Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy Volume XXXVIII 2023

This volume, the 38th year of published proceedings, contains four papers and commentaries presented to the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy during 2023. Topics: Theophrastus's interpretation of De Anima III 5 defended against the traditional readings; a new interpretation of Empedocles' cosmology, aiming to deflect Aristotle's criticism; analysis of the role of Adeimantus in Plato's Republic, arguing that he is responsible for the turn to politics in the dialogue; explication of Metaphysics Epsilon, in which Aristotle argues for the necessity of a first philosophy beyond physics. The commentators subject each paper to critical review, and they support, challenge, or reject what they find.