Neoplatonic Research Articles

Caducitas and Śūnyatā: A Neoplatonist Reading of Nāgārjuna

In this paper I am addressing the question whether Nāgārjuna’s doctrine should be understood as a theory that describes reality itself (ontology) or as a theory of our relation to reality (epistemological, logical, psychological, etc.). To answer this question, I propose to compare Nāgārjuna’s concept of emptiness to that of ‘caducity’, a key element in the ontology of Renaissance Neoplatonist philosopher Francisco Patrizi. By showing that these concepts are similar, I argue that Nāgārjuna’s standpoint can be considered as that of ontology.

Three Instances of the Good in Proclus

Abstract Plato’s Philebus famously combines a deliberation on the virtuous life as a balancing act between prudence and pleasure with a theory of the composition of mixtures from limit and limitedness. The latter aspect of the dialogue is used by the Neoplatonic philosopher Proclus as a basis for his own metaphysical analysis of the ultimate first principle, the One, and the manner in which it produces all things which exist. Multiple scholarly analyses have been provided of Proclus’ use of the Phileban theory of limit and the unlimited for his description of the first principle’s creation process. However, this paper shows that Proclus reads the Philebus not merely for its discussion of limit and unlimited, but also for its description of the good life. After all, the Neoplatonic One is also the Good from Plato’s Republic. In Phil. 20d1–11, Socrates suggest that the good is perfect, sufficient, and desirable. Proclus’ Commentary on the Republic and Platonic Theology reveal that these three aspects of the good provide Proclus with a framework to describe the Neoplatonic first principle qua Good. In Proclus’ view, the three Phileban concepts constitute the base elements of the good which reappear in all of its manifestations, and thus link the good in us to the transcendent and unqualified Good: the desirable element represents the good’s singularity and its position as the centre around which all beings circle; the sufficient element represents the non-reciprocal bestowal of existence and generative power by any form of the good upon its participants; lastly, the perfect element reverts all creatures to the good in which they participate, even when not all genera of beings in the Neoplatonic universe are equally capable of such participation. Furthermore, Proclus uses the description of the good life as not merely intellectual from the Philebus to fortify his arguments in disagreements with other Neoplatonic commentators regarding the transcendence of the Good over the intelligible principles, and conversely employs the Neoplatonic definition of the first principle to affirm the ethics of the Platonic dialogue. Thus, although Proclus’ primary goal in reading the Philebus is to obtain knowledge of the ultimate first principle, Socrates’ analysis of the virtuous life in the dialogue is just as important for his purposes as the theory of mixtures.

Хрестоматия по грамматике Прокла: фрагменты (перевод и комментарии)

The publication presents a commented Russian translation of Proclus’ fragments associated with his Abridged Grammatical Chrestomathy (Πρόκλου χρηστομαθείας γραμματικῆς ἐκλογαί), which has been preserved as an epitome in the Bibliotheca of Patriarch Photius (c. 810/820–893). These fragments contain a biography of Homerus (Vita Homeri) along with six summaries of the poems included in the so-called Epic Cycle, comprising the following titles: Cypria, Ethiopis, The Little Iliad, The Sack of Ilion, The Returns, and Telegony. In the past, all these texts were ascribed to the renowned Neoplatonist philosopher Proclus Lycius (412–485), known not only by his commentaries on several of Plato’s dialogues, but by his purely philological works as well, for example his scholia to Hesiod’s Opera et dies, not to mention his own poetical compositions, the philosophically biased mythological hymns. Even today, a number of scholars are still inclined to support this attribution, though it appears that it was most likely written by an otherwise unknown philosopher’s namesake, to wit a grammarian from the Alexandrian school, who lived in the first half of the 2th century ad. The translation is based on the most recent edition of the text of the fragments prepared by Martin L. West (2003a and 2003b), who supplements Proclus’ summaries of the poems belonging to the Epic Cycle with some passages from Apollodorus’ Mythological Library and suggests, moreover, quite a number of apt conjectures compared with the textus receptus of Proclus’ fragments collated from the manuscripts by Albert Severyns, whose own edition (1963) has not as yet lost its relevance.

“People in Dark Times”: Damaskius on Political Persecution and the Philosophical Way of Life

The Neoplatonic philosophers developed a complicated and quite ingenious concept of the grades of virtue, starting with such common human virtues, as the natural, ethical and political, and finishing which those attainable only by the real seekers of the highest truth, such as the purificatory, contemplative, paradigmatic, and hieratic. In the paper I trace the evolution of the Neoplatonic grades of virtue by means of the select passages from Damascius’ “Philosophical History,” which deal specifically with the character of Damascius’ revered teacher. The life of Isidore is presented by his student as an ascent along the path of Neoplatonic perfection, moreover, by chance or not, but in the surviving fragments of this work, which tells about many remarkable philosophers and theurgists, it is Isidore who ultimately attains the last seventh degree of virtue. Possessing outstanding personal qualities and even the gift of the seer, he was a teacher of the Socratic type, most eager to help students achieve the purificatory virtues that alone determine the further path of philosophical perfection. The position of Damascius and his attitude to the philosophical way of life is further illustrated by a series of lively portraits of Athenian and Alexandrian philosophers of his time.

Аргумент Севира Антиохийского об абсурдности исповедания двух природ во Христе и понятие «частная природа» в структуре «Арбитра» Иоанна Филопона: богословие и методология школьной неоплатонической философии в VI веке. Часть 1

The article considers the place of the famous argument of Severus of Antioch on the absurdity of confessing two common natures in Christ in the structure of the "Arbiter" by John Philoponus. In compliance with the general formula of this argument, the confession of two natures in Christ, taken as common natures of deity and humanity, necessarily entails agreeing that the incarnation of Christ signifies the incarnation of the whole Trinity in the whole humankind, namely, the incarnation of all the hypostases of the Trinity in each human being. John Philoponus supplements it with the distinction of common and particular natures: the common essence of deity, as represented by the aggregate of particular natures (Father, Son=Word, Saint Spirit), being incarnated in Christ, would lead to the incarnation of the mentioned particular natures in the common essence of humanity, i. e. in the aggregate of all whenever lived, living now and still not come into being people. In the article, a detailed analysis is given of the functional mode of Severus’ argument and of the concept of “particular nature” in the philosophical writings of John Philoponus, as well as that of the sense and the mechanism of transmission of this concept to the theological context of his substantiation of the Monophysite Triadology and Christology. On the grounds of scrutinizing these issues, the dependence is exposed of the procedures of substantiation of theological problems, applied in the “Arbiter”, on the methodology of school Neoplatonic philosophy.

Nature and the supernatural: the hereditary allegiance of the Emperor Julian to Helios

ABSTRACT: The Emperor Julian and Heliodorus, the author of the Aethiopica , both claimed descent from Helios, the supreme god of Neoplatonic philosophy in Late Antiquity, to whom many of Julian's ancestors, most notably Constantius Chlorus, also professed devotion. In his Hymn to King Helios , the emperor claimed to have private proofs of this that he did not wish to make public, but which appear to have had nothing to do with the taboo on divulging the mysteries of Mithras. There is a wide range of suggestive evidence in the historical record, from the hostile post-mortem testimony of Gregory of Nazianzus, to the anonymous slurs of the people of Antioch, the adulation of his own uneducated troops, and the coinage issued during his reign, that points to some genetic abnormality in his physical nature, most probably a form of albinism (an unknown condition at the time), which the emperor took as proof of the supernatural guidance of Helios in his life.

Philosophical renovation in the 3rd century: The polemical component of Porphyry’s Vita Plotini in relation to Gregory of Neocaesaria’s Oratio Panegyrica

This paper offers an analysis of similar and parallel developing projects of creating a true philosophy by the disciples and followers of Origen and Plotinus. Two texts permeated by the eulogy of the scholarch are analysed: Gregory the Wonderworker’s The Address of Thanksgiving to Origen and the Life of Plotinus by Porphyry. Gregory was a student of Origen, while Porphyry attended his school long enough to become familiar with the doctrine, teaching methods and personality of the scholarch. The author establishes the structural, thematic and lexical similarity of both texts. The text by Gregory the Wonderworker, chronologically earlier, was a pushing away point for Porphyry in creating an image of the ideal scholarch in the person of Plotinus. This is confirmed by the structural and lexical contrast in the portrayal of Plotinus in Vita Plotini and Origen in the passage preserved by Proclus (Procl. In Tim. I.63. 29–33). In particular, the negative image of Origen in Vita Plotini 13. 10–17 is echoed by the figure of Thaumasius, dissatisfied with the protracted dispute between Plotinus and Porphyry, which rarely draws the scholars’ attention. Nowhere else mentioned, Thaumasius appears as a marginal figure: either he himself was interested in general statements and wanted to hear Plotinus speaking in the manner of a set treatise (trans. Armstrong), or he wanted Plotinus to “faire une conférence suivie et propre à être écrite” (trans. Bréhier). The author hypothesises that it is not a proper name but a nickname. The author suggests that Thaumasius is not an accidental participant in a specific episode of the Neoplatonists’ school life but the philosophical rival of the Neoplatonists, theologian Origen, ironically presented in an unattractive manner. Thus, the deliberately constructed episode with Plotinus and Thaumasius is a polemical jab at Origen’s followers, who put forward a programme of philosophical renovation alternative to the Platonic, and the very depiction of Plotinus as a ‘divine man’ (θεῖος ἀνήρ) responds to the image of Origen painted by his followers. The supposed allusions in Vita Plotini 13. 5–17 testify to the openness of the Roman Neoplatonic school to the already-formed Christian version of philosophy. For this reason, Porphyry chose to portray a situation in which Plotinus showed attention and patience in interpreting difficult philosophical questions for three days. In contrast, Origen, in a similar situation, showed impatience and irritability.

Жанровые особенности Vita Plotini: на кого равнялся Порфирий

The article presents the analysis of genre dominants of "The Life of Plotinus" by Porphyry and analyses the polemical sources of the text. Having established the lack of research on the genre of the text in the modern bibliography, the author places the Life of Plotinus into the range of the late antique biographies, and determines the main characteristics of the analyzed text. The title of the text indicates Porphyry's dual purpose: to introduce the reader to the personality of Plotinus, whom Porphyry deliberately presents as theios aner, and also to present Plotinus' 54 treatises within the coherent system of the Enneads. The dual task is also reflected in the structure of the Life. Reconstructing the image of Porphyry in the text, the author of the article highlights the techniques that create the image of the author of Plotinus' Life. Emphasizing his own place in the hierarchy of the school is caused by the polemic both within the Neoplatonic school (with the earlier edition of Plotinus' treatises by Amelius; this is shown through the analysis of the introduction of the Life of Plotinus) and outside it. The author establishes the pragmatics of the key episodes of the text and shows that the text is built around a constructed hierarchy of testimonies: from the fellow student, Amelius, to the Oracle of Apollo. By highlighting the essential attributes of the hero of the biography, the author illustrates the dynamism of Porphyry's conception: Vita Plotini is not only an introduction to the edition, but also a didactic text, depicting a contemporary who has achieved the goal of human life. In the final part of the article, the author analyses the approaches to the identification of the opponents of Porphyry in the literature and sets forth his own hypothesis: the text was created in opposition to the school of Origen and to the image of the scholarch, which was drawn by Gregory the Wonderworker and Eusebius of Caesarea. The hypothesis of Porphyry's response to the Christian texts is grounded by the new lexical similarities with Origen.

Divine Simplicity and The Myth of Modal Collapse

This paper responds to the modal collapse argument against divine simplicity or classical theism offered by neo-classical or complex theists. The modal collapse argument claims that if God is both absolutely simple and absolutely necessary, then God’s act of creation is absolutely necessary, and therefore, the existence of the created world is also absolutely necessary. This means that God and His creation collapse into a single modal category of absolute necessity without any contingent beings. My response is grounded in the Islamic Neoplatonic philosophy of Ibn Sina and the Ismaili tradition. I offer four arguments that allow a Muslim Neoplatonist to absorb a modal collapse in a possible worlds modality while negating modal collapse within an Avicennian modality: First, the modal collapse objection is based on a possible worlds framework whose concept of necessity is overly broad; this framework fails to distinguish between God as ontologically necessary in Himself, created being as dependently necessary through another, and mere logical necessity, all of which are recognized by Ibn Sina and Islamic thinkers. Second, modal collapse arguments only demonstrate that creation is necessary through another but fails to prove that creation has ontological necessity or aseity––which only pertains to God; thus, no consequential modal collapse ensues when one’s modality recognizes creation as a “dependent necessary being” despite being modally necessary. Third, Islamic philosophers have a non- libertarian concept of God’s will and freedom that is immune to modal collapse objections. Finally, I argue that all classical and neo-classical theists must embrace a modally necessary creation because libertarian models of God’s will entail uncaused and brutely contingent effects.

The Body among Neoplatonists and Christians at the End of the Fourth Century: Synesius of Cyrene’s and Eunapius of Sardis’ Perspective

This brief study addresses the controversial issue of the relationship with the body, with the flesh, on the part of pagan and Christian thinkers at a particularly important point in their evolution, in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, a time in which Neoplatonic thinkers had to defend their doctrinal positions against the increasingly hegemonic position of the triumphant Christianity. In this sense, it is particularly interesting to approach the perspective of two authors who are not strictly speaking philosophers: in particular, Synesius of Cyrene, a thinker in the Neoplatonic tradition who became a Christian bishop, complemented also by some interesting reflections by Eunapius of Sardis, historian and biographer of Neoplatonic philosophers. In the light of this analysis, it becomes clear that the discussion on the value of the body and carnality is an essential point of doctrinal discrepancy in this period and, contrary to what sometimes appears, the discrepancy also pertains to the formation of the intellectual, and Christianity clearly appears as a doctrine obsessed with the flesh to the detriment of the soul.

L’Illustre philosophe de la sœur de La Chapelle (1663): sainte Catherine ou Hypatie?

L’Illustre philosophe by Sœur de La Chapelle (1663): Saint Catherine or Hypatia? The paper focuses on one of the five tragedies that were dedicated in the 17th century to the character of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, martyred around 307. Some modern scholars dispute the existence of the saint and suggest that her legend was based on the life and murder of Hypatia, a Neoplatonist philosopher from Alexandria, who was massacred by Christians in 415. The author of the article proposes to demonstrate that in the tragedy L’Illustre philosophe the resemblance between these two martyrs – one pagan, the other Christian – becomes particularly flagrant. As a result, Soeur de La Chapelle’s work, while remaining an apology for the saint, also becomes a great plea for women’s access to education and participation in intellectual life.

Neoplatonists on the place of Aristotle’s biological works

AbstractAccording to the Neoplatonic classification of Aristotle’s writings, it has often been claimed that his biological works were excluded from his physical writings, and do not form a part of Neoplatonic school curricula. In this paper, I shall challenge this view, arguing that there are reasonable indications that the Neoplatonists regarded most of Aristotle’s biological works (apart from the History of Animals) as a proper part of his natural philosophy, and as works which deserved serious study.

Freedom and Responsibility in Neoplatonist Thought

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Vetera Novis Augere et Perficere: Thomas Aquinas and Christian-Muslim Dialogue

Vetera Novis Augere et Perficere:Thomas Aquinas and Christian-Muslim Dialogue Joseph Ellul, O.P. Pope Leo XIII's encyclical letter Aeterni Patris, issued on August 4, 1879, sought to address many issues that were challenging nineteenth-century Catholic scholarship and academic life. In proposing the thought of Thomas Aquinas as a model of Catholic teaching, the Pope intended, in his own words, "to strengthen and complete the old by aid of the new,"1 not only by reviving the study of the works and teachings of the Angelic Doctor, especially in the realm of philosophy, but also to uphold as perennial his method of engaging with his contemporaries within and without the Catholic faith.2 It is within this context that we are called upon to reflect upon this appeal: "vetera novis augere et perficere." The thirteenth century was indeed a time of intellectual upheaval, following the introduction of Aristotle and, later on, the translations into Latin of the Arabic commentaries on Aristotle by Ibn Rušd (Lat. Averröes; d. 1198). This event was met within the ecclesiastical world with apprehension, if not outright fear. Neo-Platonic philosophy and its interpretation by Ibn Sina (Lat. Avicenna; d. 1037) was already perfectly acceptable to Mediaeval Christian scholars. The latter was in fact considered an essential tool for understanding the illuminationist thought of St. Augustine. Étienne Gilson even spoke of Augustinisme avicennisant (Avicennized [End Page 1231] Augustinianism).3 The problem was Aristotle and his renowned commentator Ibn Rušd: a pagan commented on by an infidel. One must also note, however, that mediaeval Western intellectuals and institutions were able to encounter and adapt the Islamic legacy, because they already possessed a sufficient scientific base (with of course the contribution of translations of Greek together with Latin works) with which to understand, assimilate, and build upon this new knowledge that appeared from the East. In sum, mediaeval Christendom created living, vibrant societies, constantly searching, always discovering something new. In dealing with the specific (and delicate) subject of Aquinas's dialogue with Islamic thought, it would be necessary to reflect in particular upon two key works of his: the Liber de Veritate Catholicae Fidei contra Errores Infidelium (A Book on the Truth of the Catholic Faith against the Errors of Unbelievers),4 popularly known as the Summa contra gentiles [SCG], together with his De rationibus fidei contra Saracenos, Gnæcos et Armenos ad Cantorem Antiochenum, better known simply as De rationibus fidei. At this point it would be necessary to articulate the term "Islamic thought." Of itself it should not be identified with Islam as a religion. Rather, it should be considered as embracing classical Greek philosophy as interpreted by the Neo-Platonic movement and disseminated through Oriental Christian and Jewish schools of thought. Islamic civilization absorbed these teachings and built its own proper ediice upon these foundations. A Model for Interreligious Dialogue? Proposing Thomas Aquinas as a model for engagement with Islamic thought may also raise a few eyebrows. Hence, it would be appropriate to pose an essential question: "What type of dialogue existed in mediaeval times?" One should begin with an a priori exclusion of dialogue as it is understood today, given the fact that there existed neither the motive nor the means to implement it. In fact mediaeval society was aware of only three religions: the pagan, which had been replaced by Christianity; the Jewish, founded upon the precepts of the First Covenant which "Christ fulilled by his actions and [End Page 1232] by his teaching"5 and which was also believed to prefigure the everlasting New Covenant sealed by Jesus on the Cross; and finally, the Christian, which believed in Jesus as the final revelation of God to humanity.6 With such a vision in mind it is obvious that any doctrine that is not situated within these parameters, or which proposes some form of belief or conduct which was different from, if not contrary to, the Christian vision of God, the cosmos, and society, would be considered as heretical and its promoter an impostor.7 When Islam made its appearance in the Christian world, it carried with it a book that it considered of divine provenance, and...

Writing for the Eyes: Preaching and Visual Imagery in Seventeenth-Century Kyiv

Summary The article explores how two early modern Ukrainian preachers, Stefan Javors’kyj and Antonij Radyvylovs’kyj, adapt and combine Neoplatonic philosophy, Aristotelian epistemology, the antique, and the Renaissance idea of poetry and painting as sister arts to create pictorial texts that translate some material manifestations of contemporary visual culture such as the emblem into written form; how these images – both visual and verbal – help structure and organize thought, and what effects they might have on cognition. I will argue that in their sermons, the traditional concept of ut pictura poesis often intersects with what we may call ut pictura creatio divina (as is painting so is divine creation) – with an emphasis on the analogies that tie painting to God’s creation of man. Just like God “painted” man into existence so the preacher should make use of verbal pictures to visualize the moral and spiritual truths he is propounding to his audience. Accordingly, in the second part of the article, I discuss the preachers’ engagement with verbal-visual forms such as emblems and impresas, showing how verbal representations of physical images could function as cognitive devices that could be stored in the audience’s memory to stimulate virtuous behavior.

Emotions that Foster Learning: Wonder and Shock in Proclus

In his Commentaries, Proclus (Neoplatonic philosopher, 5th century A.D.) describes the ways in which a teacher can awaken the desire for knowledge and philosophy in a given soul, and help this soul to make cognitive and moral progress. He considers such an intervention to be a case of providence, analogous to both the action of divine Pronoia and the care of one's personal daemon. As the soul being thus educated is still unaware of the merits of rational thought, the teacher needs to use the emotions of his student to stimulate him; he might even want to generate desirable emotions in his soul. I focus here on two emotions: wonder and shock. The first serves to stimulate interest while preserving autonomy. The second allows deeper commitment at the price of reduced autonomy of the pupil. Both are complementary aspects of philosophical perplexity.

Determinism, Freedom, and Moral Responsibility: Essays in Ancient Philosophy, by Susanne Bobzien

This outstanding collection of nine essays, all previously published between 1997 and 2014 (though chapter 8 includes important additional material), beautifully complements two other books of exceptional quality. The first is Bobzien (1998) (for a review of which see Inwood (2000)); the other is Coope (2020). In one sense Coope’s book picks up chronologically where Bobzien’s book leaves off, and in another sense it stands beside it, as it engages primarily with late Platonism, a school that approaches these central philosophical questions from a significantly different standpoint than that taken by the Peripatetics, Stoics and Epicureans who are the focus of Bobzien’s essays. As Bobzien notes in her introduction (p. 12), there is a metaphysical basis for the difference in approach taken by Platonists and by the other schools: It is the separability of an incorporeal soul from the body that brings the theories and debates on...

Plato and Hermes in Mani’s Prophetology: a possible adaptation to the theurgical milieu

The aim of this article is to set forth conjectures that are likely to explain the inclusion of Plato and Hermes as heralds of Mani in the testimony of Ephrem of Syria. This incorporation should be set against the background of the Syrian religious milieu, which was influenced by both Hellenistic philosophy and Eastern religious traditions. Therefore, it would be better to seek a religious and philosophical environment wherein Plato and Hermes were associated. Keywords: Manichaeism, apocalypticism, theurgy, hermetism, Merkabah mysticism, late platonism.

METRIOPÁTHEIA KAÌ APÁTHEIA EN EL NEOPLATONISMO TARDÍO: OLIMPIODORO DE ALEJANDRÍA

The conserved readings of Olympidorus on some dialogues of Plato imply an audience with limited philosophical experience as opposed to those carried out by Proclus, and even Damascius. However, such readings reveal an acute sensitivity to the ethical issues of the early Platonic dialogues and their dramatic context. It is commonly recognized that the Neoplatonic school of Alexandria, compared to the school of Athens, gives more room to Aristotelianism in its elaboration of some philosophical doctrines. In this sense, the present work tries to investigate such consideration in one of his conserved works, On Plato First Alcibiades. By discussing the skopós of the dialogue and the reading of Proclus and Damascius, Olympiodorus seems to give rise to more than one skopós: political as well as cathartic and contemplative. All this within the framework of the hierarchy of Neoplatonic virtues, in which both the Aristotelian imprint and the Stoic influence are perceived.

Peculiarità cristiana della nozione di male in Boezio

This article proposes the philosophical analysis of the concept of evil in Boethius, and the identification of its Christian distinctiveness. Which does not constitute a break with the Platonic tradition; it was precisely the constant confrontation with Platonic and Neo-Platonic philosophers that allowed Boethius to realise an original model of Christian philosophy. The text will proceed with the identification of the sources, both Neo-Platonic and Christian, and among the latter especially the Augustinian ones. The comparison with Augustine will be addressed in the last paragraph. The result will be an understanding of evil dialectically elaborated with Neo-Platonic material, but respectful of the precipitous demands of Christian doctrine, and augmented by the reflection of evangelical ideals, as a moment of the broad and original synthesis of philosophy and Christianity offered by the De Consolatione Philosophiae.