Harmonia in Philoponus' Commentary on Nicomachus' Introduction to Arithmetic

And we are far beyond mere exegesis also with Philoponus’ discussion of music, as Giovanna R. Giardina shows in the last chapter of this book. Of course, the idea that the universe, its soul, and human souls have a numerical structure stems directly from the Timaeus, but this idea is only a starting point – albeit a crucial one – for Philoponus’ discussion. Focusing on the remarks on harmonics to be found in Philoponus’ Commentary on Nicomachus’ Introduction to Arithmetic, Giardina conducts a detailed investigation of the different meanings of Philoponus’ references to harmonics, with the aim of demonstrating that all these connotations contribute to shaping a conception of the world in which harmonics as a mathematical science can lead men to grasp both divine and absolutely immaterial entities and the revolutions regulating the heavens.