Reading Neoplatonism: Non-discursive Thinking in the Texts of Plotinus, Proclus, and Damascius

by Sara Rappe

Overview

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 A.D. and that based itself on the corpus of Plato's dialogues. Sara Rappe's challenging and innovative study is the first book to analyze Neoplatonic texts themselves using contemporary philosophy of language. It covers the whole tradition of Neoplatonic writing from Plotinus through Proclus to Damascius. In providing the broadest available survey of Neoplatonic writing the book will appeal to classical philosophers, classicists, as well as students of religious studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521651585
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/28/2000
Pages:	292
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.98(d)

Table of Contents

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.

Editorial Reviews

"Engaging, important, and provocative..." Ancient Philosophy

"Rappe's excellent book will have a significant impact on the study of late antique religion..." The Journal of Religion

"Provides a seriously refreshing reading of some of the more problematic and inspiring passages in the neoplatonic tradition...Recommended for classicists and students of neoplationism, also theologians interested in patristic studies will find this style of interpretation suggestive." Neoplatonism

"In this elegant an important book, Sara Rappe confronts a crucial enigma of Neoplatonism...Reading Neoplatonism is a most valuable introduction to Neoplatonism altogether and that its radical argument with respect to the meditative and non-discursive character of this tradition successfully challenges many received historical assumptions." Frederic M. Schroeder, Queen's University, Mouseion

"The book is an admirable piece of scholarship with impeccable knowledge of the Neoplatonic tradition, clear description of complex ideas, and a highly engaging narrative." Journal of the American Academy of Religion

"This is one of those good books that does not leave one silent. It is a book to learn from and to discuss as well as to disagree with. Rappe's daring choice of method leads to a genuinely new interpretation." Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"The application of a modern literary approach to the rather esoteric field of Neoplatonism is exciting and fruitful. The book is filled with sharp insights and comparisons that I have never seen before in the literature." Lloyd Gerson, University of Toronto

"Rappe is to be commended for a provocative, rich, and stirring work. In our current climate, where everything is a text, including breakfast, it is refreshing to have presented in full force a system that saw text as a pedagogical tool meant to lead beings to something beyond text." St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly

"Sara Rappe has given us a stimulating book full of interesting suggestions concerning philosophers hardly known, in some cases, in the English-speaking world...[a] daring and innovative work." The Philosophical Review

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