THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW
FORM OF PHILOSOPHY KNOWN
AS NEOPLATONISM
What is Neoplatonism?
Neoplatonism is an idealistic strand of ancient philosophy of the III-VI centuries, combining
and systematizing elements of the philosophy of Plato, Aristotle and Eastern teachings. The
most famous and significant exponent of the ideas of Neoplatonism is Plotinus. The paradigm
of Neoplatonism boils down to:
■ to the dialectic of the Platonic triad One-Mind-Soul;
■ to the concept of stepwise removal-transition from the higher "single and universal" to
disunited matter;
■ to the mystical-intuitive cognition of the higher;
■ to the liberation of the human soul from material burden,
■ to the achievement of pure spirituality with the help of asceticism and / or ecstasy.
Thus, Neoplatonism is the doctrine of a hierarchically arranged world that arises from the
ultimate principle; the doctrine of the "ascent" of the soul to its source; development of theurgy
(practical ways of uniting with the Divine)
Conception
Neoplatonism is a synthesis of:
■ Plato's ideas
■ logic and interpretations of Aristotle, not contradicting Plato,
■ Pythagoreanism and Orphism
■ the ideas of the Chaldean oracles and the Egyptian religion,
■ ideas of Hindu philosophy (for example, the emanation of the spirit into matter and its return
and merging with the God-Absolute).
The "core" of Neoplatonism is the development of the dialectic of Plotinus's triad: One-MindSoul. Neoplatonism establishes the hierarchy of Being in descending steps. Above everything
there is an inexpressible, superexistent One (Good). It emanates into the Mind (νοῡς), where it is
differentiated into an equal set of ideas. The mind emanates into the Soul (ψῡχή), where the
sensual principle appears and hierarchies of demonic, human, astral, and animal beings are
formed; mental and sensual Cosmos are formed.
Conception
The first ontological substance of this triad, the One, is unknowable; the second, Mind, is
knowable. From here, in Neoplatonism, an additional doctrine of numbers is introduced, which
arose from the processing of the old Pythagoreanism. By means of this doctrine, the necessity of
the emanation of the One into the Mind is interpreted and determined as the first pre-qualitative
division of the One, proceeding from its nature.
The mind, represented by Plato in the form of distributed hints, is developed by the Neoplatonists
on the basis of Aristotle's teachings about the pure cosmic mind-prime mover and its selfcontemplation. The self-contemplating Mind is both the object and the subject of its thinking
(thinks of itself in itself) and thus contains its own intelligent matter.
The third ontological substance of this triad, the Soul, is developed on the basis of the Platonic
dialogue "Timaeus" and brought to the doctrine of cosmic spheres (also under the influence of
both Aristotle and ancient Pythagoreanism). This teaching gives a picture of the action of the
world soul in the entire Cosmos.
Conception
Thus, as an idealistic philosophical system, Neoplatonism is reduced to a general doctrine of
the hierarchical structure of Being. Neoplatonism is a universal logical system that explains
the structure of Existing and any phenomenon in Existing. Neoplatonism defines the
construction of Existing and phenomena in Existing by gradual “weakening” of the first and
highest level in the following descending order: One, Mind, Soul, Cosmos, matter. Each of
the steps is involved in the "neighboring" higher and, thus, is generally involved in the One
(Good). This involvement comes from the nature of the One (Good) itself.
The world emanate from the One (Good); the whole totality of things is a series of steps of
successively decreasing perfection, proceeding from a single, all-creating [divine]
primordial force; world life is the return of creatures along the same steps to the One
(Good).
Conception
One of the provisions of Neoplatonism is the idea of the universal Good, that is, the elimination
of all anthropomorphic elements from the idea of the Divine. God is a single, supra-universal,
super-intelligent, unknowable, ineffable principle. But, being unknowable, God himself can
reveal himself to man in a mystical revelation. In the state of such ecstasy, the soul directly
contemplates the absolute and merges with it into one whole. Theurgy and asceticism are the
means to achieve such ecstasy.
For the doctrine of intracosmic bodies, Neoplatonism draws on Aristotle's theories of substance
and quality, of eidoses (essences of things) and entelechies (effectively developing principles of
things), of potency and energy.
Neoplatonism was significantly influenced by stoicism with its doctrine of the identity of the
world principle (fire) with the inner self of man. However, Neoplatonism could only arise from a
decisive overcoming of Stoic materialism, naturalistic pantheism in the Stoic interpretation of
Plato's heritage.
Emanation
Emanation (Latin "emanatio"; Greek "πρόοδος"}, expiration, distribution), the supposed
fulfillment of Neoplatonism, is an ontological vector of transition from [semantically and
axiologically] the highest boundary of the Universe to lower, less perfect spheres; that is, the
spread of the excess fullness of absolute being [beyond the limits of one's own being].
The term is based on the metaphorical image of the source used in the tradition of
Platonism, giving rise to the river, but inexhaustible; or the image of the Sun, pouring out
rays from itself, but remaining the same light. In the process of emanation as a stepwise
descent of the Absolute (Single Greek "μόνο"), the multiple world of the "other" is plural,
that is, the lower levels of Being (nus, νοῡς, etc.), and at the lowest level - matter as "nonexistence" ( meon, μή όν).
Emanation
In contrast to the theistic idea of the "creation of the world" as an act of the will of a personal Deity,
emanation is understood as an involuntary impersonal process, necessary by the nature of the Existing One.
The content of the emanation is conceived as given unconditionally at the starting point in its entirety; at its
various stages (steps), only successive impoverishment can occur, and then a return to the beginning.
That. emanation is a consequence of the ontological, energetic and creative redundancy of the One as the
fundamental principle of the world; this redundancy is manifested in the involuntary-natural and creationpotential outpouring of the One (Greek Goods."ἀγαθόν") [outside].
According to Neoplatonism, the relationship between the One and the lower levels of Being is governed by
two main principles, fundamental regularities. Firstly, the immutability (non-diminishing) of the Good in the
process of emanation and, secondly, the return of creative potential back to the Good, thanks to the willful
overcoming of isolation from the source. In Plotinus, this position is fixed by the postulate of "ascent to the
One" and is conveyed by the term "ecstasy", in Proclus in "The Fundamentals of Theology" it is formulated
by the thesis "everything that primarily moves itself is capable of returning to itself."
Soteriology
Neoplatonic soteriology follows from the Neoplatonic understanding of emanation. Since
emanation is understood as a downward movement (“outflow from the supreme light”),
suggesting a reverse vector of ascending ecstasy, the emanation paradigm (as opposed to the
creation paradigm) removes the problem of theodicy. The presence of evil is determined by
the hierarchy of the perfection of the universe, which follows from the idea of emanation
semantically. Since each subsequent level of emanation, as a product of the One, differs in a
lesser degree of perfection compared to the previous one, evil is nothing more than a regular,
natural deficiency (in the lower limit, unattainable in reality, the complete absence) of the
Good.
Thus, deliverance, cleansing from evil lies in the return of the soul to its "original source",
"when the Soul was in close connection with the Mind and when it contemplated ideas." To
do this, the soul, wishing to return to its "heavenly homeland", must follow the path of
evolution, which arises according to the same nature, according to which involution arises.
Soteriology
Since involution - as a "descent", degradation, materialization of the Spirit - is logically
primary in relation to evolution, people immersed in the sensual naturally follow the path
inherent in their "material self" (according to Plotinus, the lower part of the soul) and
contrary to their "absolute self" (according to Plotinus, the upper part of the soul). The
further they depart from their absolute nature, the more difficult it is for them to return. “Just
as children left by their parents and raised by strangers cannot recognize their fathers and,
having forgotten their origin, cannot correctly identify themselves, so the souls of these
people, far gone from the original source, forget the last foundations of Being, their father,
themselves. , your past."
To such people, everything seems more valuable than their own soul, including objects that
turn out to be lower than their own nature. To return them to the true path, there is only one
way: to explain to them how high they are in comparison with sensual objects, in front of
which they humiliate the dignity of their soul.
Soteriology
The soul must remember its true source, the "heavenly homeland"; but although this
memory/knowledge can open immediately, quickly, instantly (like the revelation “at one fine
moment”), it alone cannot yet be a condition for getting rid of interference and distortions, a
condition for rebirth. This memory/knowledge is just the limit to which a person will now strive,
never reaching it. The task of man is to overcome the natural properties of the "lower part of the
soul" - passions, lusts, vices - and through virtues, asceticism, theurgy, creativity, strive to merge
with the One.
The ascent to the One, which is carried out by a person, also means a metamorphosis of one's
own nature (transmutation, in the terminology of Hermeticism). The sphere of the intelligible is
not removed from our direct experience, it is inseparable from the sensually comprehended. The
main task on the path of transmutation is to realize the closeness of the Universal Soul, the Mind
and the One, to learn to see the world not in fragments, but as a whole, as a manifestation of laws
that are universal to everything and in everything. In soteriological terms, this [and] means the
knowledge of one's true inner self, the bearer of the immortal principle.
Influence
In 529, Emperor Justinian issued a ban on the activities of philosophical schools. Platonism
and Neoplatonism were anathematized at two Local Councils in Byzantium (1076, 1351).
Justinian banned the study of pagan philosophy and dissolved the Platonic Academy in
Athens, which was the last stronghold of pagan Neoplatonism.
However, the ideas of Neoplatonism did not die with the collapse of ancient society. Already
at the end of antiquity, Neoplatonism enters into a complex interaction with Christian, and
then with Muslim and Jewish monotheism; has a significant impact on the development of
Arabic philosophy (Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina).
Influence
Christian Neoplatonism in its most striking form manifested itself in the Areopagitics, which
are in obvious dependence on the philosophy of Proclus. In Byzantine philosophy, the ideas
of Neoplatonism became widespread already in the period of early patristics (4th century)
thanks to the activities of representatives of the so-called. the Cappadocian school - Basil the
Great, Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa, who took the path of Christianization of
Neoplatonism. Maximus the Confessor played an important role in spreading the ideas of
Neoplatonism. In the XI century. the ideas of Neoplatonism in a more secular and
rationalistic form were carried out by Michael Psellos.
Augustine the Blessed was under the influence of Neoplatonism. Some features of
Neoplatonism can also be observed in such orthodox philosophers of the Catholic Church,
as for example. Anselm of Canterbury. The Neoplatonic tradition acquires a pantheistic
character from the philosophers of the Chartres school.
Influence
The philosophical system of John Scotus Eriugena sharply differs from the orthodox
Catholic line, who translated the Areopagitics into Latin and widely used the ideas of
Neoplatonism, falling into direct pantheism. Neoplatonism turned out to be the main
theoretical source of pantheism in Western philosophy of the Middle Ages.
By the end of the Middle Ages, the strong influence of Neoplatonism was reflected in the
German mysticism of the XIV-XV centuries. (Meister Eckhart, Tauler, Suso). The
pantheistic and rationalistic tendencies of Neoplatonism were revealed in such
representatives of the philosophy of the Renaissance as Nicholas of Cusa, Marsilio Ficino.
Influence
A big step towards the secularization of Neoplatonism was made in the Italian-German natural
philosophy of the Renaissance (Paracelsus, Cardano, Campanella and Bruno). On the influence
of Neoplatonism in the 17th - early 18th centuries. testifies the school of the Cambridge
Platonists (Kedworth and others). German idealism of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. relied
on the ideas of Neoplatonism, especially in the person of Schelling, and Hegel, who was the first
historian of philosophy to adequately set out Neoplatonism in his History of Philosophy.
In Ancient Russia, the concepts of Neoplatonism were known thanks to the Slavic translations of
the Areopagitics, Dioptra by Philip Monotrop ("The Hermit") and other works by Byzantine
authors.
The impact of Neoplatonism on the idealism of the 19th-20th centuries. can be traced primarily
to such Russian philosophers as V. S. Solovyov, S. N. Bulgakov, S. L. Frank, P. A. Florensky.
Neoplatonic elements and tendencies can also be traced in a number of different areas of modern
philosophy.
Kosmanov Sanzhar
Yerzhanov Ilyas
Adilbekova Aigerim
Kenzhebaev Madiyar
Andasbayev Olzhas
Links:
■
https://plato.stanford.edu/e
ntries/neoplatonism/
■
https://en.wikipedia.org/wik
i/Neoplatonism
■
https://dic.academic.ru/dic.
nsf/ruwiki/1607