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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2021

By
A. G. Long
Edited by
A. G. Long
A. G. Long
Affiliation:
University of St Andrews, Scotland
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Summary

When ancient philosophers describe the fate of the soul or the human being after death, in which cases should we attribute to them a theory of immortality? When their texts describe people – or their souls, parts, or possessions – as being or becoming ‘immortal’, what does the word mean? The research brought together here explores these questions. Whether or not we should stipulate the meaning of immortality depends on which question we are addressing. The first question is about our own use of the words ‘immortal’ and ‘immortality’ when reading and trying to understand ancient theories, and here it may be appropriate to set down that ‘immortal’ means, for example, everlasting. That is how Phillip Horky understands ‘immortal’ and ‘immortality’ in his chapter on whether Pythagorean theories of reincarnation (or, as it is also called, the transmigration of souls) require souls to be everlasting.

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Immortality in Ancient Philosophy , pp. 1 - 11
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

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  • Introduction
  • Edited by A. G. Long, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • Book: Immortality in Ancient Philosophy
  • Online publication: 20 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108935777.001
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  • Introduction
  • Edited by A. G. Long, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • Book: Immortality in Ancient Philosophy
  • Online publication: 20 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108935777.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Edited by A. G. Long, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • Book: Immortality in Ancient Philosophy
  • Online publication: 20 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108935777.001
Available formats
×