Paul Seligman
| Paul Seligman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1903 Bingen am Rhein, Germany |
| 💀Died | March 2, 1985 Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaMarch 2, 1985 |
| 💼 Occupation | Scholar, Teacher |
Paul Seligman was a teacher and scholar born in 1903 in Bingen am Rhein, Germany.[1]
He left Germany in 1936 to study philosophy in Birkbeck, University of London, finishing his Ph. D. degree in 1956. Later in life he travelled to Waterloo, Ontario in 1963 where he became a teacher in philosophy and was awarded the title of Distinguished Professors Emeriti in 1974.[2] The next year, he retired after having created his two main works.[3]
Throughout his last days of life, he was part of the C. G. Jung foundation in the Toronto Branch, becoming the first president of said foundation[4].
After a battle with disease, Paul Seligman dies in Toronto the 2nd of March 1985, receiving an In Memoriam by the University of Cambridge[5], which gives insight on Seligman's life.
Nowdays, Waterloo University offers a scholarship to his name[6]. He was also a usual publisher in Cambridge University Press' Dialogue, where some of his work can still be found[7]
His most important works include "The Apeiron of Anaximander: A Study in the Origin and Function of Metaphysical Ideas", and "Being and Not-Being: An introduction to Plato's Sophist".
Most of his remaining work shows a clear interest in Ancient Greek philosophy and metaphysics, especially Anaximander and Plato, alongside the work of Baruch Spinoza.[8]
The Apeiron of Anaximander
The thesis turned book is a recollection and interpretation of the accounts and commentaries of The Apeiron(/əˈpaɪˌrɒn/[9]; ἄπειρον) and the Adikia (ᾰ̓δῐκῐ́ᾱ) doctrine [citation needed] by philosophers including Aristotle and Theophrastus, Simplicius of Cilicia, amongst others.
Printed and published by the Athlone Press of the University of London in 1962, Seligman intended to reshape the understanding contemporary scholars had of the Apeiron and the Adikia by separating the concepts and attempting an understanding of the philosophical value in regards to metaphysics[10], and to uncover disregarded aspects of Anaximander's thought and works[11].
The 15 chapters go into as much detail as possible to speculate and try to understand what could have been Anaximander's thoughts, theories, wording, capabilities, and doctrines, by comparing accounts, references, theories, reckonings, and comparing this information with factual data from the era. The last two focus especially in the use of metaphysics and philosophy and their importance.
The book also serves as a mild critique to Aristotle's way of work, despite his understanding of the importance of Aristotle in the shaping of what we know about Anaximander[12].
References
- ↑ "Dr. Paul Seligman lectured at Brock". St. Catharines Standard. 6 March 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 15 November 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Distinguished Professors Emeriti Granted - Alphabetical Order | Secretariat | University of Waterloo". uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
- ↑ Kessel, John (8 May 1975). "Professor, 71, started late". Waterloo Region Record. p. 4. Retrieved 15 November 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Jung Ontario - Our history". OAJA. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
- ↑ "Announcements/Chronique". Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review / Revue canadienne de philosophie. 24 (1): 192. April 1985. doi:10.1017/S0012217300046217. ISSN 1759-0949.
- ↑ "Paul Seligman Memorial Scholarship | Current Graduate Students | University of Waterloo". uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
- ↑ "Search". Cambridge Core. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
- ↑ "Works by Paul Seligman". philpapers.org. Retrieved 15/11/2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Definition of APEIRON". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
- ↑ Kerferd, G. B. (December 1963). "A Metaphysical Anaximander - Paul Seligman: The Apeiron of Anaximander. A study in the Origin Function of Metaphysical Ideas. Pp. x+181. London: Athlone Press, 1962. Cloth, 42s. net". The Classical Review. 13 (3): 275–277. doi:10.1017/S0009840X00217083. ISSN 1464-3561.
- ↑ Southgate, Patricia; Seligman, Paul (July 1965). "The 'Apeiron' of Anaximander: A Study in the Origin and Function of Metaphysical Ideas". The Philosophical Quarterly. 15 (60): 263. doi:10.2307/2217605. JSTOR 2217605.
- ↑ Ilting, Karl-Heinz (1963). "Review of The 'Apeiron' of Anaximander. A Study in the Origin and Function of Metaphysical Ideas". Gnomon (in German). 35 (5): 455–459. ISSN 0017-1417. JSTOR 27683150.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
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