Episode 45 - Simplicius - Keeping it Simplicius

Welcome back to The Mathematicians Podcast! In this episode, host Benjamin Cornish takes us back to the 6th century CE to explore the life and legacy of Simplicius of Cilicia. A pivotal figure caught between two intellectual giants, Simplicius studied under both Aristotelian and Platonic traditions, becoming one of the last significant scholars of Plato's Academy before its closure by Justinian. Join us as we uncover Simplicius's crucial role as a pagan apologist, philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. Learn how he became a conduit for preserving ancient knowledge, meticulously commenting on the works of Aristotle and Plato, and attempting to bridge their philosophical divide on topics like rationalism vs. empiricism, and idealism vs. realism. The episode also revisits the epic debate between Simplicius and John Philoponus on the nature of infinity, the eternal universe, and the concept of motion and impetus. Keywords: Simplicius, John Philoponus, Plato's Academy, Aristotle, Neoplatonism, Pagan philosophy, Byzantine Empire, Persian Empire, infinity, actual infinity, potential infinity, momentum, cause and effect, unmoved mover, ancient mathematics, philosophy of mathematics, history of science, ancient Greece, late antiquity. Hashtags: #TheMathematiciansPodcast #Simplicius #AncientPhilosophy #HistoryOfMathematics #Plato #Aristotle #Neoplatonism #JohnPhiloponus #Infinity #Paganism #ByzantineHistory #ClassicalStudies #Philosophy #ScienceHistory #Podcast