Porphyry
ancientNeoplatonism234 – 305
Porphyry of Tyre (c. 234–305 CE) was a Neoplatonist philosopher and student of Plotinus who edited and published the Enneads, preserving the central texts of Neoplatonic thought for posterity. He is best known for the Isagoge, an introduction to Aristotle's Categories that became a foundational text in medieval logic and scholastic philosophy. He also wrote extensively on religion, vegetarianism, and biography, including a Life of Plotinus and a Life of Pythagoras.
Notable Achievements
1
Authored the Isagoge, introducing the problem of universals that dominated medieval philosophy
2
Edited and organized Plotinus's Enneads, transmitting Neoplatonism to later antiquity and the Middle Ages
3
Wrote Against the Christians, one of the most systematic ancient critiques of Christian scripture
4
Developed a synthesis of Platonic and Aristotelian logic that shaped scholastic method
5
Wrote On Abstinence from Animal Food, an early philosophical defense of vegetarianism