Ólafur Haukur Árnason

Summary of doctoral thesis: The thesis' main goal is to provide an analysis of the extant fragments of the Liber de philosophia by Roman author Marcus Terentius Varro (1st century BC) and a reconstruction of the work to the degree possible. De philosophia is only known from Augustine's Book 19 of De civitate Dei, where it is described, quoted, and discussed. Both the analytical discussion and the tentative reconstruction have two principal aims: (1) a philological aim: to account for and reconstruct the textual contents of Varro's literary work to the degree possible, as well as its organisation or form; and (2) a philosophical aim: to account for the work's concepts, terminology, and doctrine from a historical perspective. I pursue those aims by combining two complementary approaches, the methods of textual criticism and philology on the one hand, and those of history of philosophy on the other. Since the ethical theory presented in De philosophia is clearly underpinned by some doctrine of psychology and motivation, the thesis' first main part is a thorough analysis of such themes in Varro's other preserved writings. The second part consists of the analysis proper of the fragments and a tentative reconstruction of the work.

Other research interests: Classical philology, medieval studies, Old Norse, patristics, codicology, palaeography.