Neoplatonism - what is it? Philosophy of Neoplatonism

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

Neoplatonism as a philosophy originated in late antiquity, entered medieval philosophy, the philosophy of the Renaissance and influenced the philosophical minds of all subsequent centuries.

Ancient philosophy of Neoplatonism

If to characterize Neoplatonism briefly, then it is the revival of Plato's ideas during the period of Roman decline (3rd - 6th centuries). In Neoplatonism, Plato's ideas were transformed into the doctrine of the emanation (radiation, outflow) of the material world from the Smart Spirit, which initiates everything.

To give a more complete interpretation, then ancient Neoplatonism is one of the directions of Hellenic philosophy that arose as an eclecticism of the teachings of Plotinus and Aristotle, as well as the teachings of the Stoics, Pythagoras, Eastern mysticism and early Christianity.

If we talk about the main ideas of this doctrine, then Neoplatonism is a mystical knowledge of the highest essence, it is a consistent transition from the highest essence to the lowest matter. Finally, Neoplatonism is the liberation of a person through ecstasy from the hardships of the material world for a truly spiritual life.

The history of philosophy notes Plotinus, Porfiry, Proclus and Iamblichus as the most prominent adherents of Neoplatonism.

Plotinus as the founder of Neoplatonism

The birthplace of Plotinus is a Roman province in Egypt. He was trained by several philosophers, Ammonius Sakkas played a big role in his education, with whom he studied for eleven years.

In Rome, Plotinus himself became the founder of the school, which he led for twenty-five years. Plotinus is the author of 54 works. Plato had a great influence on his worldview, but he was also influenced by other philosophers, Greek and Roman, among whom were Seneca and Aristotle.

Dam world system

According to the teachings of Plotinus, the world is built in a strict hierarchy:

• One (Good).
• World Mind.
• World Soul.
• Matter.

Assuming the world to be one, he did not believe that the universe in all its areas is the same to the same extent. The beautiful World Soul surpasses rough matter, the World Mind surpasses the World Soul, and the One (Good) stands at the highest level of superiority, which is the root cause of beauty. The Good itself, according to Plotinus, is above all the beauty poured out by it, above all heights, and contains the whole world belonging to the intelligent Spirit.

One (Good) is an essence that is present everywhere, it manifests itself in Mind, Soul and Matter. The One, being the unconditional Good, ennobles these substances. The absence of the One implies the absence of goodness.

A person's commitment to evil is determined by how high he can climb the steps of the ladder that leads to the One(Good). The path to this essence lies only through a mystical merger with it.

One as the absolute Good

In Plotin's views on the world order, the idea of unity dominates. The One is ex alted above the many, primary in relation to the many, and unattainable for the many. One can draw a parallel between Plotinus's idea of the world order and the social structure of the Roman Empire.

Remote from the many gets the status of the One. This remoteness from the intellectual, spiritual and material world is the cause of unknowability. If Plato's "one - many" correlates as if horizontally, then Plotinus established a vertical in the relationship of the one and the many (lower substances). The One is above all, and therefore inaccessible to the understanding of the lower Mind, Soul and Matter.

The absolute of unity lies in the absence of contradictions in it, opposites necessary for movement and development. Unity excludes subject-object relations, self-knowledge, aspirations, time. The One knows itself without knowledge, the One is in a state of absolute happiness and peace, and it does not need to strive for anything. The One is not associated with the category of time, since it is eternal.

Plotinus interprets the One as Good and Light. The very creation of the world by the One Plotinus designated emanation (translated from Latin - flow, pour). In this process of creation-outpouring, it does not lose integrity, does not become smaller.

World Mind

Mind is the first thing created by the One. Mind is characterized by plurality, that is, the content of many ideas. Reason is dual: it is at the same timestrives for the One, and moves away from it. When striving for the One, he is in a state of unity, while moving away - in a state of multiplicity. Cognition is inherent in the Mind, it can be both objective (aimed at some object) and subjective (aimed at oneself). In this, the Mind also differs from the One. However, he abides in eternity and there he knows himself. This is the similarity of Mind with the One.

The mind comprehends its ideas and simultaneously creates them. From the most abstract ideas (being, rest, movement) he proceeds to all other ideas. The paradox of Reason in Plotinus lies in the fact that it contains the ideas of both the abstract and the concrete. For example, the idea of a person as a concept and an idea of some individual person.

World Soul

The One pours its Light on the Mind, while the Light is not completely absorbed by the Mind. Passing through the Mind, it pours out further and creates the Soul. Soul owes its immediate origin to Reason. The One takes an indirect part in its creation.

Being on a lower level, the Soul exists outside of eternity, it is the cause of time. Like Reason, it is dual: it has a commitment to Reason and aversion from it. This essential contradiction in the Soul conditionally divides it into two Souls – high and low. The High Soul is close to the Mind and does not come into contact with the world of gross matter, unlike the Low Soul. Being between two worlds (supersensible and material), the Soul thus connects them.

Properties of the Soul - incorporeality and indivisibility. World Soulcontains all individual souls, none of which can exist separately from the others. Plotinus argued that any soul exists before joining the body.

Matter

Matter closes the world hierarchy. The pouring Light of the One passes successively from one substance to another.

According to the teachings of Plotinus, Matter remains forever, as the One is eternal. However, Matter is a created substance, devoid of an independent beginning. The inconsistency of Matter lies in the fact that it is created by the One and opposes it. Matter is the fading Light, the threshold of darkness. At the boundary of the fading Light and the advancing darkness, Matter always arises. If Plotinus spoke of the omnipresence of the One, then, obviously, it must also be present in Matter. In opposition to Light, Matter manifests itself as Evil. It is Matter, according to Plotinus, that exudes Evil. But since it is only a dependent substance, then its Evil is not equivalent to Good (Goodness of the One). The Evil of Matter is only a consequence of the lack of Good, due to the lack of the Light of the One.

Matter tends to change, but, undergoing changes, it remains unchanged, nothing decreases or gains in it.

Striving for the One

Plotinus believed that the descent of the One into many things causes the reverse process, that is, many strive to ascend to perfect unity, trying to overcome their discord and come into contact with the One (Good), because the need for good is characteristic of absolutely everything, including low-quality matter.

ConsciousMan differs by craving for the One (Good). Even the base nature, not dreaming of any ascent, can awaken one day, since the human soul is inseparable from the World Soul, connected with the World Mind by its elevated part. Even if the state of the soul of the layman is such that the more elevated part of it is crushed by the lower part, the mind can prevail over sensual and greedy desires, which will enable the fallen person to rise.

However, Plotinus considered the real ascent to the One to be a state of ecstasy, in which the soul, as it were, leaves the body and merges with the One. This path is not mental, but mystical, based on experience. And only in this highest state, according to Plotinus, a person can rise to the One.

Adherents of Plotinus' teachings

Plotinus' student Porfiry, according to the will of his teacher, streamlined and published his works. He became famous in philosophy as a commentator on the works of Plotinus.

Proclus in his writings developed the ideas of Neoplatonism of previous philosophers. He attached great importance to divine insight, considering it the highest knowledge. He associated love, wisdom, faith with the manifestation of a deity. A great contribution to the development of philosophy was made by his dialectic of the Cosmos.

The influence of Proclus is noted in medieval philosophy. The importance of the philosophy of Proclus was emphasized by A. F. Losev, paying tribute to the subtleties of his logical analysis.

The Syrian Iamblichus was trained by Porphyry and founded the Syrian School of Neoplatonism. Like other Neoplatonists, he devoted his writings to ancient mythology. Hismerit in the analysis and systematization of the dialectics of mythology, as well as in the systematization of the study of Plato. Along with this, his attention was riveted to the practical side of philosophy associated with cult rites, the mystical practice of communicating with spirits.

The influence of Neoplatonism on the philosophical thought of subsequent eras

Gone is the era of antiquity, the pagan ancient philosophy has lost its relevance and disposition of the authorities. Neoplatonism does not disappear, it arouses the interest of Christian authors (St. Augustine, Areopagite, Eriugene, etc.), it penetrates into the Arab philosophy of Avicenna, interacts with Hindu monotheism.

In the 4th c. the ideas of Neoplatonism are widely distributed in Byzantine philosophy and are being Christianized (Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa). In the late Middle Ages (14th-15th centuries), Neoplatonism became the source of German mysticism (Meister Eckhart, G. Suso and others).

Neoplatonism of the Renaissance continues to serve the development of philosophy. It embodies the ideas of previous eras in a complex: attention to aesthetics, beauty of the body in ancient Neoplatonism and awareness of the spirituality of the human person in medieval Neoplatonism. The doctrine of Neoplatonism influences such philosophers as N. Kuzansky, T. Campanella, J. Bruno and others.

Prominent representatives of German idealism of the 18th - early 19th centuries. (F. W. Schelling, G. Hegel) did not escape the influence of the ideas of Neoplatonism. The same can be said about the Russians.philosophers of the 19th - early 20th centuries. V. S. Solovyov, S. L. Franke, S. N. Bulgakov and others. Traces of Neoplatonism can also be found in modern philosophy.

The significance of Neoplatonism in the history of philosophy

Neoplatonism is going beyond the scope of philosophy, since philosophy presupposes a reasonable worldview. The object of the teachings of Neoplatonism is otherworldly, superintelligent perfection, which can only be approached in ecstasy.

Neoplatonism in philosophy is the pinnacle of the philosophy of antiquity and the threshold of theology. One Dam portends the religion of monotheism and the decline of paganism.

Neoplatonism in philosophy is the strongest influence on the development of the philosophical and theological thought of the Middle Ages. The doctrine of Plotinus about striving for the perfect, the system of concepts of his teaching, after rethinking, found their place in Western and Eastern Christian theology. Many provisions of the philosophy of Neoplatonism were necessary for Christian theologians in order to cope with the problem of systematizing the complex doctrine of Christianity. This is how the Christian philosophy called patristics was formed.