Whether AnimalsHave Reason (De animalibus)
Like the previous treatises, this work has been transmitted in Armenian. It
again reflects a discourse between Alexander and Philo, but a third person
is also involved, Lysimachus, a nephew of Alexander. In the first part of the
work Alexander argues for the rationality of animals; the second part car-
ries Philo’s refutation. It again shows that Philo is heavily indebted to Stoic
and Platonic points of view. He draws on Stoicism to prove the distance
between humans and animals. An elaborate scheme of all existence lies in
the background: divisions exist between corporeal and incorporeal, ani-
mate and inanimate, rational and irrational, mortals and divine beings,
and ultimately between male and female. The discourse is, however, less
about animals than about humans in their relationship with other beings.
The divide between man and all other beings is the ability to reason. In his
closing arguments Philo maintains that it would be unjust to grant equal-
ity to unequal entities. Philo considers it an insult to treat those endowed
with reason in the same way as irrational creatures. In spite of Philo’s pre-
occupation with human superiority, the treatise provides a wealth of in-
formation for zoological and botanical studies of early imperial times.Apologetic Treatises
Philo appears to have written at least eight treatises that are generally con-
sidered to be apologetic. Unfortunately, only three of these and fragments
of a fourth are preserved. As with the three commentary series(Questions
and Answers on Genesis and Exodus,theAllegorical Commentary,and the
Exposition of the Law),Philo did not conceive of these treatises as a single
unit. While he grouped some of them into larger units, the category of
apologetic treatises is a modern construct. Scholars apply it to these trea-
tises because they situate Judaism in the Roman Empire. In some cases the
treatises are direct responses to criticisms; in other cases, the works cham-
pion Jewish values in the context of the larger world. The implied audiences
are non-Jewish, although this would not exclude Jewish readers from using
them in their attempts to situate themselves in a Greco-Roman context.277
PhiloEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:04:08 PM