Atticus (philosopher)

Part of a series on
Plato
Plato from The School of Athens by Raphael, 1509
Early life Works Platonism Epistemology Idealism / Realism Demiurge Theory of Forms Form of the Good Third man argument Euthyphro dilemma Five regimes Philosopher king
Allegories and metaphors
Ring of Gyges The cave The divided line The sun Ship of state Myth of Er The chariot
Related articles
Commentaries The Academy in Athens Socratic problem Middle Platonism Neoplatonism and Christianity
Philosophy portal

Atticus (c. 175) was an ancient philosopher. All of what is known of him comes from fragments of his book preserved in Eusebius' Preparatio Evangelica., Atticus was vehemently anti-Peripatetic. His work was a polemic, possibly originating from the first holder of the chair in Platonic philosophy at Athens under Marcus Aurelius.

It is not clear if the polemic had a philosophical rather than a political motivation. One may justly infer as much from his insistence that Aristotle was an atheist, that he denied the existence of the soul, and that he rejected divine providence.

Atticus' position represents yet another version of Platonism, one according to which deviation from the literal word of the master means irredeemable heretical opposition. This version turns up occasionally in contemporary scholarship, as much in the writings of defenders of Aristotle as in writings of defenders of Plato.

See also

• Numenius of Apamea

Bibliography

• George E. Karamanolis, Plato and Aristotle in Agreement? Platonists on Aristotle From Antiochus to Porphyry, Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-19-926456-2.