— Ch. 1 · Origins And Term History —
Neoplatonism.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
The label Neoplatonism did not exist in the ancient world. A modern scholar coined this term to describe a series of Platonic thinkers from the third century AD onward. Before that label emerged, these philosophers simply called themselves Platonists. The word implies a break between Plotinus and his predecessors, yet some scholars argue only marginal differences separate their teachings from earlier Middle Platonism. Plotinus studied under Ammonius Saccas, who taught that Plato and Aristotle were in harmony. This teacher influenced the direction of thought that would later define the movement. The history of interpretation stretches back to Aristotle himself and continued through centuries before Plotinus ever wrote. Some contemporary researchers doubt whether Neoplatonism constitutes a useful historical category at all. They claim the distinction is artificial rather than substantive. Marsilio Ficino believed the Neoplotnic interpretation was an authentic representation of Plato's original philosophy. It took until the first decade of the nineteenth century for scholars to clearly differentiate the two schools. Friedrich Schleiermacher stands as an early thinker who separated Plato from his Neoplatonic interpreters. Others suggest this disassociation resulted from a protracted historical development preceding Schleiermacher's work.
Key Figures And Schools
Plotinus lived until 270 AD and serves as the father of Neoplatonism. Porphyry wrote a biography detailing the life of his teacher and edited the Enneads into six books of nine treatises each. He also produced commentaries on Euclid's Elements which Pappus used for his own work. Porphyry famously stated that gods proclaimed Christ pious but called Christians a confused sect. Iamblichus directed later Neoplatonic philosophy toward salvation through rites known as theurgy. His system stretched divinities down to material nature where souls became embodied in human beings. Proclus Lycaeus lived from the 8th of February 412 to the 17th of April 485 and created one of the most elaborate systems ever devised. He inserted levels of individual ones called henads between the One itself and divine Intellect. These henads stand at the head of chains of causation and give them their particular character. Hypatia served as head of the Platonist school in Alexandria until her murder in 415 AD by Coptic Parabalani monks. She taught philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy while advising prefect Orestes during his feud with Cyril. The academies in Alexandria and Athens flourished during the fifth and sixth centuries before Justinian closed the Athenian academy in 529 AD.