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Neoplatonism is a version of Platonism philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. 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".
Neoplatonism began with Ammonius Saccas and his student Plotinus (c. 204/5 – 271 AD) and stretched to the sixth century. (2025). 9780199734146, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199734146 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.
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. 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.
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. The German mystic Meister Eckhart () 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.
Whether neoplatonism is a meaningful or useful historical category is itself a central question concerning the history of the interpretation of Plato. For much of the history of Platonism, it was commonly accepted that the doctrines of the neoplatonists were essentially the same as those of Plato. The Renaissance neoplatonist Marsilio Ficino, for instance, thought that the neoplatonic interpretation of Plato was an authentic and accurate representation of Plato's philosophy. Although it is unclear precisely when scholars began to disassociate the philosophy of the historical Plato from the philosophy of his neoplatonic interpreters, they had clearly begun to do so at least as early as the first decade of the nineteenth century. Contemporary scholars often identify the German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher as an early thinker who took Plato's philosophy to be separate from that of his neoplatonic interpreters. However, others have argued that the differentiation of Plato from neoplatonism was the result of a protracted historical development that preceded Schleiermacher's scholarly work on Plato.Tigerstedt, E. N. The Decline and Fall of the Neoplatonic Interpretation of Plato. 1974
Both Christians (see Eusebius, Jerome, and Origen) and Pagans (see Porphyry and Plotinus) claimed him a teacher and founder of the neoplatonic system. Porphyry stated in On the One School of Plato and Aristotle, that Ammonius' view was that the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle were in harmony. Eusebius and Jerome claimed him as a Christian until his death, whereas Porphyry claimed he had renounced Christianity and embraced pagan philosophy.
Plotinus taught that there is a supreme, totally transcendent "One", containing no division, multiplicity, nor distinction; likewise, it is beyond all categories of being and non-being. The concept of "being" is derived by us from the objects of human experience and is an attribute of such objects, but the infinite, transcendent One is beyond all such objects and, therefore, is beyond the concepts which we can derive from them. The One "cannot be any existing thing" and cannot be merely the sum of all such things (compare the Stoic doctrine of disbelief in non-material existence) but "is prior to all existents".
All people return to the One, from which they emanated.D. G. Leahy, Faith and Philosophy: The Historical Impact, pages 5–6. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.Enneads VI 9.6Richard T. Wallis and Jay Bregman (1992), SUNY Press, page 173.
The neoplatonists believed in the pre-existence, and immortality of the soul.Plotinus, iv. 7, " On the immortality of the Soul."Glen Warren Bowersock, Peter Brown, Peter Robert Lamont Brown, Oleg Grabar, 1999, Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World, page 40. Harvard University Press. The human soul consists of a lower irrational soul and a higher rational soul (mind), both of which can be regarded as different powers of the one soul. It was widely held that the soul possesses a "vehicle" (),See Plato's Timaeus, 41d, 44e, 69c, for the origin of this idea. accounting for the human soul's immortality and allowing for its return to the One after death.Paul S. MacDonald, 2003, History of the Concept of Mind: Speculations About Soul, Mind and Spirit from Homer to Hume, page 122. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. After bodily death, the soul takes up a level in the afterlife corresponding with the level at which it lived during its earthly life.Plotinus, iii.4.2Andrew Smith, 1974, Porphyry's Place in the Neoplatonic Tradition: A Study in Post-Plotinian Neoplatonism, page 43. Springer. The neoplatonists believed in the principle of reincarnation. Although the most pure and holy souls would dwell in the highest regions, the impure soul would undergo a purification, before descending again,Andrew Smith, 1974, Porphyry's Place in the Neoplatonic Tradition: A Study in Post-Plotinian Neoplatonism, page 58. Springer. to be reincarnated into a new body, perhaps into animal form."Whether human souls could be reborn into animals seems to have become quite a problematical topic to the later neoplatonists." – Andrew Smith, (1987), Porphyrian Studies since 1913, ANRW II 36, 2. Plotinus believed that a soul may be reincarnated into another human or even a different sort of animal. However, Porphyry maintained, instead, that human souls were only reincarnated into other humans.Remes, Pauliina, Neoplatonism (University of California Press, 2008), p. 119. A soul which has returned to the One achieves union with the cosmic universal soulJames A. Arieti, Philosophy in the Ancient World: An Introduction, page 336. Rowman & Littlefield and does not descend again; at least, not in this world period.
The term logos was interpreted variously in neoplatonism. Plotinus refers to ThalesHandboek Geschiedenis van de Wijsbegeerte I, Article by Carlos Steel in interpreting logos as the principle of meditation, the interrelationship between the hypostasesThe journal of neoplatonic studies, Volumes 7–8, Institute of Global Cultural Studies, Binghamton University, 1999, P 16 (Soul, Spirit (nous) and the 'One'). St. John introduces a relation between Logos and the Son, Christ,Theological treatises on the Trinity, By Marius Victorinus, Mary T. Clark, P25 whereas Paul calls it 'Son', 'Image', and 'Form'.Col. 1:15Phil. 2:5–7 Victorinus subsequently differentiated the Logos interior to God from the Logos related to the world by creation and salvation. For Augustine, the Logos "took on flesh" in Christ, in whom the Logos was present as in no other man.Augustine, Confessions, Book 7.9.13–14De immortalitate animae of Augustine: text, translation and commentary, By Saint Augustine (Bishop of Hippo.), C. W. Wolfskeel, introduction1 John 1:14 He strongly influenced early medieval Christian philosophy.Handboek Geschiedenis van de Wijsbegeerte I, Article by Douwe Runia
Because their belief was grounded in Platonic thought, the neoplatonists rejected Gnosticism's vilification of Plato's demiurge, the creator of the material world or cosmos discussed in the Timaeus. Neoplatonism has been referred to as orthodox Platonic philosophy by scholars like John D. Turner; this reference may be due, in part, to Plotinus' attempt to refute certain interpretations of Platonic philosophy, through his Enneads. Plotinus believed the followers of Gnosticism had corrupted the original teachings of Plato and often argued against likes of Valentinus who, according to Plotinus, had given rise to doctrines of dogmatic theology with ideas such as that the Spirit of Christ was brought forth by a conscious god after the fall from Pleroma. According to Plotinus, The One is not a conscious god with intent, nor a Divinity, nor a conditioned existing entity of any kind, but is rather a requisite principle of totality which is also the source of ultimate wisdom.
After the closure of the neoplatonic academy, neoplatonic and/or secular philosophical studies continued in publicly funded schools in Alexandria and Gaza. In the early seventh century, the neoplatonist Stephanus of Alexandria brought this Alexandrian tradition to Constantinople, where it would remain influential, albeit as a form of secular education. The university maintained an active philosophical tradition of Platonism and Aristotelianism, with the former being the longest unbroken Platonic school, running for close to two millennia until the fifteenth century
Michael Psellos (1018–1078), a Byzantine monk, writer, philosopher, politician and historian, wrote many philosophical treatises, such as De omnifaria doctrina. He wrote most of his philosophy during his time as a court politician at Constantinople in the 1030s and 1040s.
Gemistos Plethon ( – 1452; Greek: Πλήθων Γεμιστός) remained the preeminent scholar of neoplatonic philosophy in the late Byzantine Empire. He introduced his understanding and insight into the works of neoplatonism during the failed attempt to reconcile the East–West Schism at the Council of Florence. At Florence, Plethon met Cosimo de' Medici and influenced the latter's decision to found a new Platonic Academy there. Cosimo subsequently appointed as head Marsilio Ficino, who proceeded to translate all Plato's works, the Enneads of Plotinus, and various other neoplatonist works into Latin.
Various Persian and Arabic scholars, including Avicenna (Ibn Sina), Ibn Arabi, al-Kindi, al-Farabi, and al-Himsi, adapted neoplatonism to conform to the monotheistic constraints of Islam. The translations of the works which extrapolate the tenets of God in neoplatonism present no major modification from their original Greek sources, showing the doctrinal shift towards monotheism. Islamic neoplatonism adapted the concepts of the One and the First Principle to Islamic theology, attributing the First Principle to God. God is a transcendent being, omnipresent and inalterable to the effects of creation. Islamic philosophers used the framework of Islamic mysticism in their interpretation of Neoplatonic writings and concepts.
Neoplatonism also influenced Scholasticism, for example through the reception and translation of Neoplatonic conception by Eriugena. Aquinas, for example, have some Neoplatonic elements in his philosophical conceptions that he adapts within an Aristotelian vocabulary.
"Of all the students of Greek in Renaissance Italy, the best-known are the neoplatonists who studied in and around Florence" (Hole). Neoplatonism was not just a revival of Plato's ideas, it is all based on Plotinus' created synthesis, which incorporated the works and teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, and other Greek philosophers.
The Renaissance in Italy was the revival of classic antiquity, and this started at the fall of the Byzantine empire, who were considered the "librarians of the world", because of their great collection of classical manuscripts and the number of humanist scholars that resided in Constantinople (Hole).
Neoplatonism in the Renaissance combined the ideas of Christianity and a new awareness of the writings of Plato.
Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) was "chiefly responsible for packaging and presenting Plato to the Renaissance" (Hole). In 1462, Cosimo I de' Medici, patron of arts, who had an interest in humanism and Platonism, provided Ficino with all 36 of Plato's dialogues in Greek for him to translate. Between 1462 and 1469, Ficino translated these works into Latin, making them widely accessible, as only a minority of people could read Greek. And, between 1484 and 1492, he translated the works of Plotinus, making them available for the first time to the West.
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494) was another neoplatonist during the Italian Renaissance. He could speak and write Latin and Greek, and had knowledge on Hebrew and Arabic. The pope banned his works because they were viewed as heretical – unlike Ficino, who managed to stay on the right side of the church.
The efforts of Ficino and Pico to introduce neoplatonic and Hermeticism doctrines into the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church has recently been evaluated in terms of an attempted "Hermetic Reformation".Heiser, James D., Prisci Theologi and the Hermetic Reformation in the Fifteenth Century, Repristination Press: Texas, 2011.
Later, Thomas Taylor (not a Cambridge Platonist) was the first to translate Plotinus' works into English. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – entry for Plotinus
The science fiction writer Philip K. Dick identified as a neoplatonist and explored related mystical experiences and religious concepts in his theoretical work, compiled in The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick.
Julius Evola incorporated Neoplatonic metaphysics into his vision of Roman pagan revival, aligning with his Traditionalist critique of modernity. Arturo Reghini, an Italian esotericist and collaborator of Evola, also promoted Neoplatonic ideas in his efforts to revive ancient Roman religion.
Islamic neoplatonism
The major reason for the prominence of neoplatonic influences in the historical Muslim world was availability of neoplatonic texts: Arabic translations and paraphrases of neoplatonic works were readily available to Islamic scholars greatly due to the availability of the Greek copies, in part, because Muslims conquered some of the more important centres of the Byzantine Christian civilization in Egypt and Syria.
Jewish thought
In the Middle Ages, neoplatonist ideas influenced Jewish thinkers, such as the Kabbalah Isaac the Blind, Azriel of Gerona and Nachmanides and the earlier Jewish neoplatonic philosopher Solomon ibn Gabirol ( Avicebron), who modified it in the light of their own monotheism.
Medieval Christian Thought
The works of Pseudo-Dionysius were primarily instrumental in the flowering of western Mysticism, most notably the German mystic Meister Eckhart (c. 1260 – c. 1328).
Western Renaissance
Neoplatonism ostensibly survived in the Eastern Christian Church as an independent tradition and was reintroduced to the West by Gemistus Pletho ( – 1452/1454), an avowed pagan and opponent of the Byzantine Church, inasmuch as the latter, under Western scholastic influence, relied heavily upon Aristotelian methodology. Pletho's Platonic revival, following the Council of Florence (1438–1439), largely accounts for the renewed interest in Platonic philosophy which accompanied the Renaissance.
Cambridge Platonists (17th century)
In the seventeenth century in England, neoplatonism was fundamental to the school of the Cambridge Platonists, whose luminaries included Henry More, Ralph Cudworth, Benjamin Whichcote and John Smith, all graduates of the University of Cambridge. Coleridge claimed that they were not really Platonists, but "more truly Plotinists": "divine Plotinus", as More called him.
Modern neoplatonism
Notable modern neoplatonists include Thomas Taylor, "the English Platonist", who wrote extensively on Platonism and translated almost the entire Platonic and Plotinian corpora into English, and the Belgian writer Suzanne Lilar.
(2025). 9780197610244, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780197610244
See also
Notes
Further reading
(2025). 9783110997514, De Gruyter. ISBN 9783110997514
(2025). 9783111246017, De Gruyter. ISBN 9783111246017
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