Jonathan Barnes
Professor Emeritus in the Universities of Oxford, Geneva, and Paris-Sorbonne
Howison Lectures in Philosophy
April 11, 2012 — 4:10 PMAlumni House, Toll Room — UC Berkeley Campus
About the Lecture
All the ancient philosophers, pagans and Christians alike, agreed that death is the separation of a soul and a body. While there was much disagreement on the precise relationship between a being and his soul, as well as what sort of thing they took a soul to be, it is the agreement among the philosophers rather than their differences that calls for critical attention. In this lecture, Barnes will examine the question: “Why did ancient philosophers believe that beings were composed of two parts, the divorce of which is their death?”
About Jonathan Barnes
Jonathan Barnes is well known for his work in the field of ancient philosophy. Early in his career, Barnes wrote extensively on the Presocratic philosophers, and on Aristotle. More recently, he has been interested in the history of logic and philosophy in the early Roman world. Barnes has published extensively in his field of study, including many academic papers, articles, and several books. Among his more recent works are Coffee with Aristotle (2008) and Truth, etc. (2007). In the former, Barnes discusses a variety of topics, from causation and deduction to the role of women and the wonders of the natural world in a pre-scientific age, in a refreshingly simple manner.