ON GALEN’S THEORY OF VISION

There is a fairly standard interpretation of Galen’s philosophical stance, according to which Galen is an eclectic, in the sense that he does not commit himself to the entirety of the doctrines of a particular philosopher or of a particular philosophical school. He rather selects from different philosophical theories different elements which seem fitting to him and which he combines in such a way as to produce a coherent philosophical position. More specifically, it has reasonably been argued that Galen’s philosophical views are, in general, along Platonist lines, but his indebtedness to Aristotle and to the Stoics is also clear. For Galen integrates into his theories many Aristotelian doctrines, while at the same time he makes abundant use of Stoic theses, even though he often refers to the Stoics in a critical manner. Galen’s theory of vision confirms such an overall account of his philosophical position. That is to say, there is no indication in this particular area of the Galenic corpus which could suggest that Galen is a devoted adherent of one or another of the various theories of vision presented in antiquity by his predecessors. Nevertheless, it is still quite intriguing to study the amalgam which Galen himself produces for two reasons: a) in order to understand why he selects the specific elements which he brings together from the previous theories of vision; and