversion in establishing being as the intelligible object. Damascius investigates the internal contradictions lurking within the theory of descent as a whole, showing that similarity of cause and effect is vitiated in the case of processions where one order (e.g. intellect) gives rise to an entirely different order (e.g. soul). Neoplatonism as a speculative metaphysics posits the One as the exotic or extopic explanans for plurality, conceived as immediate, present to hand, and therefore requiring explanation. Damascius shifts the perspective of his metaphysics: he struggles to create a metaphysical discourse that accommodates, insofar as language is sufficient, the ultimate principle of reality. After all, how coherent is a metaphysical system that bases itself on the Ineffable as a first principle? Instead of creating an objective ontology, Damascius writes ever mindful of the limitations of dialectic, and of the pitfalls and snares inherent in the very structure of metaphysical discourse.

How long is Damascius' Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles?

Damascius' Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles by Sara Ahbel-Rappe is 560 pages long, and a total of 140,000 words.

This makes it 189% the length of the average book. It also has 171% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Damascius' Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 12 hours and 45 minutes to read Damascius' Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles aloud.

What Reading Level is Damascius' Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles?

Damascius' Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Damascius' Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles?

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