Individuality in Late Antiquity

’The problem of the individual is central to our notion of modernity. These thoughtful and deeply learned essays take us back to a thought world where the notion of the individual had begun to emerge. It did so in what to us are deeply unfamiliar circumstances - in the wrangles of Christian theologians on the nature of the Trinity, the personhood of Christ, and the resurrection of the body; in the lucubrations of Platonic philosophers on the relation of body and soul; and in the harsh testing bed of the relations between individual and community provided by the monastery. This exploration of the roots of individuality provides us with a challenging viewing point from which to reconsider the modern notion of the self.’ Peter Brown, Princeton University, USA ’This study of individuality in late antiquity provides highly original new insights. It is distinctive in addressing pagan and Christian conceptions equally, and impressive in the range of issues it illuminates.’ Richard Sorabji, Oxford University, UK ’This valuable book forms part of a growing emphasis on the history of individuality and the self in late antiquity. It provides a corrective to Foucault’s Care of the Self, and shows that the western narrative that takes Augustine as its starting point is not the only game in town. Developing the discussion in Aristotle’s Categories, late antique Neoplatonists and Christians alike debated the philosophical basis of individuality. In the fourth century, Trinitarian theology presented a special challenge, and other aspects of the problem came to the fore with the growing ascetic theory of the self and the difficulties surrounding the Christian doctrine of bodily resurrection. The editors have drawn on the best scholarship in philosophy, theology, and the history of Christian thought to show the centrality of these issues and the intensity of the discussion. Anyone interested in the roots of modern theories of the individual will find this book crucial