Body and Soul in Ancient Philosophy

Preface
This volume contains a collection of papers presented at the Second International
Conference of the Gesellschaft für antike Philosophie e.V.
(GANPH) at the University of Hamburg from 18 to 21 July 2007.
The relationship between the body and soul was chosen as the theme
for this conference because this issue was a key topic in the debates
among philosophers from the Archaic period to the beginnings of
early Christianity, and has not ceased to be of interest since antiquity.
In recent decades, however, discussion of the so-called mind-body
problem has intensified enormously due to the rapid progress of the
neurosciences, which has led to a more differentiated understanding
of the connections and relationship between physiological and cognitive
processes. The question of the unity or duality of mind and brain has
therefore become one of the most controversial topics within and between
the fields of philosophy, psychology, neurophysiology, and related
disciplines. Even if the philosophers in antiquity had no conception
of the complex processes underlying neurophysiology, they did anticipate
key questions that are still at the center of attention nowadays.
The conference was made possible thanks to the financial contributions
of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the University of Hamburg,
the ZEIT-Stiftung, and of the Hamburgische Stiftung für Wissenschaften,
Entwicklung und Kultur Helmut und Hannelore Greve. The
staff of the office of the Gesellschaft für antike Philosophie provided organizational
and planning assistance in preparing for the conference.
The fact that the conference itself progressed not only without a
break-down, but also to the participants’ expressed satisfaction, is due
to the careful planning and supervision of Dr. Burkhard Reis at all
stages, and also to the initiative and untiring support provided by the
conference assistants on the spot. Profound thanks are extended to all
organisations and persons who contributed to the success of the conference,
not least to the speakers and to the faithful and attentive audience.
Regrettably, due to page limitations, not all of the presentations delivered
at the conference could be included in this volume. The necessary
limitations did not permit the inclusion of contributions by the fifteen
younger scholars who were selected as speakers via a ‘call for papers’.
Since the omitted presentations constituted valuable additions to