Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion.[1][note 1][note 2] The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common ideas it maintains is monism, the doctrine that all of reality can be derived from a single principle, "the One".[2]
Neoplatonism began with Ammonius Saccas and his student Plotinus (c. 204/5–271 AD) and stretched to the sixth century.[3] After Plotinus there were three distinct periods in the history of neoplatonism: the work of his student Porphyry (third to early fourth century); that of Iamblichus (third to fourth century); and the period in the fifth and sixth centuries, when the academies in Alexandria and Athens flourished.[4]
Neoplatonism had an enduring influence on the subsequent history of Western philosophy and religion. In the Middle Ages, Neoplatonic ideas were studied and discussed by Christian, Jewish, and Muslim thinkers.[5] In the Islamic cultural sphere, Neoplatonic texts were available in Arabic and Persian translations, and notable philosophers such as al-Farabi, Solomon ibn Gabirol (Avicebron), Avicenna (Ibn Sina), and Maimonides incorporated Neoplatonic elements into their own thinking.[6]
Christian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) had direct access to the works of Proclus, Simplicius of Cilicia, and Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, and he knew about other Neoplatonists, such as Plotinus and Porphyry, through second-hand sources.[7] The German mystic Meister Eckhart (c. 1260 – c. 1328) was also influenced by Neoplatonism, propagating a contemplative way of life which points to the Godhead beyond the nameable God. Neoplatonism also had a strong influence on the perennial philosophy of the Italian Renaissance thinkers Marsilio Ficino and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, and continues through 19th-century Universalism and modern-day spirituality.
^Cite error: The named reference IEP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Halfwassen, Jens (2014). "The Metaphysics of the One". In Remes, Pauliina; Slaveva-Griffin, Svetla (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Neoplatonism. Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy. Abingdon, Oxfordshire and New York: Routledge. pp. 182–199. ISBN 9781138573963.
^Siorvanes, Lucas (2018). "Plotinus and Neoplatonism: The Creation of a New Synthesis". In Keyser, Paul T.; Scarborough, John (eds.). Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 847–868. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199734146.013.78. ISBN 9780199734146. LCCN 2017049555.
^Wear, Sarah Klitenic (16 October 2018) [26 August 2013]. "Neoplatonism". oxfordbibliographies.com. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/obo/9780195389661-0201. ISBN 978-0-19-538966-1. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
^Armstrong, Karen (1993). A History of God. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0345384560.
^Kreisel, Howard (1997). "Moses Maimonides". In Frank, Daniel H. Frank; Leaman, Oliver (eds.). History of Jewish Philosophy. Routledge history of world philosophies. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 245–280. ISBN 978-0-415-08064-4.
^"Wayne Hankey, "Aquinas, Plato, and Neo-Platonism"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
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influenced by Neoplatonism, propagating a contemplative way of life which points to the Godhead beyond the nameable God. Neoplatonism also had a strong...
the human soul as incorporeal substance to Neoplatonism. But Augustine was also critical of Neoplatonism doctrines and their formulations, and he rejected...
classical Greek word for mystical "oneness", "union" or "unity". In Neoplatonism, henosis is unification with what is fundamental in reality: the One...
originating in Jewish religiosity in Alexandria in the first few centuries AD. Neoplatonism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century...
emperor Julian the Apostate was deeply influenced by neoplatonism, as was Hypatia of Alexandria. Neoplatonism influenced many Christians as well, including Pseudo-Dionysius...
2022-09-23. Michael F. Wagner, Neoplatonism and Nature: Studies in Plotinus' Enneads, Volume 8 of Studies in Neoplatonism, SUNY Press (2002), ISBN 0791452719...
Platonists in the 3rd century AD to further clarify the Demiurge is known as Neoplatonism. To Plotinus, the second emanation represents an uncreated second cause...
century AD, Plotinus added additional mystical elements, establishing Neoplatonism, in which the summit of existence was the One or the Good, the source...
Platonism than neoplatonism, which perhaps suggests that Ammonius's doctrines were also closer to those of middle Platonism than the neoplatonism developed...
Neopythagoreanism was influenced by middle Platonism and in turn influenced Neoplatonism. It originated in the 1st century BC and flourished during the 1st and...
Middle Platonism School of the Sextii Neopythagoreanism Second Sophistic Neoplatonism Church Fathers Indian Hindu Samkhya Nyaya Vaisheshika Yoga Mīmāṃsā Ājīvika...
Metaphysics and Neoplatonism". Prajñā Vihāra. 12 (2). ISSN 2586-9876. Retrieved 2019-05-13. Graham McAleer (2016) Christian Metaphysics and Neoplatonism, Perspectives...
late antiquity philosophy, especially that of Aristotle but also of Neoplatonism. The Scholastics, also known as Schoolmen, included as its main figures...
and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press. Shaw, Gregory (2006). "Neoplatonism I: Antiquity". In...
influence of Plato's Republic Neoplatonism and Gnosticism Platonism in the Renaissance Middle Platonism Commentaries Neoplatonism and Christianity Oxyrhynchus...
is evidence that Copernicus was influenced by neoplatonism. Founded by philosopher Plotinus, neoplatonism believes that the Sun is the symbol of The One...
dialogues, deriving from them the basis of Platonism (and by extension, Neoplatonism). Plato's student Aristotle in turn criticized and built upon the doctrines...
Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda (also: Pakuda, Bakuda, Hebrew: בחיי אבן פקודה, Arabic: بهية بن فاقودا), c. 1050–1120, was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who...
their translation from Greek to Arabic. Neoplatonism was revived from its founding father, Plotinus. Neoplatonism, a philosophical current that permeated...
in both Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism from its ninth-century beginnings with al-Kindi, but the influence of Neoplatonism becomes more clearly visible...
influences among them older European philosophies and movements such as Neoplatonism and occultism, as well as parts of Asian religious traditions such as...
founders during ancient times were Stoicism, Epicureanism, Skepticism and Neoplatonism. Byzantine philosophy was characterised by a Christian world-view, but...
Rationalism with the Torah, which helped pave the way for Christianity with neoplatonism, and the adoption of the Old Testament with Christianity, as opposed...
philosophical movements, for example, Epicureanism, Stoicism, Skepticism, and Neoplatonism. The medieval period started in the 5th century CE. Its focus was on...
In theology, divine light (also called divine radiance or divine refulgence) is an aspect of divine presence perceived as light during a theophany or vision...
Attributes Schools Augustinianism Victorines Llullism Cartesianism Christian Neoplatonism Friends of God Molinism Ressourcement Occamism Scholasticism Second scholasticism...
rather than on such cultural texts.[citation needed] In the revival of neoplatonism, Renaissance humanists did not reject Christianity; on the contrary,...
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