Self-knowledge and self-reversion of the irrational soul in ‘Simplicius’, Commentary on On the soul

The subject of this paper is the theory of self-knowledge in the commentary on Aristotle’s On the Soul that was written by a pupil of Damascius and is traditionally attributed to Simplicius. The commentator thinks that in human beings reason permeates the irrational faculties of sense and desire, making them capable of reverting to themselves and knowing their own acts. This sets this commentator apart from most Neoplatonists—including Damascius, who ascribed all forms of self-awareness to the faculty of prosektikon/syneidos.