Theurgy, the religious magic practised by the later Neoplatonists, has been commonly regarded as the point at which Neoplatonism degenerates into magic, superstition and irrationalism.1 A superficial glance at the ancient lives of the Neoplatonists, and in particular at Eunapius’ Lives of the Sophists, reveals a group of people interested in animating statues, favoured with visions of gods and demons, and skilled in rain-making. But when we look more closely at the works of the Neoplatonists themselves, rather than the stories (...) biographers tell about them, we find a considerable diversity of attitudes towards theurgy and a number of attempts to fit theurgy into their philosophical system. (shrink)

Porphyry'sLife of Plotinusis the earliest extant memoir of a philosopher by his pupil. Historians of philosophy have embraced it as a key to the intellectual development of Plotinus, while historians of the third century have found it an invaluable supplement to the fragmentary records of this era. Yet few have cared to read it as an original work of literature, or even as the mature work of a scholar and philosopher who for centuries eclipsed his master in influence, if not (...) in reputation. In consequence, attention has not been paid to certain striking peculiarities in Porphyry's selection and arrangement of materials, which, if studied, will shed light on the form and purpose of the whole biography. This article is devoted to a strange chapter which, as in any ancient writing, we should expect to be the most instructive because it is the first. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that, to conceive transcendence, Levinas retrieves the Platonic concept of “separation” and deploys it in three ways: metaphysically, semantically, and affectively. Levinas finds in the interaction between being and the Good beyond being of Republic VI 509b a certain “formal structure of transcendence”—one in which a term is conditioned by another while remaining absolutely separated from it. This formal structure is subsequently deployed metaphysically, in the relation between creator and creature; semantically, in the relation between (...) meaning and sense; and affectively, in the relation between the desiring self and its desired aim. (shrink)

In an environment where astrology was widely respected, Plotinus accepted the role of heavenly bodies in answering prayer. Considering them divine, he denied them the use of memory (iv 4, 6-8); how then could he explain response to prayer received after an interval of time? Plotinus was also concerned to deny attributing intentionality in any response given, for good or evil, since that would make the astral deities responsible also for morally dubious answers. In his treatment of the issue in (...) this passage, Plotinus draws on a lengthy earlier discussion of the role of memory in the soul’s thinking and knowing (iv 3, 25-iv 4, 12), as associated primarily with that which exists in time and is characterized by αἴσθησις, i.e., the lower soul belonging to the composite living being (iv 3, 25.12-14; iv 4, 16-17). If astral deities have bodies, these are of a highly refined fiery nature, and can be affected only inasmuch as they participate in the cosmic circuit. What suppliants may regard as intentional response must therefore be understood as the effect of a type of ‘linking’ of the universe as a living organism in which all parts are coordinated in an interrelationship characterized by sympathy. This is why answers to prayer represent no more than the unintended reaction of natural forces in the universe, the very same forces also responsible for effective use of magic. If Plotinus does not assign much value to prayer, he does recognize that, as with magic, such incantations may have a harmful effect, if only for the lower soul. He therefore warns the wise person to guard against such outcomes by focusing the soul in its contemplation of what is higher, i.e., its inner life. (shrink)

Plotino denomina al Uno-Bien potencia de todas las cosas, o potencia total. Asimismo, el primer principio es designado como más allá del ser, anterior o superior a todas las cosas, pero nunca dice que sea anterior o superior a la potencia. El Uno no es ninguna de todas las cosas, es decir, es “diferente de todas las cosas”, porque es “anterior a todas ellas” y está “más allá de todas las cosas”, porque es “principio de todas las cosas”, “causa de (...) todas las cosas” o también “potencia de todas las cosas”, pero potencia activa y productiva de todo, y no pasiva o receptiva de todo como la materia. (shrink)

_The first book-length philosophical study on the Presocratic influences in Plotinus’ Enneads._.

Las Sentencias de Porfirio, que constituyen un compendio de las Enéadas de Plotino, incluyen una revisión del locus vexatus de platonismo del siglo III, que tiene su origen en la interpretación de un controvertido pasaje del Timeo, 39e. Revisaremos los antecedentes de Porfirio, bajo la influencia de Longino, y la polémica suscitada con Plotino y Amelio a su llegada a Roma. Su posterior "retractación" le lleva a aceptar que la Inteligencia se identifica con la multiplicidad de los inteligibles que intelige. (...) La Inteligencia es sujeto inteligente y, al mismo tiempo, objeto inteligido, es decir, ejerce sobre sí misma su propia actividad intelectual. Nuestro análisis tratará de poner en conexión textos de las Sentencias, particularmente provenientes de la 43, con pasajes extraídos de los tratados plotinianos. The Sentences of Porphyry, that are a compendium of the Plotinus Enneads, include a review of the locus vexatus of the third century Platonism, which has its origin in the interpretation of a controversial passage of Timaeus, 39e. We will review the historical causes of Porphyry, under Longinus influence, and the controversy with Amelius and Plotinus on his arrival in Rome. His subsequent "retraction" takes him to accept that Intellect is identified with the multiplicity of intellections that intelligizes. Intellect is an intelligent subject and, at the same time, an intelligized object, that is, itself exerts on its own intellectual activity. Our analysis will seek to bring together texts of the Sentences, particularly from the 43, with excerpts from Plotinus treaties. (shrink)

In this paper I focus on Proclus’ concept of the instrumental cause in his commentary on the Timaeus (In Tim.). Unlike earlier Neoplatonists who do not make much use of this type of causality, Proclus relates the instrumental cause to the hypostasis of nature (φύσις). The Demiurge uses nature as an instrument in his ordering and creation of the cosmos. How does Proclus arrive at this understanding of nature? I argue that the definition of nature as an instrumental cause is (...) in part based on his critical reception of Aristotle who identifies nature with the formal, efficient, and/or final cause. That is, Proclus did not develop his views on the causality of nature only by looking at the Timaeus (and other Platonic sources), but also by engaging with Aristotle’s rich – and, to a certain extent, authoritative – reflections on this issue. (shrink)

Suicide, which is defined as the attempt of the human being against his life using his will, has been a subject of deep discussions of the philosophical field as an equivalent of the search for the meaning in the existential sense beyond just a sociological fact. In this sense, suicide has been debated in the philosophical field from antiquity to nowadays and different approaches to this phenomenon have been made. While Greek philosophy opposes suicide in a holistic sense, in the (...) Roman philosophy, positive approaches have been taken towards suicide, particularly in Stoicism. Plotinus, the founding philosopher of Neoplatonism who spent the last days of his life in Rome, was not unfamiliar to the subject, and he wrote a treatise on suicide albeit small. In this article, it will be dealt with general approaches to the suicide in the Greek and Roman philosophies, followed evaluations by Plotinus regarding the suicide. (shrink)

Though “mysticism” in not a Plotinian idiom, it has been frequently used by scholars to identify an aspect of his philosophy. Thus, Plotinus’ mysticism comprises those passages of the Enneads in which he describes different transcendent experiences or presents his interpretation of these. Upon these two elements, we believe, Plotinus structures a coherent doctrine about the relation between man and the higher degrees of reality closely dependant, as well, on his metaphysical theory. In the present work we intend to provide (...) an accurate account of Plotinus’ mystical doctrine for which we will also need to analyse the singularities of the different mystical discourses present in the Enneads and outline and discuss the main streams of interpretation that scholars have suggested for this subject. (shrink)

It is a standing temptation for philosophers to find anticipations of their own views in the great thinkers of the past, but few have been so bold in the search for precursors, and so utterly mistaken, as Berkeley when he claimed Plato and Aristotle as allies to his immaterialist idealism. InSiris: A Chain of Philosophical Reflexions and Inquiries Concerning the Virtues of Tar-Water, which Berkeley published in his old age in 1744, he reviews the leading philosophies of antiquity and finds (...) them on the whole a good deal more sympathetic to his own ideas than the ‘modern atheism’, as he calls it, of Hobbes and Spinoza or the objectionable principles of ‘the mechanic and geometrical philosophers’ such as Newton. But his strongest and, I think, his most interesting claim is that neither Plato nor Aristotle admitted ‘an absolute actual existence of sensible or corporeal things’. (shrink)

Plotinus calls the first principle the One and the Good. According to Plotinus, ‘Good’ is an appropriate name for the One because the One is that which all things desire. Since he says that the One is beyond knowledge, beyond language, beyond intellect, and beyond being, however, what philosophical evidence can he provide for his claim that the One is that which all desire? In this article I offer some philosophical evidence, aside from mystical union with the One, for why (...) ‘the Good’ is an appropriate name for the One, and for why calling the One ‘Good’ is not at odds with the fact that it is beyond knowledge, but rather entails it. To this end, after an initial consideration of the relationship between the good and desire in Plato and Aristotle, I focus on the role that desire plays in relation to the Good in Plotinus’ thought. (shrink)

Contemporary scholarship accents incipient theurgical practice for Plotinus; this lends a certain urgency to the question of his acceptance of magic. While use of magic recorded in Porphyry's Vita Plotini has received considerable attention, far less has been done to analyze actual discussion in the Enneads. Examination of key passages brings to light the context for discussion of magic, particularly issues of sympathy, prayer, astrology and divination. Equally important is Plotinus' understanding of the cosmos and role of the heavenly bodies. (...) Plotinus' affirmation of the highest part of the soul as undescended, together with the claim that our soul has a common origin with the World Soul in Soul-Hypostasis, is significant for the relative unimportance he attributes to the role and effect of magic. (shrink)

This paper argues that Synesios’ De regno is a mirror for princes and a splendid example of Neoplatonic political philosophy. It is based on Plato’s Politeia and its model of philosopher-kingship. Synesios makes his audience compare the current political reality with the ideal of the philosopher-kings, who are the image of the transcendent god in the political realm. In doing so he recommends political virtue in general, especially phronesis and sophrosyne. Particularly he argues for reforming the recruitment of military and (...) civil officials with reference to Plato’s concept of friendship in the Politeia. (shrink)

The first book-length philosophical study on the Presocratic influences in Plotinus’ Enneads.

Porphyry's Life of Plotinus is the earliest extant memoir of a philosopher by his pupil. Historians of philosophy have embraced it as a key to the intellectual development of Plotinus, while historians of the third century have found it an invaluable supplement to the fragmentary records of this era. Yet few have cared to read it as an original work of literature, or even as the mature work of a scholar and philosopher who for centuries eclipsed his master in influence, (...) if not in reputation. In consequence, attention has not been paid to certain striking peculiarities in Porphyry's selection and arrangement of materials, which, if studied, will shed light on the form and purpose of the whole biography. This article is devoted to a strange chapter which, as in any ancient writing, we should expect to be the most instructive because it is the first. (shrink)

2022 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title The purpose of this book is to fill a gap in contemporary mystical studies: an overview of the basic ways to approach mystical experiences and mysticism. It discusses the problem of definitions of “mystical experiences” and “mysticism” and advances characterizations of “mystical experiences” in terms of certain altered states of consciousness and “mysticism” in terms of encompassing ways of life centered on such experiences and states. Types of mystical experiences, enlightened states, paths, and doctrines are (...) discussed, as is the relation of mystical experiences and mysticism to religions and cultures. The approaches of constructivism, contextualism, essentialism, and perennialism are presented. Themes in the history of the world’s major mystical traditions are set forth. Approaches to mystical phenomena in sociology, psychology, gender studies, and neuroscience are introduced. Basic philosophical issues related to whether mystical experiences are veridical and mystical claims valid, mystics’ problems of language, art, and morality are laid out. Older and newer comparative approaches in religious studies and in Christian theology are discussed, along with postmodernist objections. The intended audience is undergraduates and the general public interested in the general issues related to mysticism. (shrink)

This article analyses the Plotinian reconsideration of the link between the definition of happiness and the homonymy of life. To safeguard Platonism, Plotinus inverts the Aristotelian discussions of homonymy and its metaphysical implications, and presents the prior-posterior relationship in terms of progressive degradation. Happiness does not consist of “life” in general nor of the “rational life” ; rather, it consists of the life that is situated in the ontologically first and most perfect degree, which is the life that pertains to (...) intelligence and is consubstantial with it, and of which the other lives are progressively degraded derivations. The man who possesses the first and perfect life of the intelligible in actuality, like the gods, can be considered happy. (shrink)

The project of the Eucharistic anthropology that was proposed by Alexandr Filonenko, for the first time on a national scale in theological and philosophical studies,presents eucharistic anthropology as a new branch of philosophical and theological anthropology, which studies practices of gratitude as recognition of the Other and paths of human dignity after dehumanizing practices of the XXth century anthropological catastrophe. The urgency of eucharistic anthropology is defined by the context of the return of Reality, Subject and the Sacred after their (...) elimination from the philosophical field of modern and postmodern thought; this return is described as the presence of the Other. The main task of our paper is to investigate original theoretical proposition of the well-known Ukrainian scholar, heuristic capabilities and cognitive potential of the new trend of communicative anthropology. Alexandr Filonenko describes the interaction between the philosophical and the theological contexts of eucharistic anthropology from point of view of the contemporary culture of presence outside modern and postmodern languages. He opens new horizon of the theoasethetics, theodrama and theologics, which have been developed in the theological proposal of H. U. von Balthasar. The author develops an anthropological language sensitive towards theology and pedagogics, which lets one describe ways of overcoming the postideological crisis through practices of gratitude. As A. Filonenko stressed, Eucharistic anthropology offers one to consider philosophy and theology of witnessing in the Ukrainian context, in which the theological disciplinary matrix is currently taking shape after a long period of the philosophy of suspicion domination. (shrink)

Augustine converted to Christianity in 386 and described his conversion in his Confessiones a decade later. Much ink has been spilled concerning the question of the specific nature of Augustine’s conversion and the ‘historical accuracy’ of his description thereof 10 years later. The Confessiones seem to describe a volte face: he radically embraced Christianity. But to what kind of Christianity did he convert? We will readdress this question, not by investigating his conversion, but by a close exegesis of Confessiones 9, (...) in which he describes the so-called Ostia-ecstasy. In the first part of our article, we discuss the description of the latter experience in Confessiones 9 and situate it within his conversion narrative, with attention to the symbolical language he used. The second part compares the Ostia-experience with the ascent of the soul as described in Plotinus’ Enneads, and with similar ‘Neoplatonic ascents’ present in the Confessiones and in writings penned by Augustine prior to or simultaneous with the Confessiones in order to elucidate the relationship between Augustine’s ‘Christian’ conversion and ‘Ostia-ecstasy’ with the Neoplatonic anabasis. (shrink)

One of the aims of the Neoplatonists is to demonstrate that ancient Presocratic thought is, in fact, a Preplatonic thought. According to the Neoplatonists, Presocratics, who were not far from the truth, employed an inaccurate and ambiguous language, whereas Plato spoke about the truth in a more appropriate and clear way. That is why the Presocratics are not necessarily erroneous and their theoretical originality and their terminology can be incorporated into the Neoplatonic philosophy. I would like to show how some (...) Presocratic theories are embedded in the Neoplatonic metaphysical system of the three Hypostases. Regarding the One and the Intellect, Plotinus, Proclus and the Anonymous Author of the Prolegomena to Platonic Philosophy read and employ some Presocratic texts in order to harmonize the Platonic and the Presocratic accounts. Although the Neoplatonists see themselves as continuing the Greek philosophical tradition started by the Presocratics, their interpretation of Presocratic thought illustrates the birth of exegetic philosophy which is able to apply ancient concepts and predicates to its own metaphysical theory. (shrink)