Alexandria, Province of Egypt, Eastern Roman Empire
Died
c. 570
Era
Byzantine philosophy
Region
Western philosophy
Main interests
Theology, natural philosophy, mathematics
Notable ideas
Theory of impetus
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John Philoponus (Greek: /fɪˈlɒpənəs/; Ἰωάννης ὁ Φιλόπονος; c. 490 – c. 570), also known as John the Grammarian or John of Alexandria, was a Byzantine Greek philologist, Aristotelian commentator, Christian theologian and an author of a considerable number of philosophical treatises and theological works. He was born in Alexandria. A rigorous, sometimes polemical writer and an original thinker who was controversial in his own time, John Philoponus broke from the Aristotelian–Neoplatonic tradition, questioning methodology and eventually leading to empiricism in the natural sciences. He was one of the first to propose a "theory of impetus" similar to the modern concept of inertia over Aristotelian dynamics.
Later in life Philoponus turned to Christian apologetics, arguing against the eternity of the world in his De opificio mundi, a theory which formed the basis of pagan attacks on the Christian doctrine of Creation. He also wrote on Christology and was posthumously condemned as a heretic by the Church in 680–81 because of what was perceived as a tritheistic interpretation of the Trinity. [citation needed]
His by-name ὁ Φιλόπονος translates as "lover of toil", i.e. "diligent," referring to a miaphysite confraternity in Alexandria, the philoponoi, who were active in debating pagan (i.e. Neoplatonic) philosophers.
His posthumous condemnation limited the spread of his writing, but copies of his work, The contra Aristotelem, resurfaced in medieval Europe, through translations from Arabic of his quotes included in the work of Simplicius of Cilicia, which was debated in length by Muslim philosophers such as al-Farabi, Avicenna, al-Ghazali and later Averroes, influencing Bonaventure and Buridan in Christian Western Europe, but also Rabbanite Jews such as Maimonides and Gersonides, who also used his arguments against their Karaite rivals. His work was largely debated in the Arabic scholarly tradition, where he is known as Yaḥyā al-Naḥwī (i.e. "John the Grammarian"), and his views against Aristotelian physics were defended by philosophers at the court of Fatimid Imam Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, particularly Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani, who debated Avicenna on the topic, and Hamza ibn Ali. His critique of Aristotle in the Physics commentary was a major influence on Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Galileo Galilei, who cited Philoponus substantially in his works.[1][2]
^Branko Mitrović, "Leon Battista Alberti and the Homogeneity of Space", The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, vol. 63, No. 4 (2004), pp. 424–439.
^Willam A. Wallace, Prelude to Galileo: Essays on Medieval and Sixteenth Century Sources of Galileo's Thought (Dordrecht, 1981), pp. 136, 196–97.
— JohnPhiloponus' refutation of the Aristotelian claim that the elapsed time for a falling body is inversely proportional to its weight Philoponus is...
weights fall at the same speed is documented in sixth century works by JohnPhiloponus, which Galileo was aware of. In the 14th century, Nicole Oresme had...
though the wave itself does not have a mean momentum. In about 530 AD, JohnPhiloponus developed a concept of momentum in On Physics, a commentary to Aristotle's...
specific gravity. In the 6th century CE, Byzantine Alexandrian scholar JohnPhiloponus modified the Aristotelian concept of gravity with the theory of impetus...
numerous Neoplatonists, including Damascius, Olympiodorus of Thebes, JohnPhiloponus, Simplicius of Cilicia, and Asclepius of Tralles. Also among his pupils...
became one of Philoponus’ major preoccupations and dominated several of his publications (some now lost) over the following decade. Philoponus originated...
education in Late antiquity, with philosophers such as Iamblichus and JohnPhiloponus writing commentaries on it. A Latin paraphrase by Boethius of Nicomachus's...
Philoponus appeared; unlike Aristotle, who based his physics on verbal argument, Philoponus relied on observation. On Aristotle's physics Philoponus wrote:...
Aristotle were Philoponus, Elias, and David in the sixth century, and Stephen of Alexandria in the early seventh century. JohnPhiloponus stands out for...
Philoponus, and brought proofs that he agreed with Severus and Theodosius. They were banished to Palestine, and Philoponus wrote a book against John Scholasticus...
the Byzantine Empire and Abbasid Caliphate. In the Byzantine Empire, JohnPhiloponus, an Alexandrian Aristotelian commentator and Christian theologian was...
Middle Ages in the Middle East. About 550 AD, Christian philosopher JohnPhiloponus wrote a treatise on the astrolabe in Greek, which is the earliest extant...
Press. pp. 65–66. ISBN 9781400858989. Sorabji, Richard (2010). "JohnPhiloponus". Philoponus and the Rejection of Aristotelian Science (2nd ed.). Institute...
to explain projectile motion against gravity. It was introduced by JohnPhiloponus in the 6th century, and elaborated by Nur ad-Din al-Bitruji at the...
the matter was motion, not stasis (stagnation). In the 6th century, JohnPhiloponus criticized the inconsistency between Aristotle's discussion of projectiles...
Archimedes' mathematical contributions were collected and studied. JohnPhiloponus, another Byzantine scholar, was the first to question Aristotle's teaching...
philosopher JohnPhiloponus was the first to question Aristotelian physics. Unlike Aristotle, who based his physics on verbal argument, Philoponus relied on...
throughout the Byzantine period. About AD 550, Christian philosopher JohnPhiloponus wrote a treatise on the astrolabe in Greek, which is the earliest extant...
Constantinople. May 3 – K'an Joy Chitam I, ruler of Palenque (d. 565) JohnPhiloponus, Aristotelian commentator and philosopher (d. 570) Romanos the Melodist...
insights and speculation. The works of the early Byzantine scholar JohnPhiloponus inspired Western scholars such as Jean Buridan to question the received...
have been founded by a monophysite named John Ascunages of Antioch. Their principal writer was JohnPhiloponus, who taught that the common nature of Father...
Johannes (2018). "Personhood in Miaphysitism: Severus of Antioch and JohnPhiloponus". Personhood in the Byzantine Christian Tradition: Early, Medieval...
astronomy of Ptolemy lived in this era, such as Eutocius of Ascalon and JohnPhiloponus. Several Greco-Roman astrological treatises are also known to have...
emperor of the Chen Dynasty Gildas, British cleric (approximate date) JohnPhiloponus, Aristotelian commentator (b. 490) Soga no Iname, leader of the Soga...
mechanics (see Aristotelian physics). Although, in the 6th century, JohnPhiloponus challenged this argument and said that, by observation, two balls of...
beginning with JohnPhiloponus in the 6th century. A central problem was that of projectile motion, which was discussed by Hipparchus and Philoponus. Persian...
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