Eugene V. Afonasin – Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Arts in Medieval Studies, Professor of Novosibirsk State University, Chief Research Fellow of the Institute of Philosophy and Law of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. Editor-in-Chief, ΣΧΟΛΗ. Ancient Philosophy and the Classical Tradition. An international philosophy journal (Novosibirsk).
Web page: nsu.ru
Mailing address: Institute of philosophy and law, Novosibirsk State University, Pirogov Street, 1, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
E-mail: afonasin@post.nsu.ru
Education, Research Interests
- Educated at Novosibirsk State University, Russia (1984–1991), the Central European University, Budapest, Hungary (1995), and Christ Church, University of Oxford, England (1996).
- 1997-1998 – Visiting Scholar at the Institute for the Classical Tradition (Boston University).
- 2001 – Visiting (Fulbright) Senior Scholar, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC
- 2008-2009 – A. Onassis Foundation Fellow at the University of Athens, Greece
Degrees and research qualifications: M.Sc. (Diplom) in Physics (1991, Novosibirsk), M. A. (Diplom) in Philosophy (Novosibirsk State University, 1991), Master of Arts in Medieval Studies (Central European University, Budapest–New York, 1995), Certificate of Studies (Oxford, 1996), Kandidat filosofskikh nauk (Institute of Philosophy of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1997), Doctor filosofskikh nauk (St. Petersburg State University, 2003), Professor of philosophy (Novosibirsk, 2007)
Research Interests: (a) History and Methodology of Science, esp. Ancient physics, natural sciences and medicine; (b) History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy, Byzantine and Slavonic Studies; esp. Clement of Alexandria, Gnosticism; Dionysius the Areopagite; (c) Roman Law and Western Legal Tradition
Teaching
- 1998 – History of Philosophy, Metaphysics, Latin, Department of Philosophy, Novosibirsk State University.
- 1998 – Roman Law, Western Legal Tradition, Philosophy of Law, Latin, Department of Law, Novosibirsk State University
- 2013 – History and methodology of the exact sciences, Department of economics, Novosibirsk State University
Books, Authored and Co-authored
1997
Filosofiya Klimenta Alexandrijskogo [The Philosophy of Clement of Alexandria]. Novosibirsk: University Press. – 126 pp. (in Russian).
2002
Shkola Valentina. Fragmenty i svidetel»stva [Valentinus Gnosticus and His School. Fragments and Testimonia], a translation into Russian, introduction, notes and index. St. Petersburg: Aletheia. – 320 pp.
2003
Anticnyj gnostitsism. Fragmenty i svidetel»stva [Ancient Gnosticism. Fragments and Testimonia], a Study of Gnosticism with a selection of fragments, translated into Russian, introduced and annotated. St. Petersburg: Aletheia. – 367 pp.
Kliment Aleksandrijskij. Stromaty [Clement of Alexandria. The Stromateis], a translation into Russian, introduction, notes and index. St. Petersburg: Aletheia (in three volumes). – 940 pp.
Vek Enciclopedistov. Prozess nakopleniya i sokhraneniya znanij i metody tsitirovaniya v pozdney antichnosti [The Age of the Encyclopedists. Accumulation and preservation of knowledge and the technique of quotations in Late Antiquity]. Novosibirsk: University Press (in Russian). – 180 pp. Cf. selections on-line
2007
Gnosis. Fragmenty i svidetel»stva [Gnosis. Fragments and Testimonia], a translation into Russian, introduction, notes and index. St. Petersburg: University Press. – 318 p.
2012
Iamblichus and the Foundation of Late Platonism, edited by E. Afonasin, J. Dillon and J. Finamore. Leiden, Brill. – 218 p.
2014
Kliment Aleksandrijskij. Stromaty [Clement of Alexandria. The Stromateis], a translation into Russian, introduction, notes and index. St. Petersburg: Aletheia, 2014. The second edition, revised and expanded. – 912 pp.
Pifagorejskaya traditziya [The Pythagorean Tradition], in collaboration with Andrej Shetnikov, and Anna Afonasina. St. Petersburg, 2014. – 745 p.
2015
ΜΟΥΣΙΚΗ ΤΕΧΝΗ. Ocherki istorii antichnoj muzyki [Essays on Ancient music], in collaboration with Andrej Shetnikov and Anna Afonasina. St. Petersburg, 2015. – 250 p. (in Russian)
2017
ΙΑΤΡΙΚΗ ΤΕΧΝΗ. Ocherki istorii antichnoj mediziny [Essays on Ancient medicine], in collaboration with Anna Afonasina. St. Petersburg, 2017. – 230 p.
Antichnyj kosmos. Ocherki istorii antichnoj astronomii i kosmologii [Ancient cosmos. Essays on astronomy and cosmology in Antiquity], in collaboration with Andrej Shetnikov and Anna Afonasina. St. Petersburg, 2017. – 403 p.
Work in progress
Aristotle and the Corpus Aristotelicum. Minor treatises in a new Russian translation. Edited by E. Afonasin, V. Petrov in collaboration with many scholars.
Ancient meteorology and navigation
Books Edited and Translated
- 2003 Dillon, John, The Middle Platonists, a Russian translation by Eugene Afonasin, based on the 2nd ed. (Cornell University Press, 1996). St. Petersburg, Aletheia.
- 2004 Rist, John, Plotinus: The Road to Reality, a Russian translation by Eugene Afonasin and Igor Berestov. St. Petersburg, Aletheia.
- 2005 Dillon, John, The Heirs of Plato, a Russian translation by Eugene Afonasin. St. Petersburg, University Press.
- 2007 Hart H.L.A. The Concept of Law (Oxford, 1961), a Russian translation by E. Afonasin, S. Moiseev, A. Didikin and M. Babak. St. Petersburg: University Press.
Articles (Selected)
1996
«Agnōstos theos: The Theory of Transcendent God in the Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria: Stromata V, chapters 11–13, a translation from Greek and commentary,» Istoriko-filosofskij ezhegodnik – 95 [History of Philosophy Yearbook, 95]. Moscow, Nauka, pp. 247–268 (in Russian).
1998
«Ho Klēmes pythagorizei: Pythagorean Symbolism and the Philosophic Paideia in the Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria», Abstracts of the XX World Congress of Philosophy, Boston, MA, p. 63. Cf. the complete text on-line at the site of the Congress (in English).
2002
«Discourse and Dialogue: Questions to be settled before the Study of the Literature of a transition Period,» Konstantine Boudouris and John Poulakos, eds., The Philosophy of Communication, Volume I, Ionia Publications, Athens, pp. 12–23 (in English).
2003
«Gnosis and His Critics: Ancient Gnosticism in the Context of Platonic Philosophy of Late Antiquity,» Istoriko-filosofskij ezhegodnik – 2002 [History of Philosophy Yearbook, 2002]. Moscow, Nauka, pp. 176–212 (in Russian).
2005
«Doxography in Late Antiquity», Vestnik of Novosibirsk State University, Series Philosophy, 3.1 (2005) 102–119; 4.1 (2006) 113–125; 4.2 (2006) 109–116 (in Russian).
«Refutatio omnium haeresium by Hippolytus as an auxiliary source of the history of Ancient science, Filosofia nauki [Philosophy of Science] 25 (2005), 3–32 (in Russian).
2006
«Gnostic Eschatology and Cosmology», Eschatologicheskij sbornik [Studies in Eschatology], edited by V. B. Prozorov et al., St. Petersburg, Aletheia, 2006, pp. 8–34 (in Russian).
2007
«Numenius of Apamea. Fragments and Testimonia», ΣΧΟΛΗ 1.1, 65–134, an introduced and annotated Russian translation of the fragments (according to Des Places) and indices, in collaboration with Anna Afonasina (Kuznetzova).
«Religious Mind. Gnostic Ethos in the Period of the Cultural Transition», ΣΚΕΠΣΙΣ. A Journal for Philosophy and Inter-Disciplinary Research, XVIII, 11–23 (in English).
2008
«Η Λερναία Υδρα» και το πρόβλημα της καταγωγής του γνωστικίσμου, Celestia 1, 41–47 (in Modern Greek).
«Corpus Dionysiacum and the Classical Tradition», ΣΧΟΛΗ 2.1, 90–98 (in Russian).
«Corpus Dionysiacum Slavicum», ΣΧΟΛΗ 2.1, 99–123 (in English).
«The Derveni Papyrus», ΣΧΟΛΗ 2.2, 307-335 (in Russian).
2009
«Diogenes of Apollonia. Fragments and Testimonia, a Russian translation, notes, appendices, index», ΣΧΟΛΗ 3.1, 559–611 (in Russian).
«Iamblichus in Athens», Vestnik of Pushkin»s Leningrad State University 4.1, 26–35 (in Russian).
2010
«Iamblichus. The Letters, a Russian translation based on J. Dillon and W. Polleichter»s edition, introduced with notes», ΣΧΟΛΗ 4.1, 166–193 (in Russian).
2011
«The «Lernaean Hydra» and the problem of the origin of Gnosticism», ΣΧΟΛΗ 2.1 (2008) 125–148 (in English); 5.1, 83–95 (in Russian)
«Clement»s Gnoseology and the Pythagorean First Principles», Η εννοια του θειου στη διαχρονικη της διασταση [The concept of divine in its diachronic dimension]. Edited by L. Bargeliotes. Athena, Batsioulas Publ., 2011, pp. 217–234 (in English).
2012
«Ancient music: General introduction and bibliography», ΣΧΟΛΗ 6.1, 111–134 (in Russian). Illustrations
«Ptolemais of Kyrene. The Pythagorean elements of music», ΣΧΟΛΗ 6.1, 135–143 (in Russian).
«Theophrastus on Music», ΣΧΟΛΗ 6.1, 111–134 (in Russian).
«The Pythagorean way of life in Clement of Alexandria and Iamblichus», Iamblichus and the Foundation of Late Platonism, edited by E. Afonasin, J. Dillon and J. Finamore. Leiden, Brill, pp. 13–36 (in English).
«Iamblichus on the soul», ΣΧΟΛΗ 6.2, 228–258 (in Russian).
2013
«Demiurge in the Ancient cosmology», ΣΧΟΛΗ 7.1, 69–109 (in Russian).
«Porphyry, To Gaurus, On how embryos are ensouled», ΣΧΟΛΗ 7.1, 175–237 (in Russian).
2014
«The houses of philosophical schools in Athens», ΣΧΟΛΗ 8.1, 9–23 (in English), in collaboration with Anna Afonasina.
«The Pilot metaphor and its artistic reflections (A note on the Platonic motive on some Celtic Coins),» Praxema 1, 23-30 (in English)
2015
«Galen. On the sects for beginners», ΣΧΟΛΗ 9.1, 56-72 (in Russian).
«Herophilus on pulse,» ΣΧΟΛΗ 9.1, 93-104 (in Russian), in collaboration with Anna Afonasina.
«Dicaearchus on the soul», Platonic Investigations (Moscow) 2 (2015), 226-243 (in Russian).
«Notes on perception of time in Antiquity: Aristoxenus on Rhythm,» Filosofiya nauki [Philosophy of Science] 2(65), 2015, 99-118 (in Russian).
2016
«Praxagoras and his school», Intellectual traditions of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Issue 3, ed. by M. Petrova. Moscow (in Russian).
«Pythagorean numerology and Diophantus» Arithmetica (A note on Hippolytus» Elenchos I 2)», Pythagorean knowledge from the Ancient to the modern world, ed. by A.-B. Renger, A. Stavru. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, p. 347-360 (in English).
2017
«Dicaearchus» Biography of philosophy,» ΣΧΟΛΗ 11.1 (2017) 271–282 (in Russian)
«The «relics» of the past. Aristotle – the historian of philosophy,» ΣΧΟΛΗ 11.2 (2017) 570–607 (in Russian)
Afonasin E. «Aristotle and Theophrastus on theoretical and methodological foundations of meteorology,» in The legacies of Aristotle as constitutive element of European rationality. Ed. by V. Petroff. Moscow, p. 249-261 (in English).
«Ancient philosophers of nature on tides and currents,» Philosophy and Cosmology 19, 155-167 (in Russian).
«Neoplatonic Asclepius: Science and religion at the crossroads of Aristotelian biology, Hippocratic medicine and Platonic theurgy,» Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 23(2), 335–351 (in English).
Encyclopedia, Textbooks and Dictionary Articles (selected)
Textbooks
Ancient skepticism. An anthology. Novosibirsk, 2012 (in Russian)
Latin for law students. Novosibirsk, 2014 (in Russian)
Roman Law: a casebook. Novosibirsk, 2014 (in Russian)
Latin for philosophers. Novosibirsk, 2015 (in Russian)
Articles
Articles ‘Aristobulus’, ‘Archedemus’, ‘Carmen aureum’, ‘Philo of Alexandria’, ‘Apollonius of Tyana’ for New Philosophic Encyclopedia in four vols. Moscow, Mysl’, 2002 (in Russian)
A series of articles on Gnosticism for New Encyclopedic Dictionary in ten vols. Moscow, 2004-. (in Russian)
Articles «Alexander Polyhistor», «Apollonius of Tyana», ‘Carmen aureum’ for Ancient Philosophy. An Encyclopedia. Moscow, Progress, 2007 (in Russian).
Reviews (selected)
In Bryn Mawr Classical Review (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/)
2003
Cerrato, J.A., Hippolytus between East and West. The Commentaries and the Provenance of the Corpus. Oxford Theological Monographs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
2004
Pradeau, Jean-François, L’imitation du principe. Plotin et la participation. Histoire des doctrines de l’antiquité classique, XXX. Paris: Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, 2003.
2004
Brisson, Luc, Pradeau, Jean-François, Plotin. Traités. Vol. 1: Traités 1-6. Vol. 2: Traités 7-21. Vol. 3: Traités 22-26. Plotin. Vol. 4. Traités 27-29. Paris: Éditions Flammarion, 2002-2005. (In collaboration with Igor Berestov).
2005
SNS-Greek & Latin 1.0 for Windows (a software for consulting the data banks TLG E, PHI #5.3 and PHI #7). User’s Guide by Antonella Russo and Anna Santoni. Pisa: Scuola Normale Superiore, 2004.
2005
Randall Lesaffer, Peace Treaties and International Law in European History. From the Late Middle Ages to World War One. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
2006
Manchester, Peter, The Syntax of Time. The Phenomenology of Time in Greek Physics and Speculative Logic from Iamblichus to Anaximander. Studies in Platonism, Neoplatonism, and the Platonic Tradition, 2. Leiden: Brill, 2005.
2007
Ramelli, Ilaria (ed.), Corpus Hermeticum. Edizione e commento di A.D. Nock e A.-J. Festugière. Edizione dei testi ermetici copti e commento di I. Ramelli. Testo greco, latino e copto a fronte. Bompiani il pensiero occidentale. Milano: Bompiani, 2005.
2008
Reviel Netz, William Noel, Der Kodex des Archimedes. Das Berühmteste Palimpsest der Welt wird entschlüsselt. München: C.H. Beck, 2007.
2009
Laks A. (2008) Diogène d»Apollonie. Edition, traduction et commentaire des fragments et témoignages (Sankt Augustin)
2013
Luc Brisson, Gwenaëlle Aubry, Marie-Hélène Congourdeau, Françoise Hudry, et al (ed.), Porphyre. Sur la manière dont l’embryon reçoit l’âme. Histoire des doctrines de l’antiquité classique, 43. Paris: Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, 2012.
2014
Wear S. K. The Teachings of Syrianus on Plato»s Timaeus and Parmenides. (Studies in Platonism, Neoplatonism, and the Platonic Tradition 10.) Pp. xiv + 353. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2011. The Classical Review 64.1 (2014) 103–105. DOI 10.1017/S0009840X13002539
Conferences, Workshops, Schools, etc.
2015–2017 Aristotelian Tradition. International Seminars, organized by the Centre for Ancient Philosophy and the Classical Tradition, Novosibirsk, Institute of History, Moscow, and Institute of Philosophy, Moscow, Sechenov Medical University, Moscow, supported by the Russian Scientific Foundation. The director: Eugene Afonasin
The first seminar: Moscow October 29 – November 25, 2015
International conference: Moscow, October 17-19, 2016
The Second seminar: Novosibirsk, September 4-8, 2017
2007–2013 Teaching Classics. Fundamental Values in the Changing World, and Tekhne. Theoretical foundations of Arts, Sciences and Technology in the Greco-Roman World. International Seminars, organized by the Centre for Ancient Philosophy and the Classical Tradition, Novosibirsk, supported by the Open Society Institute (Budapest). The director: Eugene Afonasin
- 2013, June, Invited speakers: Michael Chase (Paris), Thomas Robinson (The University Toronto), Teun Tieleman (Utrecht), Dominic O»Meara (Fribourg, Switzerland), Lilian Karali (Athens).
- 2012, May, Invited speakers: Michael Chase (Paris), David Konstan (Brown University), Teun Tieleman (Utrecht).
- 2011, August, Invited speakers: Leonid Zhmud» (St. Petersburg), Andrey Rodin (Paris).
- 2011, May, Invited speakers: Michael Chase (Paris), Teun Tieleman (Utrecht).
- 2010, August, Invited speakers: Leonid Zhmud» (St. Petersburg), Andrey Rodin (Paris), Alexander Podossinov (Moscow).
- 2010, May, Invited speaker: Luc Brisson (Paris).
- 2009, August Invited speakers: Leonid Zhmud» (St. Petersburg), David Konstan (Brown University), Lilian Karali (Athens).
- 2009, May, Invited speaker: Luc Brisson (Paris).
- 2008, August Invited speakers: John Dillon (Dublin), Dominic O»Meara (Fribourg, Switzerland), Mostafa Younesie (Teheran), Lilian Karali (Athens).
- 2008, January Invited speakers: John Rist (Cambridge), Teun Tieleman (Utrecht).
- 2007, August, Invited speakers: John Dillon (Dublin), Leonidas Bargeliotes (Athens), Mostafa Younesie (Teheran).
Lectures by Eugene Afonasin: (2007–2008) New methods in Classical Studies: TLG and other resources; (2007) Gnosticism; (2008) The Neopythagoreans. Science and religion in Late Antiquity; (2009) The Derveni Papyrus (2009) Diogenes of Apollonia; (2010) Socrates in the Agora, (2012) Ancient music. Theophrastus on Music.
2009, March, Iamblichus. His Sources and Influence. An International Seminar, organized by the Centre for Ancient Philosophy and the Classical Tradition (Novosibirsk) and hosted by the Irish Institute of Hellenic Studies at Athens. Participants included John Dillon, John Finamore, Polymnia Athanassiadi, Spyridon Rangos, Leonidas Bargeliotes, Elias Tempelis, etc. Presentation by Eugene Afonasin: Houses of the philosophical schools at Athens. A study and a site visit.
2007, May, Rethinking Dodds. Rationalism and irrationalism in Ancient Philosophical Tradition, Institute of philosophy and sciences of Russian Academy of Sciences, organized by the Centre for Ancient Philosophy and the Classical Tradition, Novosibirsk.