David Anhaght

(Also known as David of Armenia and David the Invincible ) David was a late ancient philosopher ( neo-Platonists ). He lived in the 6th century and was said to be Armenians. Allegedly, he worked in the dissemination of late antique Greek philosophy in Armenia and played it as a writer and as a translator a key role. In medieval times it was given the name David in Armenian literature the Invincible ( in Armenian Դավիթ Անհաղթ Dawit ʿ ʿ Anałt, also Anhaght ʿ ʿ or Anyaght ), which is usually called him today. This nickname originally referred to a same Armenian theologian and was then transferred to the philosophers.

Life

From ancient times are only very sparse information about David before in Greek. The Armenian- biographical tradition is rich; but it is only in the 11th century, shows clear traces of legends and relates largely to a same theologians, with which the philosopher was equated erroneously. The Armenian origin of the philosopher David is not attested in ancient sources, but is usually accepted in the research (some with reservation ).

David cites the Neoplatonists Olympiodorus the Younger, who taught in Alexandria, as the authoritative. Also, found in him significant parallels to versions of the Neo-Platonist Elias, who was a pupil of Olympiodorus, and matches to expressions of Olympiodorus ' teacher Ammonius Hermeiou. Therefore, it can be assumed that David has his philosophical training in Alexandria in school, taught in the Olympiodoros obtained. Since Olympiodoros for the last time in the year 565 as a living witness, is expected to fall in the middle and the second half of the 6th century David philosophical activity. Olympiodorus was an adherent of the old pagan religion. For David is as well as for Elias accepted because of the Christian name, that he was a Christian; a direct ancient evidence but there is no.

Some researchers assume that Olympiodorus was the head ( Scholarch ) of the Neo-Platonic school of philosophers of Alexandria, that Elias succeeded him in this role and that later David as the successor of Elijah ran the school. For these hypotheses there is no evidence they are speculative.

More detailed biographical information can be found in the medieval Armenian tradition, because of their legendary trains but largely implausible. According to this tradition came from the town of David Nergin in the region Taron ( Tarawn, today in Turkey, province of Muş ). It is said that he had been a student of Armenian scholars mastoc ' ( Mesrop ), the inventor of the Armenian alphabet. But this is chronologically impossible for the Neoplatonists, because mastoc ' died in the year 440. In addition, it is reported, David had studied in Athens and Konstantin Opel and there prevailed in debates with such success that he was nicknamed " the Invincible ". These alleged study locations may not have been the Neo-Platonist of David, because the Neo-Platonic school of philosophy in Athens was no longer the time of David, and the existence of a school of philosophy in Constantinople in the 6th century Opel is nothing from the ancient sources known. Later, David returned to his advanced age in his homeland to spread his knowledge there. It is also alleged that he had been ordained a bishop. In theology he is said to have distinguished himself as an opponent of the Monophysite rejected in Armenia teaching of the Council of Chalcedon. Apparently, in the course of tradition and legends several Armenian scholar named David, including at least one theologian, confused or equated erroneously.

Works

In his works, David treated common topics of the Neo-Platonic literature of his time. These are introductory writings for beginners. David wrote in Greek; supposedly he has made ​​the traditional Old Armenian translations into itself. Whether some of the translations actually comes from him is controversial. The following writings have been preserved:

• " Prolegomena to Philosophy ", an introduction to the Neo-Platonic philosophy, which is, according to the headline to a postscript ( apo Phones ) acts of oral statements of David from his classes; the term apo Phones is however sometimes used in the Byzantine literature to a lesser importance and then not referred to the transcript of a student, but only the authorship of the said person. The work is a protreptic intention underlying ( it should promote the philosophy). It consists of 32 lessons ( praxeis ) and is delivered in a Greek and an Armenian version. The Armenian version, which simplifies the Greek text, carries the not derived by the author entitled " Definitions and classifications of philosophy." David defends the existence of philosophy against objections of Pyrrhonian skeptics who deny the possibility of a profound certainty. He emphasizes the Platonic concept of deification of man through philosophy and argues against the Stoic view that there is nothing incorporeal. In presenting his reflections he tends to prolixity. Six definitions of philosophy are discussed. Specifically Christian doctrines David not presented, rather it is based on the un-Christian assumption that the world exists eternally. Thus, even a pagan Neoplatonists could express. Therefore, Christian Wildenberg believed that the work of an unknown followers of the old religion originated in Alexandria and later falsely David was attributed.
• A comment on Isagoge of Porphyry, which is also referred to as postscript. From that Greek written work is also an Armenian version before ( "Analysis of Isagoge of Porphyry "), which should come from David.
• A comment on the Analytica priora of Aristotle, who has survived only in a fragmentary Armenian version, the author of which is, according to a part of the manuscript tradition, David. A different view is that research, however, is not a work of David, but an Armenian version of the coming of Elias commentary on the writing of Aristotle.
• A supposedly originating from David commentary on the Categories of Aristotle ( "Declaration of the ten categories of philosophy " ) with an introduction to the philosophy of Aristotle. In Alexandria, it was common for a category Commentary accompanied by such an introduction. This work is both Greek before and in an incomplete traditional Armenian version. From the Armenian version missing in the only surviving manuscript beginning and end. While in the Armenian manuscript no Responsibility is to find the plant in the Greek tradition is referred to as postscript from David's lessons. In the research is controversial, who wrote it. The publisher Adolf buses follow a number of historians philosophy, argues for attribution to Elias; other researchers, including Ilsetraut Hadot, David hold for the author. The fact that David has commented on the categories, he shares himself with explicitly. A clue for the dating results from the fact that the damage caused in the first half of the 6th century Category Commentary of John Philoponus is quoted.

The medieval Armenian tradition, writes David to numerous works and translations that can not come from him for the most part. In assessing this information is taken into account that it is often come to confusion between homonymous authors. David is said to have translated the logical writings of Aristotle ( Organon ) into Armenian. The following works were certainly not written by the educated in Alexandria philosopher David:

• Scholia to Dionysius Thrax grammar. They come from a grammarian, who can not be identical with the philosopher David, because he takes a different view.
• A panegyric on the Holy Cross.
• Translations of patristic writings authors ( Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Nemesio of Emesa, etc.) into Armenian.
• A comment on Isagoge, the part of David, some Elias is attributed in the manuscript tradition, but can come in reality none of these two philosophers. The name of the author as a " pseudo - Elijah" has become common.

Reception

In Byzantine logic compendiums from the period from the late 6th to the middle of the 8th century texts of David were recycled. At that time there was a demand for scarce summaries of Aristotelian logic, which present the substance of the relevant doctrinal writings of the late Alexandrian school in didactically processed form.

In Armenia, were David's writings in the Middle Ages authoritative textbooks. He will be counted traditionally one of the most important figures of the national cultural history and glorified accordingly. As early as the 7th century attacked the Armenian scholar and encyclopedist Anania Schirakatsi David's teaching on the division of philosophy. In the late Middle Ages, the appreciation for his writings intensified; Armenian scholars written comments to David Isagoge commentary and his " definitions and classifications of philosophy." In the period of membership of Armenia in the Soviet Union was " his humanism, his secular mentality, his deep faith in the power of science, a whole bunch of materialistic theories " praised; it was said that he had counted the most advanced scholars of his time. 1980 celebrated the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic - starting from a fictitious, arbitrary supposed birth year of David - the thousand five hundredth anniversary of the philosopher; On this occasion, organized by the Armenian Academy of Sciences in Yerevan, capital of Armenia, a conference and a festival program, and a street was named after David.

1978 produced the Armenian Levon Mkrtchyan director in the studio Armenfilm the film David the Invincible ( Դավիթ Անհաղթ - Davit Anhaght ).

Text output

• Adolf Busse ( eds.): Davidis prolegomena et in Porphyrii Isagogen Commentarium. Georg Reimer Verlag, Berlin 1904 ( Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca. Vol. 18, Part 2 ) ( critical edition of the " Prolegomena to Philosophy " and the comments about Isagoge )
• Adolf Busse ( eds.): Eliae in Porphyrii Isagogen et Aristotelis Categorias Commentaria. Georg Reimer Verlag, Berlin 1900, pp. 105-255 ( Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca. Vol. 18, Part 1 ) ( critical edition of the Categories commentary, which the Publisher Elias attributes )

• Sen S. Arevšatyan (ed.): Dawit ʿ ʿ Anałt: Erkasirut'iwnk ' p'ilisop'ayakank '. Haykakan SSH GA Hrat, Erevan, 1980 ( non-critical edition of the Armenian versions of David's works )
• Bridget Kendall, Robert W. Thomson ( ed.): Definitions and Divisions of Philosophy by David the Invincible Philosopher. Scholars Press, Chico 1983, ISBN 0-89130-616-1 ( critical edition of the Armenian text with English translation)
• Sen S. Arevšatyan (ed.): Dawit ʿ ʿ Anałt: Verlucut'iwn " Neracut'eann " Porp'iwri. Izdatel'stvo Armjanskoj AN SSR, Erevan, 1976 ( edition of the Armenian version of the Commentary on Isagoge with Russian translation )
• Aram Topchyan (ed. ): David the Invincible: Commentary on Aristotle's Prior Analytics. Old Armenian Text with an English Translation, Introduction and Notes. Brill, Leiden 2010, ISBN 978-90-04-18719-1 ( Philosophia antiqua. Band 122)