Neoplatonism is a term used to designate the form of Platonic philosophy that developed in the Roman Empire from the third to the fifth century AD and that based itself on the corpus of Plato's dialogues. Sara Rappe's challenging and innovative study is the first book to analyse Neoplatonic texts themselves using contemporary philosophy of language. It covers the whole tradition of Neoplatonic writing from Plotinus through Proclus to Damascius. Addressing the strain of mysticism in these works from a fresh perspective the author shows how these texts reflect actual meditational practices, methods of concentrating the mind, and other mental disciplines that informed the tradition as a whole. In providing the broadest available survey of Neoplatonic writing the book will appeal to classical philosophers, classicists, as well as students of religious studies.
Neoplatonism is a term used to designate the form of Platonic philosophy that developed in the Roman Empire from the third to the fifth century AD and that based itself on the corpus of Plato's dialogues. Sara Rappe's challenging and innovative study is the first book to analyse Neoplatonic texts themselves using contemporary philosophy of language. It covers the whole tradition of Neoplatonic writing from Plotinus through Proclus to Damascius. Addressing the strain of mysticism in these works from a fresh perspective the author shows how these texts reflect actual meditational practices, methods of concentrating the mind, and other mental disciplines that informed the tradition as a whole. In providing the broadest available survey of Neoplatonic writing the book will appeal to classical philosophers, classicists, as well as students of religious studies.
Zusammenfassung
Neoplatonism is a term used to designate the form of Platonic philosophy that developed in the Roman Empire from the third to the fifth century AD and that based itself on the corpus of Plato’s dialogues. Sara Rappe’s challenging and innovative study is the first book to analyse Neoplatonic texts themselves using contemporary philosophy of language. It covers the whole tradition of Neoplatonic writing from Plotinus through Proclus to Damascius.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Preface: discursive strategies and Neoplatonic texts; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction. Representing a tradition: exegesis, symbol and self-reflection; Part I. Language in the Enneads: 2. Plotinus' critique of discursive thinking; 3. Non-discursive thinking in the Enneads; 4. Introspection in the dialectic of the Enneads; 5. The symbolism of the Enneads; Part II. Text and Tradition in Neoplatonism: 6. History of an enigma: mathematical symbolism in the Neoplatonic tradition; 7. Transmigrations of a myth: Orphic texts and Platonic contexts; 8. Language and theurgy in Proclus' Platonic Theology; 9. Damascius' ineffable discourse; 10. Conclusion: reading Neoplatonism; References; General index; Index locorum.
