Aristotle’s De Anima (On soul)

Aristotle’s De Anima (On soul)

David Bolotin
Role: Translator
Written by a tutor of 38 years at St. John’s College.

David Bolotin’s translation of Aristotle’s De Anima, or On Soul, aims above all at fidelity to the Greek. Since Bolotin considers Aristotle to be a teacher, one who knows far more than we do about the matters he discusses, he has made a scrupulous effort to examine the manuscript tradition. And he has relied only on readings that are well-attested in the oldest manuscripts, rather than accepting conjectural emendations of modern editors, who all too often substitute a Greek text that is easy to understand for any of those that have come down to us from the ancient copyists. The translation itself is supplemented with footnotes, some of which, when taken together, sketch the outline of an overall interpretation of the work.