Porfirio e le tradizioni filosofiche

This article focuses on three fragments of Porphyry : two passages from the Letter to Anebo quoted in Eusebius of Caesarea’s Praeparatio Evangelica (see Eus. pe xiv 10, 1-2 = Porph. epist. ad Anebonem frr. 1 and 100 Saffrey- Segonds), a passage from the treatise Against Boethus on the Soul quoted by Eusebius in the same section (see Eus. pe xiv 10, 3 = Porph. 246F. Smith), a passage from an unknown work (possibly Porphyry’s lost History of Philosophy) preserved by the Jew Medieval philosopher R. Shem-Tov Ibn Falaqera. As I aim to show, these fragments probably come from the introductory sections of Porphyry’s works and illustrate his philosophical method involving the reference to commonly shared concepts and the scrutiny of divergent philosophical doctrines. Divergences among Greek philosophers show both the weaknesses and the superiority of the Hellenic tradition vis-.-vis other traditions which omit rational scrutiny.