Neoplatonism  

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-'''Neoplatonism''' (or '''Neo-Platonism''') is a modern term used to designate a tradition of [[philosophy]] that arose in the 3rd century AD and persisted until shortly after the closing of the [[Platonic Academy]] in Athens in AD 529 by [[Justinian I]]. Neoplatonists were heavily influenced both by [[Plato]] and by the Platonic tradition that thrived during the six centuries which separated the first of the Neoplatonists from Plato.+'''Neoplatonism''' (also called '''Neo-Platonism''') is the modern (19th century) term for a school of [[Mysticism|mystical]] [[philosophy]] that took shape in the 3rd century, based on the teachings of [[Plato]] and earlier [[Platonism|Platonists]], with its earliest contributor believed to be [[Plotinus]], and his teacher [[Ammonius Saccas]]. Neoplatonism focused on the spiritual and cosmological aspects of Platonic thought, synthesizing Platonism with [[Ancient Egyptian religion|Egyptian]] and [[Judaism|Jewish theology]]. However, Neoplatonists would have considered themselves simply Platonists, and the modern distinction is due to the perception that their philosophy contained sufficiently unique interpretations of Plato to make it substantially different from what Plato wrote and believed.
 + 
 +The Neoplatonism of [[Plotinus]] and [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] has been referred to as in fact being orthodox Platonic philosophy by scholars like [[John D. Turner]]. This distinction provides a contrast with later movements of Neoplatonism, such as those of [[Iamblichus]] and [[Proclus]], which embraced magical practices or [[theurgy]] as part of the soul's development in the [[henosis|process]] of the soul's return to the [[Monad (Greek philosophy)|Source]]. Possibly Plotinus was motivated to clarify some of the traditions in the teachings of Plato that had been misrepresented before Iamblichus (see [[Neoplatonism and Gnosticism]]).
 + 
 +Neoplatonism took definitive shape with the philosopher Plotinus, who claimed to have received his teachings from [[Ammonius Saccas]], a philosopher in [[Alexandria]].
 + 
 +Plotinus was also influenced by [[Alexander of Aphrodisias]] and [[Numenius of Apamea]]. Plotinus's student [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] assembled his teachings into the six sets of nine tractates, or ''[[Enneads]]''. Subsequent Neoplatonic philosophers included [[Iamblichus]], [[Hypatia of Alexandria]], [[Hierocles of Alexandria]], [[Proclus]] (by far the most influential of later Neoplatonists), [[Damascius]] (last head of Neoplatonist School at [[Athens]]), [[Olympiodorus the Younger]], and [[Simplicius of Cilicia]].
 + 
 +Thinkers from the Neoplatonic school cross-pollinated with the thinkers of other intellectual schools. For instance, certain strands of Neoplatonism influenced Christian thinkers (such as [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], [[Boethius]], [[Johannes Scotus Eriugena|John Scotus Eriugena]], and [[Bonaventure]]), while Christian thought influenced (and sometimes converted) Neoplatonic philosophers (such as [[Pseudo-Dionysius|Dionysius the Areopagite]]).
 + 
 +In the [[Middle Ages]], Neoplatonic arguments were taken seriously in the thought of medieval Islamic and Jewish thinkers such as [[al-Farabi]] and [[Moses Maimonides]], and experienced a revival in the Renaissance with the acquisition and translation of Greek and Arabic Neoplatonic texts.
-Collectively, the Neoplatonists constituted a continuous tradition of philosophers which began with [[Plotinus]]. In defining the term, it is difficult to reduce Neoplatonism to a concise set of ideas that all Neoplatonic philosophers shared in common. There are two reasons why. First, Neoplatonic philosophy is expansive in its scope. The work of Neoplatonic philosophy involved providing a systematic description of the derivation of the whole of reality from a single principle, "the One". Secondly, while the Neoplatonists generally shared some basic assumptions about the nature of reality, there were also considerable differences in their views and approaches. The variations of these views between thinkers within the school of thought thus make it difficult to summarize its philosophical content briefly. Thus, the most concise definition of Neoplatonism casts it as a historical term. It refers to the tradition itself: to the work of Plotinus, and to the thinkers who developed, responded to and criticized his ideas. There are multiple ways to categorize the differences between the Neoplatonists according to their differing views, but one way counts three distinct phases in Neoplatonism after Plotinus: the work of his student [[Porphyry]], that of [[Iamblichus]] and his school in Calchis, and the period in the fifth and sixth centuries, when the Academies in Alexandria and Athens flourished. Thinkers of this final period include [[Syrianus]], [[Olympiodorus the Younger]], [[Proclus]] and [[Damascius]]. Later Neoplatonists such as [[Iamblichus]] and [[Proclus]] embraced a certain kind of spiritual exercise, called [[theurgy]], as a means of developing the soul through a process called [[henosis]]. 
-Neoplatonism has been very influential throughout history. In the [[Middle Ages]], Neoplatonic ideas were integrated into the philosophical and theological works of many of the most important mediaeval Islamic, Christian, and Jewish thinkers. In Muslim lands, Neoplatonic texts were available in Persian and Arabic translations, and notable thinkers such as [[al-Farabi]], [[Avicenna]] and [[Moses Maimonides]] incorporated Neoplatonic elements into their own thinking. Although the revitalisation of Neoplatonism amongst Italian Renaissance thinkers such as [[Marsilio Ficino]] and [[Pico della Mirandola]] is perhaps more famous, Latin translations of Late Ancient Neoplatonic texts were first available in the Christian West much earlier, in the Middle Ages. [[Thomas Aquinas]], for instance, had direct access to works by [[Proclus]], [[Simplicius]] and [[Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite]], and he knew about other Neoplatonists, such as [[Plotinus]] and [[Porphyry]], through secondhand sources. The influence of Neoplatonism also extends into forms of culture beyond philosophy, and well into the modern era, for instance, in Renaissance Aesthetics, and in the work of modernist poets such as [[W. B. Yeats]] and [[T.S. Eliot]], to name only several examples. 
-  
== See also == == See also ==
* [[Antiochus of Ascalon]] * [[Antiochus of Ascalon]]
Line 13: Line 20:
* [[Cambridge Platonists]] * [[Cambridge Platonists]]
* [[Henology]] * [[Henology]]
-* [[International Society for Neoplatonic Studies]] 
* [[List of ancient Greek philosophers]] * [[List of ancient Greek philosophers]]
* [[Monism]] * [[Monism]]
-* [[Neoplatonism and Gnosticism]] 
* [[Pantheism]] and [[panentheism]] * [[Pantheism]] and [[panentheism]]
* [[Peripatetic school]] * [[Peripatetic school]]

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Neoplatonism (also called Neo-Platonism) is the modern (19th century) term for a school of mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas. Neoplatonism focused on the spiritual and cosmological aspects of Platonic thought, synthesizing Platonism with Egyptian and Jewish theology. However, Neoplatonists would have considered themselves simply Platonists, and the modern distinction is due to the perception that their philosophy contained sufficiently unique interpretations of Plato to make it substantially different from what Plato wrote and believed.

The Neoplatonism of Plotinus and Porphyry has been referred to as in fact being orthodox Platonic philosophy by scholars like John D. Turner. This distinction provides a contrast with later movements of Neoplatonism, such as those of Iamblichus and Proclus, which embraced magical practices or theurgy as part of the soul's development in the process of the soul's return to the Source. Possibly Plotinus was motivated to clarify some of the traditions in the teachings of Plato that had been misrepresented before Iamblichus (see Neoplatonism and Gnosticism).

Neoplatonism took definitive shape with the philosopher Plotinus, who claimed to have received his teachings from Ammonius Saccas, a philosopher in Alexandria.

Plotinus was also influenced by Alexander of Aphrodisias and Numenius of Apamea. Plotinus's student Porphyry assembled his teachings into the six sets of nine tractates, or Enneads. Subsequent Neoplatonic philosophers included Iamblichus, Hypatia of Alexandria, Hierocles of Alexandria, Proclus (by far the most influential of later Neoplatonists), Damascius (last head of Neoplatonist School at Athens), Olympiodorus the Younger, and Simplicius of Cilicia.

Thinkers from the Neoplatonic school cross-pollinated with the thinkers of other intellectual schools. For instance, certain strands of Neoplatonism influenced Christian thinkers (such as Augustine, Boethius, John Scotus Eriugena, and Bonaventure), while Christian thought influenced (and sometimes converted) Neoplatonic philosophers (such as Dionysius the Areopagite).

In the Middle Ages, Neoplatonic arguments were taken seriously in the thought of medieval Islamic and Jewish thinkers such as al-Farabi and Moses Maimonides, and experienced a revival in the Renaissance with the acquisition and translation of Greek and Arabic Neoplatonic texts.


See also


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