Abstract

This paper aims to show that, despite the lapidary judgment of some scholars in recent decades regarding the philosophical interest of the Byzantine Michael of Ephesus, it is possible to find relevant aspects in his readings and interpretations of Aristotle. I will argue that Michael's commentary on De motu animalium deserves to be treated seriously. In so far as Michael sometimes employs a Stoic conceptual model to account for Aristotle, he posits a new view of understanding the Aristotelian theory of action. Michael's interpretations of the Aristotelian text are not mere repetitions; in some passages, one notices some developments beyond Aristotle, even though they presuppose quite clear Aristotelian premises.