Neoplatonism Ancient History of Philosophy

A later form of Platonic philosophy that had its primary development as a school of thought in the Roman Empire from the third to the fifth century AD. Countering dualistic interpretations of Plato's thought, it is a highly monistic version, namely, one that posits a superexistent Source of all being that extends itself into various lower levels of being, with each lower level being a weaker extended expression of the level just above it. Its founder was Plotinus (204-70), a Hellenized Egyptian who at the age of 40 established an academy of philosophy in Rome and taught in it for the next twenty-five years. Some of its basic tenets, however, likely came from his teacher, Ammonius Saccas (185-250), with whom he had studied philosophy in Alexandria for eleven years when he was a young man. The term 'Neoplatonism' itself is of fairly recent origin, going back only to the mid-nineteenth century when German scholars first used it to distinguish the views of the later Greek and Roman Platonists from those of Plato.

• Top/Society/Philosophy/Movements/Platonism

• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Neoplatonism - Article by Edward Moore focusing on Plotinus, Porphyry and Proclus.
  
• Columbia Encyclopedia: Neoplatonism - Concise introductory article.
  
• Neoplatonism - A historical, comparative, and metaphysical overview of this school of classical philosophy.
  
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Neo-Platonism - Article by William Turner covering this movement's principal figures and later influence.
  
• ISNS - The International Society for Neoplatonic Studies is an organization for the study of Neoplatonism in all of its aspects from the ancient world through the Renaissance and into the modern world.
  
• Bryn Mawr Classical Review 95.11.03 - Bolton, Robert: Person, Soul and Identity. A Neoplatonic Account of the Principle of Personality. Detailed review.
  
  

Copyright © 1995-2009 Internet Advertising Solutions, Inc.
Copyright Notice | Privacy Policy | Site Map | APR