Peripatetic Dialectic in the De sensibus

The De sensibus ¹ , traditionally attributed to Theophrastus and printed by Hermann Diels ² as a fragment of the lost (so-called) Physikōn doxai, is interesting in itself for two reasons: first, it contains unique and extensive information on the views of the Presocratics concerning sense perception; second, the structure and argument it exhibits are in many respects noteworthy and intriguing. Needless to say, the first aspect received considerable attention in the scholarly literature on the Presocratics. The structure and nature of Theophrastus’ presentation and polemical argumentation as a whole, however, have not yet been the subject of a detailed scholarly investigation. ³