Aesara of Lucania ( ''Aisara'') (''fl.'' 400BC - 300BC) was a conjectured

Pythagorean Pythagorean, meaning of or pertaining to the ancient Ionian mathematician, philosopher, and music theorist Pythagoras, may refer to: Philosophy * Pythagoreanism, the esoteric and metaphysical beliefs purported to have been held by Pythagoras * Ne ...

philosopher who may have written ''On Human Nature'', a fragment of which is preserved by

Stobaeus Joannes Stobaeus (; ; 5th-century AD), from Stobi in Macedonia (Roman province), Macedonia, was the compiler of a valuable series of extracts from Greek authors. The work was originally divided into two volumes containing two books each. The tw ...

, although the majority of critical scholars follow Holger Thesleff in attributing it to Aresas, a male writer from Lucania who is also mentioned by

Iamblichus Iamblichus ( ; ; ; ) was a Neoplatonist philosopher who determined a direction later taken by Neoplatonism. Iamblichus was also the biographer of the Greek mystic, philosopher, and mathematician Pythagoras. In addition to his philosophical co ...

in his ''Life of Pythagoras''.

''On Human Nature''

The full text of Aesara's exposition of the On Human Nature is:

Human nature seems to me to provide a standard of law and justice both for the home and for the city. By following the tracks within himself whoever seeks will make a discovery: law is in him and justice, which is the orderly arrangement of the soul. Being threefold, it is organized in accordance with triple functions: that which effects thoughtfulness is he mind that which effects strength and ability is igh spirit and all that effects love and kindliness is desire. These are all so disposed relatively to one another, that the best part is in command, the most inferior is governed, and the one in between holds a middle place; it both governs and is governed.A History of Women Philosophers: Volume I: Ancient Women Philosophers, 600 B.C.-500 A.D.. (1987). Netherlands: Springer Netherlands.

The writing asserts that the soul had three parts: the mind, the spirit, and desire. These three forces work in harmony, interacting in different ways for the achievement of different tasks.

Notes

Pythagoreans Ancient Greek women philosophers Ancient Greek women writers Doric Greek writers Lucanian Greeks People from Basilicata Pythagoreans of Magna Graecia Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 4th-century BC Greek philosophers {{AncientGreece-philosopher-stub