George Malcolm Stratton

A rather short work, but notable in that it is one of the earliest philosophical works to deal with sense/perception (aisthesis) and soul (psuche), specifically. Aristotle preceded Theophrastus in treating these subjects and Theophrastus was clearly influenced by him; but given that he took over the Peripatetic school, this makes sense.
As with Theophrastus' work on Metaphysics, this work is doxographical, quoting or summarizing previous philosophers' positions on the topic of aisthesis. He indicates how their positions are either contradictory and/or not probable. It's not always easy to gauge exactly what Theophrastus' position is, but you can tell which positions he rejects. A lot of the discussion focuses on hearing, sight, touch, taste, and smell. There is an interesting discussion regarding color near the end of the treatise. Since sense perception was tied to soul in Greek philosophy, there is some interesting portions relevant to that topic as well.
This book, like the previous book I read by him on Metaphysics, contains both the Greek on the left page and English translation on the right. George Malcolm Stratton provides a very helpful introduction and commentary on the text.
This is definitely a book worth reading and can be purchased for a reasonable price. Also, being an early treatment of psuche/aisthesis, it provides helpful background for later philosophers who explored this topic.… (mais)