Neoplatonism

Ancient Philosophies

by Pauliina Remes, Steven Gerrard (Primary Contributor)

Although Neoplatonism has long been studied, until recently many had dismissed this complex system of ideas as more mystical than philosophical. Recent research, however, has provided a new perspective on this highly influential school of thought, which flourished in the pagan world of Greece and Rome up through late antiquity. Pauliina Remes's lucid, comprehensive, and up-to-date introduction reassesses Neoplatonism's philosophical credentials, from its founding by Plotinus (204-70, C.E.) through the closure of Plato's Academy in 529. Using an accessible, thematic approach, she explores the ideas of leading Neoplatonists such as Porphyry, Iamblichus, Proclus, Simplicius, and Damascius, as well as less well-known thinkers. She situates their ideas alongside classical Platonism, Stoicism, and the neo-Pythagoreans as well as other intellectual movements of the time, including Gnosticism, Judaism, and Christianity. She also considers Neoplatonism's enduring legacy in the history of philosophical thought, providing a gateway to Neoplatonism for contemporary readers.

Acumen Publishing Limited

Genres: Philosophy, History, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2008

About the author

Pauliina Remes (1971) Swedish Philosopher and professor of Philosophy at University of Uppsala

Reviews

[Julian · Rating 4 out of 5]

So what's good about this book? Quite a lot. Miss Remes makes a very good stab at expounding the hideously complex system of ideas that is Neoplatonism, but though sympathetic she makes no effort to hide the areas where the Neplatonists were unable to come up with a satisfactory model. For example, they believed that the sensible world of matter was irredeemably bad, but their God was the unity and perfect and so all good. Unlike biblically-inspired thinkers they did not have the option of an adversary, for all had to come from God. They produced a number of fudges, which Miss Remes discusses, but none were satisfactory. Another area is exactly how the unity that is God, the undivided totality, could give rise to the multiplicity of the forms which were, because many, less perfect. Some very imaginative ideas were produced, but they were all fudges. In addition, the book contains very useful analysis based on disciplines, so we get metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, religion, etc all analysed very elegantly.

What's not so good? First, the separation into different themes means that the unity of thought that was a characteristic of Neoplatonism is not evident, and Miss Remes does not really do much to join the strands together, so, for example, metaphysics and epistemology, in spite of being very closely related, do not overlap in this treatment. Moreover, in her effort to present a coherent exposition of a hugely complex subject, Miss Remes often seems to be synthesising her own version of Neoplatonism rather than reporting on changing beliefs. Finally, though a very sound introduction, this is only an introduction, and it would have been useful to have a proper reading list as opposed to a bibliography, if only to indicate which sources to read in what order and in which translation.

But that is by the by, this is a very worthy book, and refreshingly free of new-age cant. It provides a great introduction to this fascinating philosophy for those who wish to understand it, if only in part, and should be the first point of contact with the subject for any serious student.

[MM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction. Covers major aspects of Neoplatonism and endeavours to show how it linked and altered Platonic and Aristotelian ideas. The reference section is also very good.

[B. Rule · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strengths of this book: gives an excellent high-level survey of Plotinus and a passable introduction to some other Late Platonist thinkers like Porphyry, Damascius, Proclus, and Iamblichus; includes a helpful glossary of terms mapped to transliterations of the original Greek; and gives an expansive, lightly annotated bibliography for further exploration, organized by both thinker and subject. Remes doesn't get deep in the weeds on any of the more abstruse elements of Late Platonism and she passes over the esoteric stuff with wry brevity, but she offers a focused and cogent explanation of the basics of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and (to a lesser extent) politics in the Neoplatonic tradition. She fits the puzzle pieces together so that the systematizing nature of the project is clear. She notes the areas that gave the theory trouble and outlines the different approaches some of its theoreticians offered as solutions. She's a clear writer and thinker, and I found her guidance helpful even in areas where I had more familiarity with the material. If nothing else, she hammers home the far-reaching consequences of later thinkers' rejection of Plotinus' doctrine of the undescended soul.

Weaknesses of the book: Remes doesn't do much genealogical work to show how concepts made their way from Plato to the Neoplatonists; relatedly, she ignores completely the work of Middle Platonists and their reception in the Late Antique period she addresses; and while she offers a tiny chapter tracing Neoplatonic elements in later thinking, it's scanty in the extreme on details. But absolutely the most frustrating part of the book is that Remes uses the category of Neoplatonism uncritically. She never interrogates the assumption that this is a distinct school that can be separated from earlier tradition, nor that these thinkers saw themselves not as "Neoplatonists" but as "Platonists" simpliciter. I think that approach both fails to account for certain lines of contemporary intellectual history and distorts the view of what these people were up to. My other, far more niggling grumble is that she mentions theurgy but quickly sweeps it back under the rug. On top of just being an entertaining and bizarre element of the religious milieu of late antiquity, it's also a much bigger deal in the teaching of heavyweights like Iamblichus and therefore deserves deeper study.

So while this is a good introduction to the topic, I would caution against relying on it alone. I'll have to keep looking elsewhere for a single-volume treatment that captures the wilder excesses of this school while also acknowledging the skeins of continuity between its founder and thousands of years of philosophical labor.

[Saif Elhendawi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very informative book that gives a very strong overview of Neoplatonism. Specifically, the book is great at explaining the significance of the movement, the distinction between different forms of Platonism, and grounds Neoplatonism within the general ancient philosophical traditions. The book requires an intermediary understanding of Platonism and other Greek philosophical traditions to be able to follow as it assumes a certain level of knowledge from the audience.
There is a glossary at the end that explains a lot of the obscure concepts and terminology but it only gives brief definitions rather than full explanations.

I think another problem is that Neoplatonism in particular can be a bit daunting to explain due to the complexity of its metaphysical system and all the different levels and entities especially later in the tradition. Any kind of illustration or picture would have certainly helped here and at least the edition I read on my Kobo didn't have any. I would definitely recommend Googling some illustrations for the metaphysics as there are lots of insightful diagrams and models that are helpful at visualizing the emanation.

Another matter is the writing feels a bit dry, with very long sentences and internal citations that break the flow of reading. This really does not help simplify the obscurity of an already complex subject. I understand that it is hard to make a work of philosophy like this captivating or engaging but I feel that more examples and colorful language could have helped.

The last section of the book is the most relevant to me and my interests personally as it explains in a few pages why Neoplatonism is important, its legacy and wide influence on western religion and philosophy. I personally wish that this last part was given more attention but this is a book about Neoplatonism after all not its influences and legacy. I probably will have to find another text that gives me more of that, but this isn't necessarily the author's problem.

[Esioan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent brief introduction but lets be honest to learn a school as dense as Plotinian Neoplatonism I just need to get out the old diagrams and learn the glossary of terms. Still interesting that the original Christianity St Patrick brought to Ireland was remarkably Platonic, like Eriugena sounds like a hippy pantheist. It's also clear the influence of the Neoplatonic conception of divinity and geometrical perfection being actualized in Renaissance art. Kinda epic.

[So Hakim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overview of Neoplatonism and all its aspect... pretty much just that. Does the work well.

It's important to note that Neoplatonism is not monolithic: it has strands championed by different philosophers through the ages. About this the book emphasizes: but perhaps due to lack of space, I find the divisions not clearly extricated.

Useful as starting point to the school of thought. Which is vital if you want to find out what Medieval thinkers, Christians and Muslims alike, were talking about.