Book contents
- The Ladder of the Sciences in Late Antique Platonism
- Cambridge Texts and Studies In Platonism
- The Ladder of the Sciences in Late Antique Platonism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables and Charts
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Rhetoric as an Instrument of Philosophy
- Part II Ethics
- Chapter 6 Ethics in Plotinus and His Successors
- Chapter 7 Innovations in Plotinus’ Theory of Virtue
- Chapter 8 Ancient Biographies of Pythagoras and Epicurus as Models of the Philosophical Life
- Chapter 9 Patterns of Perfection in Damascius’ Life of Isidore
- Chapter 10 Love in Plotinus’ Thought
- Chapter 11 Explaining Evil in Late Antiquity
- Chapter 12 Explaining Evil in Justinian’s Reign
- Chapter 13 Philosophos Oikonomos
- Part III Political Science
- Part IV Mathematics
- Part V Metaphysics
- Postscript
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Chapter 12 - Explaining Evil in Justinian’s Reign
Simplicius and Procopius
from Part II - Ethics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: aN Invalid Date NaN
Book contents
- The Ladder of the Sciences in Late Antique Platonism
- Cambridge Texts and Studies In Platonism
- The Ladder of the Sciences in Late Antique Platonism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables and Charts
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Rhetoric as an Instrument of Philosophy
- Part II Ethics
- Chapter 6 Ethics in Plotinus and His Successors
- Chapter 7 Innovations in Plotinus’ Theory of Virtue
- Chapter 8 Ancient Biographies of Pythagoras and Epicurus as Models of the Philosophical Life
- Chapter 9 Patterns of Perfection in Damascius’ Life of Isidore
- Chapter 10 Love in Plotinus’ Thought
- Chapter 11 Explaining Evil in Late Antiquity
- Chapter 12 Explaining Evil in Justinian’s Reign
- Chapter 13 Philosophos Oikonomos
- Part III Political Science
- Part IV Mathematics
- Part V Metaphysics
- Postscript
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Summary
Proclus did not accept Plotinus’ position that matter is absolute evil and responsible for other evils. I return to his position in Chapter 12, as it is followed by Simplicius in explaining the evils of his period, the reign of the Emperor Justinian, a period which was afflicted by a series of natural catastrophes (earthquakes, fires, the plague) and human disasters (military, social, economic). Natural disasters, Simplicius explained, are part of the compensatory balance of forces of the natural world and are not evil, as such; human moral evil can be of benefit to those who suffer it. I contrast this account of evil with that given by a contemporary, Procopius of Caesarea, who explains the same evils of his time in terms of the Justinian’s demonic nature.
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- The Ladder of the Sciences in Late Antique PlatonismSelected Essays, pp. 173 - 180Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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