The core of the ethics in some Middle-Platonists

Abstract

One of the main lines of research that emerged within the framework of studies on ancient philosophy consists of outlining the main proposals of its most representative authors. At least in part, the philosophers so-called today Middle-Platonists are studied from this perspective. Thus, the article proposes a schematization of the Middle-Platonist ethics starting from the metaphysical-anthropological approaches common to the main representatives of these philosophers. By analysing the concepts of God, Idea and man, the article seeks to highlight which are the main ethical theses of the Middle-Platonists, namely, the subjection of sensitivity to reason, the importance of moral virtue and human directionality in relation to the ultimate end.

Keywords

• middle platonism
• classical ethics
• anthropology
• moral virtue
• metaphysics