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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., Ovaj rad odgovara na argument modalnog kolapsa protiv božanske jednostavnosti ili klasičnog teizma koji nude neoklasični ili kompleksni teisti. Argumentom modalnog kolapsa se tvrdi da ako je Bog apsolutno jednostavan i apsolutno neophodan, tada je Božji čin stvaranja apsolutno neophodan, pa je stoga postojanje stvorenog svijeta također apsolutno neophodno. To znači da se Bog i njegova kreacija urušavaju u jednu modalnu kategoriju apsolutne nužnosti bez ikakvih kontingentnih bića. Moj odgovor je utemeljen na islamskoj neoplatonstičkoj filozofiji Ibn Sine i islamskoj tradiciji. Nudim četiri argumenta koji dopuštaju muslimanskom neoplatoničaru da apsorbira modalni kolaps u modalitetu mogućih svjetova koji istovremeno može negirati modalni kolaps unutar avicenovskog modaliteta: Prvo, prigovor modalnog kolapsa temelji se na okviru mogućih svjetova čiji je pojam nužnosti preširok; ovaj okvir ne uspijeva napraviti razliku između Boga kao ontološki nužnog po sebi, stvorenog bića kao nužno ovisnog o drugome i puke logičke nužnosti, kao što to čine Ibn Sina i islamski mislioci. Drugo, argumenti modalnog kolapsa samo pokazuju da je kreacija neophodna kroz drugost, ali ne uspijevaju dokazati da kreacija ima ontološku nužnost ili aseity––što se odnosi samo na Boga; prema tome, ne dolazi do modalnog kolapsa kada nečiji modalitet prepoznaje kreaciju kao „ovisno nužno biće“ unatoč tome što je modalno nužno. Treće, islamski filozofi imaju nelibertarijanski pojam Božje volje i slobode koji je imun na prigovore modalnog kolapsa. Konačno, tvrdim da svi klasični i neoklasični teisti moraju prihvatiti modalno nužnu kreaciju jer libertarijanski modeli Božje volje za sobom povlače neuzrokovane i primitivno kontingentne učinke.

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.

Within the Neoplatonic tradition, the absolute transcendence of the First Principle—the One-Good, from which the whole reality in its various articulations derives—plays a crucial role. This philosophical perspective implies, particularly in Plotinus and Proclus, some fundamental philosophical consequences, above all the transcendence of the Principle with respect to being and thought as well. This necessarily implies that the One-Good must be conceived of as beyond the intelligible Beauty itself. In this paper I aim to examine the theoretical implications and consequences of this perspective with specific reference to the conception of God’s absolute transcendence outlined within two texts of the Corpus Areopagiticum, overall characterized by the reworking of some fundamental Neoplatonic concepts in the context of Christian theology: the De divinis nominibus and the De mystica theologia. Indeed, in the De divinis nominibus it is shown that the names/predicates attributed to God in the Sacred Scriptures must be understood only in an allegorical-symbolic meaning, because God is above any possible definition. Not even the character of Beauty can be attributed to him, since he radically transcends it: in fact, God constitutes the absolute foundation and the very first source of Beauty itself. Therefore, God must be understood as ἀκαλλής, that is, “devoid of the connotation of Beauty”, precisely because he completely transcends it. In line with this theological and theoretical perspective, in the De mystica theologia a form of radical and absolute apophatism is developed, which in turn must ultimately lead to its own overcoming for the sake of the henosis, the mystical union with God.

This article argues that ṣulḥ-i kull (peace for all) as a specific term was introduced in the 1590s by a small group of avant-garde Neoplatonists who worked at the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar. It was only in the following century that ṣulḥ-i kull developed into the ethos that became the ideological mainstay of Mughal rule both internally, for its administrative elites, and externally, vis-à-vis their main rivals: the Uzbeks in Central Asia and the Safavids in Iran. The early stages in the making of this ideology can be followed in some detail by studying Akbar's neglected millennial history, the Tarikh-i Alfi. In fact, this vast Mughal world history demonstrates that apart from Neoplatonic akhlāq, there was another important building block that so far has been missing altogether in the making of ṣulḥ-i kull, that is, the practical model of the Pax Mongolica, as established under Chinggis Khan, the most famous of Mughal ancestors. Most crucially, it is in the Tarikh-i Alfi that we find the legacies of Persianate akhlāq and Mongol yasa (law) married to each other. In fact, it was through akhlāq that the peace of the Mongols became the Mughal peace for all.

This thesis deals with the process of transmission of Pseudo-Dionysius’ texts over the centuries. Dionysius’ texts have been translated into Latin by many scholars- above all, John Eriugena, whose translation was used during the Middle Ages. The school of St. Victor, during the eleventh and twelfth century in France, was strongly fascinated by Eriugena’s translation, as it can be seen from the commentary written by Hugh of St. Victor (c.1096–1141). Richard of St. Victor (c. 1110 – 1173), Hugh’s pupil, also read Denys’ texts and was able to build a system of contemplation based on Pseudo-Dionysius’ philosophy, which can be seen in his text the Benjamin major. In order to render the path these texts took over the centuries, the dissertation describes, first, Pseudo-Dionysius’ philosophy and his Neoplatonic inheritance, especially focusing on Iamblichus’ and Proclus’ philosophy (chapter 1). Then, the study describes the historical and philosophical environment in which Richard of St. Victor developed his contemplative theory in the Benjamin major, and how he came to know Dionysius’ texts in the translation of John Eriugena (chapter 2). Hence, the thesis goes on with a detailed description of the topics and structure of both Richard and Denys’ texts, in order to underline some common themes between these two philosophers (chapter 3). At this point, the study explores and develops the discussion on the common topics identified in the previous chapters, such as angelology, the differences between theurgy and hierurgy and how this difference bears on Richard’s sacramentalism and symbology, the role of Moses as philosophical archetype, and the concept of love when reaching the apex of contemplation (chapter 4). Finally, this thesis offers some possible interpretations to better understand Dionysius’ legacy in Middle Ages, especially in Richard of St. Victor’s texts, based upon what the research has found.

This thesis reframes the normative poetic terminology which (today, as in Elizabethan England) allies poetic structures with humanist cosmic and mathematical ideals: ‘number’; ‘proportion’; ‘measure’; ‘unity’; ‘harmony’; ‘symmetry’ (etc.). Arguing for ‘the stranger mathematics’ of The Faerie Queene, it proposes that this terminology, in prioritising the rational architecture of verse, has long occluded those structures (lexical, prosodic, imagistic) that manifest the more irrational and unpredictable geometries of material reality. Drawing on the tenets and tensions of sixteenth-century mathematics, as well as on those of modern mathematics and chaos theory, I show how Spenser translated the non-Pythagorean physics of space into a physics of syntax and syllables. This research revises the traditional reading of Spenserian form as obediently upholding Neoplatonist mathematics and cosmology. It also offers a new way of understanding the syntactic and prosodic foundations of poetic worldmaking. PART I, ‘Sixteenth-Century Poetics and Mathematics’, revisits the evolution of the idea of the poem as ‘world’, arguing that Elizabethan poets, emboldened by the claims of Aristotle’s Poetics, reshaped the Neoplatonist idea of poetry-as-cosmography into one of poetry-as-worldmaking. Emphasising how Plato’s Timaeus inspired the notion of a geometrically derived cosmos, it shows how humanist poets advanced an analogy between literary microcosm and mathematical cosmos: verse was ‘numbers’, metre was ‘measure’, and syllables were quantities to ‘weigh’. Freighted with religious and epistemological significance, this terminology became crucial to how humanist poets defended their poetic worldmaking. PART II, ‘Spenser’s Poetics and the Limits of “Number”’, points to the limits of this conceptual framing, revealing how Spenser and his peers struggled to organise words into quantitative schemes. It sets The Faerie Queene’s Book V word-weighing scene in the context of contemporary disagreements over how to ‘weigh’ a syllable, and in relation to Spenser’s attestations to the frustration of pinning down poetic ‘numbers’ (which, he observes, don’t so much aggregate as ‘flow’). Finally, it suggests that sixteenth-century poetic discourse, like that of music, tracked parallel developments in mathematics where a classical definition of ‘number’ as an aggregate of indivisible units was being replaced by a modern sense of ‘number’ as a continuum. PART III, on ‘Errour and Irrationality in The Faerie Queene’, posits a connection between Spenser’s half-monster, half-woman ‘Errour’ and Plato’s ‘Errant Cause’ – that recalcitrant aspect of matter which, in the Timaeus, interferes in the realisation of a perfectly Euclidean universe. I explore how halves in The Faerie Queene (‘halfe’ lines, ‘halfe’ things) seed unresolved fractions – contemporarily called ‘broken numbers’ – into the Faerie cosmos. I then show how Spenser’s use of alliteration and rhyme engenders a poetics that is errant, opportunistic, and subject to accident. If the poem’s metrical and syntactical symmetries belong to a Euclidean order that works to build a rational poetic cosmos, its proliferating networks of alliteration and rhyme enact an ‘Errant’ order which (cognate with the Errour-monster and her creatures) manifests an unruly materiality. The thesis ends with an exploration of the ‘fractal’ mathematics of Spenser’s epic. Fractal systems are dynamical and nonlinear; deterministic, yet unpredictable. While clearly Spenser could never have studied fractal geometry, fractal forms (root systems, cloud patterns, jagged coastlines) were nonetheless constitutive of the world he knew., AHRC-DTP; Isaac Newton Trust; Fondation Wiener-Anspach

My PhD thesis focuses on Proclus (412–485 AD) and his engagement with Aristotle’s theory of motion with a specific focus on Aristotle’s criticism of Plato. There are two main goals. (i) I refute the widespread view that Proclus – in line with other Neoplatonists – adheres to the idea of an essential harmony between Plato and Aristotle. (ii) I illuminate Proclus’ views on motion, which is a central concept in his thought, by examining his Aristotelian background. The thesis is divided in four chapters. The first chapter deals with Proclus’ little studied treatise Elements of Physics where he sums up in an axiomatic manner Aristotle’s theory of motion from Physics VI, VIII and De Caelo I. I demonstrate that Proclus’ project is embedded in an exegetical tradition and show how he omits certain parts of Aristotle’s works which might conflict with his Neoplatonist views. Additionally, I provide evidence for the view that Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics proved to be influential for the axiomatic structure of Proclus’ treatise. The second chapter concerns the origin of motion in the universe. While Plato assumes a self-moving soul as origin, Aristotle posits an unmoved intellect. Proclus brings these two views together by regarding the unmoved intellect as ultimate source of motion and the self-moving soul as an intermediate entity. I demonstrate that his harmonisation effort goes beyond previous Platonist attempts due to the philosophical reasoning he provides. I also defend Proclus’ assumption of both unmoved intellect and self-moving soul as sources of motion against concerns brought up in scholarship. In the third chapter, I focus on the concept of self-motion which is tied to the definition of soul in Plato. Aristotle famously criticises this view in De Anima I.3, showing that the soul is unmoved. I offer the first lengthy discussion of Proclus’ repudiation of Aristotle’s criticism which differs from other Neoplatonist responses. Most importantly, I demonstrate how Proclus develops his own views on self-motion by using Platonic and Aristotelian insights. The fourth chapter examines the problem of the causality of the unmoved intellect. This issue is central in scholarship on Aristotle and goes back to late antiquity. I argue that here Proclus’ non-harmonist stance towards Aristotle emerges most strongly: not only did Aristotle fail to make the intellect an efficient cause of the cosmos’ being but his metaphysics generally is deficient since he did not recognise the Platonic One as highest principle. I contrast Proclus’ view with the position of Ammonius and Simplicius who see a complete agreement between Plato and Aristotle., Cusanuswerk Faculty of Classics, Cambridge

The sonnet ‘Pues cabe tanto en vos del bien del cielo’ by Spanish-Neapolitan poet Francisco de Aldana (1537-78) challenges interpretation through its genre-defying mix of consolatory, philosophic, and amatory elements; in particular, its inclusion of an enigmatic statement by a ventriloquized female figure alien to contemporary Hispanic courtly poetry. In this study, I offer an interpretation through a comparative study with the Rime amorose (1538) of Vittoria Colonna (1490-1547), in which she popularized the Petrarchan voice of the desiring widow in Italian poetry. After establishing a link between the Aldana and Colonna families by virtue of the fragment ‘Aunque a la alta región del alegría’, which addresses the death of Colonna’s niece, I explain how the yearning contained within Colonna’s lyric, noted to possess an erotic potential, may have led Aldana to incorporate this voice in his own poetic exploration of a combinatory spiritual and physical philosophy of love. Additionally, given the absence of the Colonnaesque tradition in Spain, I consider how expressions of desire by female voices in the arte menor and pastoral traditions potentially could have led to a similar interpretation for Hispanic readers. Publisher PDF

The object of this research is the Platonic tradition of understanding of soul. The subject of this research is the interpretation of Plato's concept of soul in the philosophy of Florentine academicians. The goal is trace the historical-philosophical evolution of Plato's theory of soul from the Antiquity to the Renaissance philosophy. The article represents the authorial historical-philosophical and comparative analysis of the primary sources. Analysis is conducted on the works of Plato, Plotinus, Augustine of Hippo, Aristotle, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, M. Ficino, and D. Pico della Mirandola. The article outlines the key provisions of Plato's concept of the soul, reveals the tendencies of gradual historical transformation of this tradition within the history of philosophical thought. The topic at hand has not been previously covered in the scientific research, which defines the novelty of this paper. Soul is viewed as the mirror of the divine world that is in need of catharsis. Special attention is given to Neoplatonic comprehension of the luminous nature of soul. The concept of “universal soul”, which eclectically connects with the Christian understanding of soul as the individual and free principle is revealed. Analysis is conducted on components of the soul described by Plato, namely rational, appetitive, and the spirited. Special attention is turned to the rational soul as an immortal active principle. Position of the soul in the world hierarchy is considered. The article examines the soul as “bond of peace”, which encompasses the dialectical opposites of rational and sensuous, sole and numerous, separable and inseparable, time and eternity.

L'A. presente la doctrine des âmes que Plotin expose dans les Enneades et met en relief l'usage d'une terminologie chretienne (Pere), laissant soupconner une contamination terminologique par l'intermediaire de la gnose valentinienne.

Vprašanje (dis)kontinuitete med etiko in politiko je civilni živec renesančnega humanizma v historični ontogenezi, ki se začne s Salutatijem, razvija s Ficinom in sklepa z Machiavellijem. Tragično sirensko petje človeškega bivanja vseskozi zapeljuje, a nikdar ne preglasi vzgornih upov k praksi usmerjene človeškosti, ki spekulacijo uresničuje skozi dejavnost, kontemplacijo udejanja skozi politiko, sveto izpričuje skozi posvetnost. Humanistična duhovna in filozofska prenova ciceronskega nauka o dobrem delovanju na pragu modernosti nemirno, pa vendar srečno pripelje antropološko vexata quaestio skozi Scilo in Karibdo družbene etike, nihajoče med jajcem in jabolkom (ab ovo usque ad mala) Salutatijevega voluntarističnega optimizma, Ficinovega novoplatonizma in Machiavellijevega antropološkega pesimizma, med zemljo, nebom in breznom. Civilni humanizem še danes budi in bodri vse, ki se v somraku človeškosti še trudijo služiti kvalificiranemu življenju.

The article analyzes the contribution of Professor Leonid Ushkalov’s scientific works to the intellectual matrix of Kharkiv Philological School and Skovoroda studies. He outlined in his researches such complex problems of literary and philosophical reasonings by H. Skovoroda as the source of his works; genre-artistic features of his poetry versification; a fable definition by Skovoroda as an independent literary genre of philosophical style, and a parable as a model of a fable and philosophical dialogue peculiar fusion; vivid mythological and biblical imagery and the original structure of treatises; deployment in magnificent Baroque forms and in biblical, mythological, emblematic images in the plane of Christian Neoplatonism of philosophical and theological thoughts in the theologian’s «Socratic» dialogues; Skovoroda’s Biblical noematics and heuristics as a text comprehensive allegory of the Holy Bible; the influence of works by Skovoroda on the new, modern and contemporary Ukrainian literature and a great number of other issues, each of which has the prospect of deploying into a separate Skovoroda studies discourse. In particular, it is stated that L. Ushkalov offered more than three hundred themes for further works about H. Skovoroda’s creative activity.

Introduction. The domestic and foreign research literature pays great attention to Alexandrian Neo-Platonists of the 4th–6th centuries such as Hypatia, Ammonius son of Hermias, John Philoponus, but at the same time Olympiodorus, David the Invincible, Elias, Horapollon are given insufficient attention. This is largely due to lack of any reliable information in modern science, which reveals the life and professional path of these eminent intellectuals, as well as the fact that the majority of the few preserved works of these authors have not yet been translated into Russian and English. The author of the article aims to study the “intellectual portrait” of Olympiodorus without reconstruction or refinement of his curriculum vitae based on source analysis. Methods and materials. The Intellectual History and the micro-historical approach were chosen as the main methodological basis of this article. The work is based on the system-wide analysis and historical-biographical approach. The source base of the article consists of the extant Olympiodorus works in the book series “Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca”. The historiography of the topic, for the most part, is represented by the works of Western European scientists: L. Westerink, S. Viano, N. Tarrant, etc., in particular. Russian Science almost did not study the personality of Olympiodorus: the only exceptions are small articles or just incorporation of information about him in the biographies of other well-known personalities. Analysis. The author argues for the thesis that Olympiodorus, contrary to the prevailing opinion in Russian science, was a smart executive and a good scientist who managed to preserve the traditions of the Neo-Platonic School of Alexandria by continuing to interpret classical works of Plato and Aristotle. Conclusion. Based on the analysis of Olympiodorus works, the author concludes that Olympiodorus of Alexandria has assumed the post of head of the Alexandrian Philosophical School of Neo-Platonism in the competition with John Philoponus, also he has been able to continue the activities in line with the tradition of Ammonius, son of Hermias while supporting political parity with the Church authorities and has furthermore become one of the first of Alexandrian intellectuals who used a classical scientific approach to interpret works of Plato and Aristotle without striving for their absolutization.

Existe una afinidad entre la filosofía de Hegel y el neoplatonismo que el propio filósofo se encargó de señalar. Sostenemos que esta afinidad tiene razones de orden sistemático e involucra aspectos teóricos y prácticos de ambas filosofías. Para argumentar en dicha dirección abordaremos el tratamiento de la filosofía de Plotino en las Lecciones hegelianas sobre la historia de la filosofía. Buscaremos mostrar que, para Hegel, Plotino elabora en la Antigüedad, por primera vez, una compleja síntesis de los principios filosóficos que anteceden a su propio pensamiento. Por este motivo, la exposición especulativa hegeliana adscribe al neoplatonismo la categoría lógica de totalidad. En esta síntesis de principios finitos —que buscaremos determinar en el artículo—, Hegel reconoce tareas y problemas cercanos a los de su filosofía, ¿pero podemos afirmar por esto que la filosofía de Hegel es un neoplatonismo moderno, o hay un punto en el que ambos proyectos revelan tener una incompatibilidad fundamental?

On sait que les neoplatoniciens apres Plotin ont elabore un systeme tres complexe d’autorites pour justifier leurs doctrines : Platon, Aristote et Pythagore, ainsi que les anciens theologiens (Orphee, Homere, les Oracles chaldaiques) recoivent ainsi un statut proche du sacre. On a moins remarque que l’usage de ces autorites, souvent envahissantes, n’excluait pas une certaine souplesse. D’une part, il reste possible de congedier une figure respectable si celle-ci viole les principes qui conviennent a une exegese correcte ; d’autre part, lorsqu’une autorite est exploitee, surinterpretations, raffinements, evictions respectueuses, passages sous silence etc. permettent aux philosophes de conserver une forme d’autonomie et de developper leurs propres theses sous couvert d’interpreter les Anciens.

portuguesO artigo se concentra na apropriacao fenomenologica realizada por Martin Heidegger dos capitulos primeiro ao setimo do Livro X das Confissoes de Agostinho, correspondendo ao § 8 (“A introducao ao livro X”) da prelecao friburgense do semestre de verao de 1921 intitulada “Agostinho e o Neoplatonismo”[1]. No presente paragrafo da prelecao Heidegger discorre sobre quatro aspectos da confissao-louvor de Agostinho: 1o) O motivo do confiteri diante de Deus e diante dos homens (Confessiones, X,1-4); 2o) O saber relativo a si mesmo no contexto do abismo da consciencia humana (Conf. X,5); 3o) A “objetualidade” de Deus nao e acessada originariamente a partir da perspectiva grega dos atributos divinos (Conf. X,6); 4o) A essencia da alma recebe sua vida do proprio Deus, o qual a “ultrapassa”. Dai a confissao: “quem e Aquele que esta cima do cume de minha alma?” (Conf. X,7). Na minha leitura destacarei somente os tres ultimos aspectos com base na leitura que Heidegger faz do ser da vida de Agostinho de Hipona sob a otica do sentido de realizacao da vida como fenomeno originario. Confessar tanto sobre o que sabe a respeito de si mesmo (Selbst) como tambem o que ignora sobre si mesmo e, ao mesmo tempo, tornar-se uma questao para si mesmo so faz sentido com base na conexao concreta da experiencia fatica do si, no existir proprio autentico. Na atitude da busca agostiniana de Deus e de si mesmo, Heidegger entreve uma pulsao fenomenologica quando ele fala sobre Deus sob a perspectiva da realizacao (Vollzug), isto e, na dinâmica existencial do quaerere Deum. Enfim, a ambiguidade do percurso de Agostinho e explorada por Heidegger ora com base em uma interpretacao objetivante em razao da influencia da metafisica grega (Deus como objeto de fruicao [fruitio Dei]), ora a partir de uma abordagem historico-existencial com base na vida fatica. [1] M. HEIDEGGER, Augustin und der Neuplatonismus (SS 1921), In: Phanomenologie des religiosen Lebens (GA 60). Frankfurt am Main: Vittorio Klostermann, 1995 (22011), 159-298. EnglishThe article focuses on the phenomenological appropriation carried out by Martin Heidegger from chapters five to seven of Book X of Augustine's Confessions, corresponding to § 8 (“The introduction to book X”) of the Friborgense lecture of the summer semester of 1921 entitled “Augustine and Neoplatonism ”(Augustin und der Neuplatonismus). In the present paragraph of the Heidegger lecture, he discusses four aspects of Augustine's confession-praise: 1st) The reason for the confiteri before God and before men (Confessions, X, 1-4); 2) Knowledge about oneself in the context of the abyss of human consciousness (Conf. X, 5); 3o)The “objectivity” of God is not originally accessed from the Greek perspective of divine attributes (Conf. X, 6); 4th) The essence of the soul receives its life from God Himself, who “surpasses” it. Hence the confession: “Who is the One who is above the top of my soul?” (Conf. X, 7). In my reading I will highlight only the last three aspects based on Heidegger's reading of the being of the life of Augustine of Hippo from the perspective of the meaning of realizing life as an original phenomenon. Confessing both about what you know about yourself (Selbst) as well as what you ignore yourself and, at the same time, becoming a question for yourself (quaestio mihi factus sum) only makes sense based on the concrete connection from the factual experience of the self (Selbst), in the existence of authentic self. In the attitude of the Augustinian search for God and himself, Heidegger sees a phenomenological drive when he talks about God from the perspective of realization (Vollzug), that is, in the existential dynamics of the quaerere Deum. Finally, the ambiguity of Augustine's journey is explored by Heidegger, sometimes based on an objective interpretation due to the influence of Greek metaphysics (God as an object of fruition [fruitio Dei]), sometimes based on a historical-existential approach based on phatic life.

La Expositio Procli de Bertoldo de Moosburg es, hasta el momento, el testimonio más importante del interés que suscitó el pensamiento de Proclo en los siglos XIII y XIV en el Occidente Latino. Ahora bien, al comentar la Elementatio theologica, Bertoldo introduce en la tradición latina ciertos elementos doctrinales tomados del Neoplatonismo pagano, que entran en conflicto con algunos puntos básico propios del milieu filosófico en el que escribe. El más importante de esos elementos es el de la trascendencia absoluta del Principio. Según Bertoldo, lo prime unum, como las hénadas, está más allá del plano intelectual. Sin embargo, hay ciertos pasajes de la Expositio, en donde la actitud innovadora de Bertoldo no parece tan audaz como cuando se la compara, en términos generales, con la tradición inmediata. Así, Bertoldo escribe acerca de la natura intellectualis del principio. Y, en este sentido, incluye a lo Uno entre los principos per se subsistentes (i.e. authypóstata) e indica que su processus originalis es el proceso intratrinitario.

In 1924 C.S. Lewis began work on a doctoral dissertation, the subject of which was to be the Cambridge Platonist Henry More (1614–1687). A number of scholars gloss this important moment in Lewis's intellectual and spiritual journey, and some offer penetrating, if cursory, analysis of how Lewis's close reading of More would have helped to shape the young scholar's philosophical and theological imagination. These important contributions notwithstanding, the influence of More and, by extension, the Platonic tradition longue durée are not properly understood in Lewis scholarship. This article argues that Cambridge Platonism and Henry More in particular were a crucial part of Lewis's initiation into, and appropriation of, the Platonic tradition. The tradition of Platonism to which the Cambridge Platonists introduced Lewis shaped the way he thought about a number of topics central to his own moral, philosophical, and religious outlook, including the relationship between the moral and the numinous, and imagination and reality, but also pneumatology, angelology, and his understanding of the supernatural, miracles, prophetic wisdom, and, especially, the nature of love.

It is a peaceful point, when we seek to understand the bases of the philosophy of Augustine of Hippo, his debt to Neoplatonism. Decisive to his understanding of the relationship between unity and multiplicity, as well as for the problem of the evil in its connection with the existence of a first Principle (the Good), Neoplatonism makes up a large part of the central works of the hyponense such as: Confessionum libri tredecim, De ordine and De uera religione. Thus, the objective of this work consists in to expose some elements that affiliate, although maintaining what is specific, the Augustinian thought to the Neoplatonic henology, in particular, of Plotinus, taking as a central point the notion of absolute freedom that defines the Plotinian One, in its process of unfolding (proodos) at hypostatic levels, as the founding principle of all real (multiple) without, however, being reduced to any specific reality. I start from the conviction that this aspect is indispensable for the understanding of Augustinian metaphysics.

The article is devoted to follow to the essential characteristics of intuition think­ing. Intuition thinking is the way of understanding and extract of meanings. In this issue are analyzed such notions as sense, understanding and symbol. In this issue a symbol is a key figure in the way of thinking of the Middle age. Ancient Greek’s way of thinking and Middle age’s way of thinking are com­pered. The border of epochs is a main location of the turn from sensation to feel­ing and from revealed to hidden. In this article the evolution of notion of intu­ition, its semantic metamorphosis and its changing cognitive status are shown. According Socrates intuition has a form of daimonion, impersonal force helping him become a person and make decisions according to ethical standards. The fig­ure of Augustine impersonates the metanoia on two levels, subjective and level of epoch. The notion of “Self” ceases to be an entity autonomous from the nature of God, because only in the process of cognition, merge with God a person emerges. This is the fundamental difference in the way of being acient Greek and medieval cultures. Therefore, two epistemological paradigms, determining the cognitive status of intuition, are faced. On the base of mystics’ experience in the Middle age and Neoplatonism intuition is defined. For medieval mystics, con­templation, the direct vision of the truth in God, played an important role. From this phenomenon then comes the Cartesian clarity and distinctness of truth. Well known the intuition is the highest cognitive ability for rationalists

La poetica della parola è l’asse portante della scrittura di Mario Luzi, a partire dalle prime prove ermetiche impostate sull’idea neoplatonica della parola come rivelazione dell’essere fino agli assillanti interrogativi che intessono gli ultimi componimenti e che sono la traccia di un profondo dubbio epistemologico, non risolto dall’adesione del poeta alla fede cristiana.I saggi critici, che accompagnano come una sorta di autocommento la produzione in versi, sono disseminati da una serie di riflessioni sulla potenzialità dell’atto poetico che si configurano come complesso “itinerario del dicibile”.Nell’arco di più di mezzo secolo Luzi progressivamente innesta il concetto ebraico di davar a quello greco di logos, perno filosofico e teologico della poetica ermetica.

The phenomenon of language, being so familiar to us, still possesses unknown nature, origin, and, as we may say, function. For Plato, language was the way to cognition of the Universe. The phi- losophy of language, which was primarily initiated by Plato in his “Cratylus”, still has not ob- tained answers to the questions settled by great Greek thinker. In fact, it just acquired various solutions among different approaches during all four ages of understanding, namely Ancient, Scholastic, Modern and Post-modern periods. The article is supplemented with excerpts from the first Ukrainian translation of Proclus’ “Commentary on Plato’s “Cratylus”. The specifics of the style and vocabulary of the work is emphasized in the context of interpretation into Ukrainian. Historical and cultural context of Proclus’ works in general and particularly its “Commentaries” is addressed, and the main terminological system of his works is analyzed. Ukrainian equivalents are suggested. Some common features as well as discrepancies in Neoplatonist and Peripatetic approach are considered in the context of solutions to the same questions. Contrastive analysis of the “Commentary on Plato’s “Cratylus” with prior mythological context as well as with fol- lowing scholastic teaching is conducted in philosophical and linguistic aspects. The importance of problems placed by Plato in the field of epistemology and philosophy of language is addressed. Analogies with contemporary approach to linguistic and philosophical questions are considered in the scope of nativism and empiricism. Immutability of questions and mutability of generations and approaches is shown. The importance of previous works for the next development of con- temporary thought is emphasized.

Little has been discussed in academia about the close relationship between the Renaissance of the 16th century and melancholy humor, and esoteric elements arising mainly from Florentine Neoplatonism. The link between melancholy and esotericism becomes very clear when we analyze the gravure “Melencolia I” by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), composed of a significant number of symbols that refer to an esoteric religious culture that then emerged. Renaissance melancholy gained several nuances. On the one hand, it was considered a sin, a despicable mood characteristic of witches; on the other hand, a deep sense of inspiration typical of men of “genius”. This ambivalence also occurred in the firmament, as the melancholic people were guided by the dark planet Saturn, according to astrological belief. We also have the cultural scenario of the 16th century, especially in Dürer's Germany, which contributed to strengthening the melancholy issues.

This study aims at finding to which extent Farabi’s philosophy was influenced by Neoplatonism, especially in terms of the topics presented and the way they were addressed. This comes in the framework of knowing to which level both Farabi and Plotinus influenced, and were influenced by religion in the matter of: The One, The Intellect and The Soul on one hand, the knowledge, reconciliation between religion and philosophy, on the other. The study also examined the similar circumstances that surrounded Plotinus and Al-Farabi, which may have been a major reason for presenting and raising similar topics. The study concluded that the philosophical context is derived from the events and circumstances that philosophers live through, and that the issues raised by both philosophers show influence on and by religion. Most importantly there is no way to either deny or affirm what they agreed or disagreed upon, except for their aim; for the philosophy they both presented asserted that they sought happiness.

The aim of this article is to briefly discuss the ingenious interpretations of Od. 13.104 and 11.122–3 that were put forward by Numenius of Apamea. As our understanding of this fascinating second-century forerunner of Neoplatonism has significantly improved over the last years, Numenius’ importance is now generally recognized to be twofold. First, he was instrumental in establishing a framework within which numerous philosophers from Plotinus onwards would operate. Second, he skilfully employed allegoresis for pedagogical purposes, which not only helped to promote his exposition of philosophy, but also stimulated critical investigations into the nature of myth and poetry. In that, however, Numenius’ hermeneutics marks a serious departure from Plato: when embracing allegoresis, Numenius combined Platonism with traditions sympathetic to the practice that Plato himself vehemently repudiated.

The paper deals with the processing of the theme of active and contemplative life in three selected examples of Renaissance art, namely in Dürer’s engravings Knight, Death and the Devil and Saint Jerome in His Study and Titian’s painting Sacred and Profane Love. These three artworks were also interpreted by Erwin Panofsky. According to the Panofsky’s interpretations, the ideals of active and contemplative life in the three mentioned artworks are rendered as two mutually contrasting and incompatible ideals. After a brief introduction into the Renaissance Neo-platonic teachings on an active and contemplative life, which was also used by Panofsky in his interpretations, the paper points out that ideals of activity and contemplation depicted in the two Dürer’s engravings and in the Titian’s painting can also be interpreted as complementary and mutually penetrating ideals. Moreover, the paper points to the possibility that Erwin Panofsky was influenced by his own understanding of the subject in the perception and interpretation of the three artworks.

This article explores the hermeneutical principles that Porphyry of Tyre used for interpreting the description of the cave of the nymphs in the Odyssey. After a brief outline of the origins and development of the allegorical method (used frequently not only by the sophists but also by the orphics), the article analyses Porphyry’s treatise. Taking the literal meaning as a starting point, Porphyry reconsidered Homer’s text as a revelation of the nature of the universe and the fate of souls. For Porphyry, Homer’s poems acquire the status of a sacred text, and Homer himself becomes the fi rst theologian from whom Jews and Christians borrowed episodes, reshaping them in their own way. Porphyry analyses eleven lines from the text which is authoritative for pagans and identifies three possible allegorical interpretations of the cave of the nymphs, i.e. the sensible world, the invisible potencies within the world, the intelligible essence. Having set out the principles of his exegesis, Porphyry focuses on the fi rst allegorical interpretation, i.e. the sensible world. The article identifi es the Neopythagorean sources of this interpretation as well as the specifi city of Porphyry’s approach to myths, which differs from both the previous Stoic and subsequent Neoplatonic tradition of Iamblichus and Proclus. The cave of the nymphs, which was taken as real by Porphyry, is an image of the whole universe created and governed by the Demiurge. The allegory of the cave is analysed by Porphyry within the framework of the Neoplatonic approach to the wanderings of Odysseus as an allegory of the journey of the soul in the unfolding world. For Porphyry, this treatise meant much more than any other didactic treatise, as seen from the analysis of the epilogue.

Russell Friedman identifies two “rival accounts” in medieval trinitarian theology. The “emanation account,” which Bonaventure represents, prefers to emphasize the constitutive role of “act” or “operation” among the intra-trinitarian persons. The “relation account,” that of Thomas Aquinas, prefers rather to say that relations alone constitute divine persons. A specific question illustrates their difference: Does the Father generate the Son because the Father is Father, or is He Father because He generates the Son? Aquinas thinks the former, Bonaventure the latter. Bonaventure’s position attracts criticism from contemporary Thomists. And even Franciscan sympathizers have conceded ambiguity around this point of his trinitarian theology. To wit: If the Father’s act of begetting the Son makes him Father, doesn’t this presume a “Proto-Father,” as Friedman has it, who begets? I argue that this criticism ignores the uniquely Christian-Neoplatonic premises Bonaventure’s view presumes. Perceiving them manifests Bonaventure’s deep coherence on this point and beyond.

espanolLa Favola d’ Orfeo (1480) de Angelo Poliziano es uno de los escritos literarios mas ricos y enigmaticos del Renacimiento, especialmente en lo que respecta al debate que ha suscitado entre los especialistas a la hora de discernir su trasfondo alegorico. Partiendo de la contextualizacion general de la obra en el programa simbolico de la Academia neoplatonica de Marsilio Ficino, este articulo tiene por objeto demostrar: (1) Su singularidad en relacion al resto de producciones filosoficas y literarias renacentistas de tematica orfica; (2) Su particular recepcion critica de tres elementos fundamentales del sistema ficiniano: el amor, el furor y la catarsis; y (3) Su adopcion de una novedosa tendencia de corte moralizante en el seno del neoplatonismo renacentista que se halla en explicita consonancia con el cristianismo. EnglishPoliziano´s Favola d´Orfeo (1480) is one of the most rich and enigmatic literary works of the Renaissance, specially in terms of the debate it has generated amongst scholars when discerning its allegorical background. Starting from its general contextualization within the simbolic program of Marsilio Ficino´s Florentine Accademy, this paper aims to show: (1) Its uniqueness with regards to the rest of Renaissance philosophical and literary productions of orphic subject; (2) Its particular critical reception of three basic elements of the ficinian system: love, frenzy and catharsis; and (3) Its adoption of a new moralising tendency within Renaissance neoplatonism in explicit accordance with Christianity.

Early modern European hospitals evolved from religious foundations—praying and caring for sick people—to machines for cure, epitomising secularised Enlightenment architecture. The Friends’...

This article will investigate the context – in terms of both sources (by means of influence, transformation, or contrast) and ancient reception – of the concept of the ‘dynamic unity’ of the Father in the Son and the Son in the Father (expressed in John 10:38, 14:10, and 17:21) in both ‘pagan’ and Christian Middle-Platonic and Neoplatonic thinkers. The Christians include Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Gregory of Nyssa, as well as Evagrius Ponticus and John Scottus Eriugena. The article will outline, in so-called ‘Middle Platonism,’ the hierarchical theology of a first and second God (and sometimes a third), and in Neoplatonism Plotinus’ three hypostases arranged in hierarchical order, which will be contrasted with Origen’s and the Cappadocians’ three divine hypostases that are equal – like those of Augustine. Thus, for Origen not only is the Son in the Father, as in a ‘pagan’ Middle and Neoplatonic scheme, but also the Father is in the Son, in a perfect reciprocity of dynamic unity. Origen subscribes to this reciprocity because, as I argue, he is no real ‘subordinationist’, but the precursor of the Nicene and Constantinopolitan line (the Cappadocians, especially Nyssen, developed and emphasized the notion of equality, bringing the three Hypostases of the Trinity to the level of Plotinus’ One, but the premises were all in Origen’s theology and his concept of the coeternity of the three Hypostases and their common divinity: Nyssen, like Athanasius, even uses Origen’s arguments in his own anti-Arian polemic, as we shall see). Origen interpreted Philo’s theology, also close to so-called Middle Platonism, in a non-subordinationistic sense, attributing to the Hypostasis of Logos/Sophia the various dynameis, such as Logos and Sophia, that Philo used most probably in a non-hypostatic sense. I shall also demonstrate how Gregory of Nyssa, significantly following Origen, in his work Against Eunomius used John 14:10a to refute the philosophical argument of Eunomius, who had a profoundly subordinationistic view of Christ with respect to the Father. Gregory’s solution is that neither the Father nor the Son are in an absolute sense, but both are in a reciprocal relation or σχέσις, what I shall present as Gregory’s own version of the ‘dynamic unity’ (in turn grounded in Origen). I shall also concentrate on the use that Gregory makes of John 17:21-23 to argue that the unity of the Father and the Son, and of all believers – and eventually all humans – in them, is substantiated by the Holy Spirit, who is seen as a bond of unity. I shall study how the notion of the Father in the Son and the Son in the Father relates to the parallel statements in John 14:10, that Christ is in the disciples (and all believers) and these are in Christ – what I will call an ‘expansive’ notion of dynamic unity – and John 17:21, that just as the Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father, so the disciples and all believers too should become ‘one’ in the Father and the Son. Here, as I shall argue, Middle and Neoplatonic henology (or doctrine of the One) comes to the fore as a possible background and interpretive lens at the same time. I shall show how Origen joined it to the unifying force of charity-love (agape), in turn a central theme in John, and how Evagrius, performing his exegesis of these verses, interpreted henosis or unification. A coda will explore the corollary of the Divinity ‘all in all’, which is not only a central tenet of Origen’s theology, but also of that of Proclus. It will be pointed out how this concept relates to the issue of the dynamic unity within the divine.

This article argues that ṣulḥ-i kull (peace for all) as a specific termwas introduced inthe 1590s by a small group of avant-garde Neoplatonists who worked at the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar. It was only in the following century that ṣulḥ-i kull developed into the ethos that became the ideological mainstay of Mughal rule both internally, for its administrative elites, and externally, vis-à-vis their main rivals: the Uzbeks in Central Asia and the Safavids in Iran. The early stages in the making of this ideology can be followed in some detail by studying Akbar’s neglected millennial history, the Tarikh-i Alfi. In fact, this vast Mughal world history demonstrates that apart from Neoplatonic akhlāq, there was another important building block that so far has been missing altogether in the making of ṣulḥ-i kull, that is, the practical model of the Pax Mongolica, as established under Chinggis Khan, the most famous of Mughal ancestors. Most crucially, it is in the Tarikh-i Alfi that we find the legacies of Persianate akhlāq and Mongol yasa (law) married to each other. In fact, it was through akhlāq that the peace of the Mongols became the Mughal peace for all.

This text is a search to find the precise relationship between Philosophy and religion/theology in Hegel's philosophy. There has been a resurgence of interest in Hegel scholarship by both the secular and spiritual community and many high ranking and serious academic Hegel scholars are conflicted on whether Hegel’s system ends with religion and theology or if Philosophy is a domain of its own as the final and highest stage of Hegel’s philosophical system. This analysis has found that Hegel himself declares the result to be definitively the latter. Unlike atheistic claims however, this move from religion and theology to genuine philosophy is not an abstract negation but rather a sublation and fulfillment: a salute to the critical and necessary role in history that they played. The analysis begins from Hegel's Lectures On The History Of Philosophy with an exploration of the oddity that Hegel as a self declared Christian praises the Neo-Platonists but not the 1000 years of Scholasticism. This is odd as Christian orthodox holds the reverse in that the Scholastics were seen as essential and the Neo-Platonists heretical. This paper uncovers through a direct reading of Hegel himself why he deviates from Christian orthodoxy and explores the conclusion of what this means for the relation between genuine philosophy and religion/theology in being separate but essentially connected. This reading may uncover a path to healing the fracturing around the world exposed by the pandemic. Hegel may indeed provide the wisdom to overcome the tension between religions, science and philosophy in all their diverse modes around the globe and sublate them into a much needed higher spirit of community.

This text is a search to find the precise relationship between Philosophy and religion/theology in Hegel's philosophy. There has been a resurgence of interest in Hegel scholarship by both the secular and spiritual community and many high ranking and serious academic Hegel scholars are conflicted on whether Hegel’s system ends with religion and theology or if Philosophy is a domain of its own as the final and highest stage of Hegel’s philosophical system. This analysis has found that Hegel himself declares the result to be definitively the latter. Unlike atheistic claims however, this move from religion and theology to genuine philosophy is not an abstract negation but rather a sublation and fulfillment: a salute to the critical and necessary role in history that they played. The analysis begins from Hegel's Lectures On The History Of Philosophy with an exploration of the oddity that Hegel as a self declared Christian praises the Neo-Platonists but not the 1000 years of Scholasticism. This is odd as Christian orthodox holds the reverse in that the Scholastics were seen as essential and the Neo-Platonists heretical. This paper uncovers through a direct reading of Hegel himself why he deviates from Christian orthodoxy and explores the conclusion of what this means for the relation between genuine philosophy and religion/theology in being separate but essentially connected. This reading may uncover a path to healing the fracturing around the world exposed by the pandemic. Hegel may indeed provide the wisdom to overcome the tension between religions, science and philosophy in all their diverse modes around the globe and sublate them into a much needed higher spirit of community., A longer unpacking of this document can be found here: https://www.academia.edu/73200443/Continuing_Hegels_Praise_Of_Purifying_Christianity_Into_Genuine_Philosophy

Nicolás de Cusa es un filósofo conocido por afirmar las limitaciones del conocimiento humano. La docta ignorancia puede resumirse diciendo que no es posible alcanzar la perfección del conocimiento, no es posible conocer todo lo que es cognoscible. Aunque esta afirmación no es una afirmación aislada dentro del pensamiento de este autor. Este trabajo tiene como propósito mostrar cómo es que esta afirmación sobre la naturaleza del conocimiento humano va a acompañada por una forma de describir la realidad y el orden de ésta, presidido por el Dios cristiano uni-trino. Además de explorar la relación de esta filosofía con temas y argumentos filosóficos desarrollados por autores como Platón, Aristóteles, Proclo y Pseudo-Dionisio Areopagita, como la infinitud, la mente humana, lo divino, etc. Con esto se busca tratar sobre problemas que siguen vigentes a la hora de estudiar alguna ciencia, matemáticas o filosofía, como la naturaleza de la realidad, el origen y destino del universo, la posibilidad de tener un conocimiento completo o perfecto, entre otros. (Texto tomada de la fuente) Nicholas of Cusa is a philosopher known for asserting the limitations of human knowledge. The learned ignorance can be summarized by saying that it is not possible to reach the perfection of knowledge, it is not possible to know everything that is knowable. Although this statement is not an isolated statement within the thought of this author. The purpose of this work is to show how this affirmation about the nature of human knowledge is accompanied by a way of describing reality and its order, presided over by the uni-triune Christian God. In addition to exploring the relationship of this philosophy with philosophical themes and arguments developed by authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Proclus and Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagite. This seeks to talk about problems that are still current when studying any science, mathematics or philosophy, such as the nature of reality, the origin and destiny of the universe, the possibility of having complete or perfect knowledge, among others. Maestría