Abstract

This article is dedicated to the reception of Alexander of Aphrodisias’ treatise On fate in the 16th and 17th century, as a part of the Renaissance‘ return” to the ancient literature and philosophy. Despite of several editions and Latin translations , Alexander’s work was generally rejected by representatives of university philosophy as theoretically in adequate. The article refers the case of P. Pomponazzi, G. Cardano and S. Porzio and shows the reasons of their negative attitude towards Alexander’s theories of contingency and „free will”. No ne the less the On fate lived a second life outside universities and outside peripatetic philosophy, as it had a noteworthy success among the humanists, especially among those who were engaged in – confessional and religious polemics