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Amer Dardağan STANAK, Society for Research of Bosnian Medieval History adardagan @aubih.edu.ba)

Neoplatonism: The response on Gnostic and Manichean criticism of

Abstract and took some of 's ideas and shape them into their dualistic credo, thus setting off a storm of protest by the Neoplatonists who condemned Gnostic distortion of the teachings of Plato. believed that the teachings of Gnostics were horrible because hey apparently followed the teachings of Plato and had some compatible views on the origin and nature of the cosmos with Platonism, but "Gnostic " actually twisted Plato's original teachings, and ultimately turned against him. Neoplatonists had a generally cheerful and optimistic view of the as opposed to the Gnostics who despised it. does not exist, it is just a "lack or deficit of Goodness" according to . The only source of evil for Neoplatonists is in the state of distance from the One, as a result of turning to the excessive material pleasures downwards and not toward superior spiritual upwards. Augustine became Neoplatonist in indirect way, and we know that Neoplatonistic texts helped in his transition to . He used the Platonic writings to attack Manichaeism, a sect which he once belonged. He came across Neoplatonic works of Plotinus and Ambrose written in Latin that helped him to change his Manichaean way of thinking about and evil. Augustine said that Manichaean is not true God because He is vulnerable to evil, stating that a true God is omnipotent and can't be affected in any way. After Augustine encountered Neoplatonic teachings he called Manichean teachings extremely simplified, pointing out that people are not found in every life situation torn between just two alternatives: , since people have multiple, complex and complicated desires and needs. According to Augustine we do not have two substances in us that are in war with each other, light and darkness, good and evil, but the problem is in our that longs for a multitude of things that we want, of which only some are good. In this way he formulated his doctrine of good and evil influenced by Neoplatonism which was completely different from the dualistic approach we find in Gnosticim and Manichaeism.

Key words Gnosticism, Manichaeism, Neoplatonism, Plotinus, st.Augustine, Good and Evil, dualism, Goodness

The term "Neoplatonism" implies to the philosophical school committed to the teachings of Plato but in a form that is quite different from the earlier Platonism which existed some 500 years before. The term was introduced in the 19th century and it is a known fact that the Neoplatonists did not call themselves that way, but they simply considered to be disciples and followers of the Plato's teachings, but we can also assume that they called themselves the followers of "the One", "the First", or "the Good" (Krest).

Neoplatonism confirms that the is eternal and indestructible, putting forth the idea of unity of all that exists from one eternal source. Teachings of Neoplatonism include aswell the understanding of through hierarchy of intelligible layers, where those which are higher in that hierarchy are automatically better and more perfect than those who are lower, so metaphysics in Neoplatonism can only be understood through vertical orientation, rather than horizontally. (Up and Down; Up: closer to God, more perfect, better, simpler; Down: away from God, imperfect, multiplicity, more complex).

What separates the Neoplatonism from the is the neoplatonistic that although the teachings of Plato is the only valid way to the , still these teachings are written in such a way that they are leaving a lot of room for different interpretations. The best example of this are Gnosticism and Manichaeism which took some of Plato's ideas and shape them into their dualistic credo, thus setting off a storm of protest by the Neoplatonists, especially Plotinus who condemned Gnostic distortion of the teachings of Plato. So the main goal of Plotinus was not to create a new philosophical school, but to continue Plato's teachings in their original form, doing tasks of systematization and correct interpretation which nevertheless inevitably lead to the emergence of Platonic schools in institutionalized form.

It is valuable to mention that there is a great period of separating the Middle Platonism and Neoplatonism, which gave Neoplatonists certain amount of intellectual superiority to take in account all of the deficiencies and criticisms toward Platonism and not hesitating to mix different philosophical ideas and concepts to explain the basic principles of Neoplatonistic metaphysics and thus actually creating a certain which will on the example of Late Neoplatonism ritualisation resemble more to , than to the philosophical school. So when we speak about Neoplatonism, we actually consider symbiosis of Platonic ideas about , Aristotelian precision based on the analysis, and Neopythagorean mathematical model of the expressed by numbers. Yet in spite of all this syncretism it would be wrong to claim that the Neoplatonists considered anyone else except Plato as the source of greatest and truth, and this loyalty to philosophical ideas of Plato can be even compared to real dogma. Especially Plotinus as the founder of Neoplatonism was profoundly angry on Gnostics who used Platonic ideas in changed and unoriginal form. So if the Christians did not like the Gnostics, because of their arrogant claim that only they know the true "gnosis" about God and how to be saved, Neoplatonists simply did not like them because of their bad use of Platonism to explain certain principles of their dualistic credo.

Neoplatonistic response to the Gnostic criticism of Platonism

Plotinus believed that the teachings of Gnostics were horrible. They apparently followed the teachings of Plato and had some compatible views on the origin and nature of the cosmos with Platonism, but in the opinion of Plotinus and most other Platonists "Gnostic myth" actually twisted Plato's original teachings, and ultimately turned against him. Plotinus wrote a whole treatise "Against the Gnostics" in attempt to discredit their . However, here it is necessary to say that the hatred and intolerance that the Jews and Christians demonstrated toward the Gnostics are mainly based on the fact that their ideas were so different from those who had the Gnostics. On the other hand Neoplatonists did not like them because the Gnostic ideas were so similar to theirs, using the same Platonic sources but they have interpreted them in a "wrong" and "corrupt" way, which greatly irritated the Neoplatonists who decided to catalog and explain the works of Plato so others would not use them in a wrong way. For example Plotinus said Gnostics say they are Platonists, but that they really aren't. Another why Plotinus did not like the Gnostics is in their arrogant attitude that only they know the truth about God and that only they can be saved. According to the Neolatonists, salvation is available to all and this notion will be especially expressed during the time of Late Neoplatonists who sought to introduce as many people under their credo. In the center of Neoplatonic approach to the issue of salvation is our essential connection and unity with God, as opposed to Gnostic approach that we are disconnected and distant from God because of the of "other principles", ie. the evil God.1 Neoplatonic concept of continuous cyclic existence is in sharp contrast to the Gnostic concept of "Aeon" who went "astray" and "fell" into this material world, which is one of the main features of the Gnostic . According to Plotinus, there is no error or defect in God that caused the "fall" of God in the material world, but God is gradually developing, opening or emanating, while the phenomenon of matter is explained simply as the end result of this divine process.

The Gnostics believed that the material world contains certain divine fragments or substances that are "trapped" within our physical bodies, so the "salvation" means the return of the "divine substance" to its source, or its fullness. Plotinus also had a negative opinion about the body, referring to the body as something that is not our , so one of his biographers wrote that it

1 Ibid often seemed that Plotinus even was ashamed of the fact that he had a body. However, Plotinus and especially the Late Neoplatonists did not bring the body and soul in a direct confrontation with each other, neither they shared the gnostic idea that divine substance is "trapped" in the body. Instead, they believed that goodness, unity and beauty of the body are actually an indicator of the presence of the soul in the body, which also gives life to the same body. Matter is formless, while the soul is the one who gives life to the body and shape it in accordance with the principles of Goodness, Beauty and Unity, which are also the main characteristics of the One. Thus, for example body could have Platonic atribute of "Goodness" only after it was "imprinted" with that characteristic by the soul itself giving the body beautiful and harmonious structure, integrity and good functionality. Neoplatonists are simply observing the material world as "a visible manifestation of the world full of spiritual forms." The entire body of material universe also derives its harmonious integrity and beauty from the divine Soul, so Neoplatonists admired the cosmos for its spiritual characteristics such as its beauty, consistency and integrity, opposing the Gnostic view that have seen celestial bodies as cosmic torturers which only goal is to make our material existance unbearable. From this we can conclude that the Neoplatonists had a generally cheerful and optimistic view of the world as opposed to the Gnostics who despised it. Therefore, according to the Platonists, the body is not "real us", but it is the full manifestation or form of "real us" and therefore, despite all the shortcomings it is worthy of our admiration.

Also, the body is not separate from its source, and it also contains certain layers that are closer or further from its source. The highest or central level of the "self" remains in God, reflecting the Neoplatonic idea that we exist in Heaven and on Earth at the same time simultaneously. It is important to remember that according to Platonists all that exist automatically is good, because created things participate in the Goodness of the One and receive the Goodness from the One. Things and are more or less good, depending on how close or how deeply they are involved in One.

Evil does not exist, it is just a "lack or deficit of Goodness". Every person is good simply because it exist and have life within the One. According to Neoplatonism we call some people bad or evil because of their deficit or lack of Goodness. So there is enough evidence for the claim that the Neoplatonistic world view was largely different from the Gnostic. When Gnostics saw the world around them they recognized enemy "rulers", or so-called Archons who wanted to enslave people, while the Neoplatonists saw the world as a reflection of the Goodness of One. The only source of evil for Neoplatonists is being in the state of distance from the One, as a result of turning to the excessive material pleasures downwards and not toward superior spiritual reality upwards. According to Plotinus everything that exist is good and the evil is simply the lack of existence, so actually it is nothing. Here are some analogies, first let's imagine a healthy body which is good, and then imagine the wound on the body. The wound or the vulnerable state of the body is not an independent thing or some sort of "being" that plans to attack the body, but the wound is simply a lack of health, the deficit in goodness of the body. Similarly, let's imagine the rust on the car, which again is not an independent thing, or something that exists separately from the car, but it is the state of some deficit on car itself. All is good in relation to the amount of goodness or existence but it is important that according to Neoplatonic scheme of existence, the light of Goodness progressively emanates downwards, simultaneously reducing its intensity. Evil is the lack of good and Satan is certainly evil, but his evil is the lack of good or the smallest amount of good. So we can conclude that the evil and matter are irrelevant and take secondary place in the neoplatonic hierarchy. Neoplatonists did not deny the evil, but for them it is only the absence of Goodness which implies ignorance or choice not to be the spiritual being and not to meet the man's sole purpose, its return to the source or God.

The One or God does not create evil, but the imperfections of the material world are there because of our distance from the first priciple. Unity, Beauty and Goodness are reduced in intensity gradually on the scale of emanations, so the ultimate end of these emanations is in the material world where very little Beauty and Goodness left in comparison with the great scale of the intensity in the Upper Realm. This observation of the problem of evil defined as a lack or deficit of existence is the basic between Neoplatonism and Gnosticism. Plotinus accused Gnostics that they "reject" the world because they don't have any code of or system of life to offer by which people should live and act upon. Gnostic tradition does not elaborate what are the obligations and codes of ethics by which their "listeners" should act upon besides general recommendation to avoid involvement with the material world. Both the Neoplatonists and the Gnostics generally inherited Plato's division on the broad membership of followers who are still very active in the material world and the "real" followers who are focused on spiritual or "real" aspect of their life filled with ascetism. The broad membership was focused on the lower level of the political whose role is to control the worldly desires and emotions, and to direct them in the right direction. Political virtues such as practical wisdom, courage, wisdom and are generally related to the broad congregation of followers who are still involved in everything mundane but their activity is controlled by the reason.

On the other hand we have a higher which is above the political virtues and it applies to the closed group of followers or who are completely focused towards the upper world and the of the Forms. Their soul is cleansed of the material world impurities and it is facing the Upper realm. This higher level of virtue all the Neoplatonists should strive for and "real" Neoplatonists are those who contemplate the "real world" and not its reflection in the material world. So according to Neoplatonism human beings have double nature, first refers to the fullfilment of the world through ultimate manifestation into complex multiplicity and second relates to our higher status and access to higher levels of spiritual reality reflected in our potential or the return toward the simple unified source.

Neoplatonistic response to the Manichean criticism of Platonism

It should be initially noted that the Neoplatonistic arguments on response to Gnostic criticism of Platonism also applied to their response to Manichaeism. About these responses we know more, thanks to St. Augustine who used the Platonic writings to attack Manichaeism, a sect which he once belonged, probably to justify and his Christian contemporaries that he completely broke with his "heretical" past.

We can actually say that after the break with Manichaeism, Augustine became Neoplatonist in indirect way, and we know that Neoplatonistic texts helped in his transition to Christianity. Augustin moved to Milan 384. for a new job where he discovered a new perspectives that helped him to ultimately terminate his relaionship with the Manichaeism. First, he came across Neoplatonic works of Plotinus written in Latin that helped him to change his Manichaean way of thinking about good and evil. He considered Neoplatonic explanation of good and evil superior to Manichaean, and in that time he also came across Neoplatonic teachings of Ambrose (339- 397), the Christian bishop of Milan. Ambrose combined Neoplatonic teachings of Plotinus with Christianity, and interpreted the "strange" stories from the Old Testament symbolically explaining that immoral persons and their activities that appear in the Bible and which were therefore unattractive to Augustine, actually are not literally true, but communicate bigger through the use of allegory. Therefore Ambrose helped Augustine to see that Christianity through Neoplatonism can also be philosophically sophisticated.

For us it is important here to focus on bigger questions about God, good and evil and how Augustine spoke about these important topics. The main Manichaean teaching about God which is good and Satan which is evil, as two eternal principles which are completely separate from the beginning of time, further elaborated the notion that evil (darkness) attacked good (light) and as the result some fragments of the good stayed trapped in the darkness of evil which is symbolized by the material body. Human beings feel the mixture of good and evil in themselves. According to Manichaeism our true self is a fragment of light in us and our bodies are made up of evil and darkness, so that is the reason why we feel constantly torn between good and evil.

According to Manicheans, the life should be lived in a way that light is released and separated from the darkness so it can return to the Domain of Light. Augustin has developed Christian about God and good and evil, which is opposed to Manichaean doctrines. For example, Augustine said that Manichaean God is not true God because He is vulnerable to evil, stating that a true God is omnipotent and can't be affected in any way. So according to Augustine, Manichaean God is not omnipotent because evil is able to "capture" some of His light, so the only God who is worthy of is the Almighty God who is not vulnerable to evil. Therefore, the first principle by Augustine against the Manichaeans was: "God is Almighty and more powerful than any evil principle". So where did evil come from? Manichaens had a very simple answer to this question, saying that evil always existed along with the good. However, Augustin declined this dualistic approach with a claim that from the beginning there always been only one Almighty God and He is the source of all and He is more powerful than anything else. From this arises a serious problem in Platonism related to the fact that we do not want to imagine a God who creates evil and we can ask ourselves why would God create evil? The valid answers on these complex questions have been given by Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism. According to Plotinus, there is only one ultimate principle, the God (One), who is entirely good, and evil is not some independent force or principle, it is simply "the " or "lack of good". For Augustine, all that exists is good, and not just the humans, animals, trees. plants but also our bodies, and even the devil himself. Evil is the lack of good and Satan example is certainly evil, but his evil is the lack of good or the smallest amount of the good. How this works at the level of individual human beings? Manichaean approach contrasted good and evil, explaining in a simple way why human beings in the same time can be capable of doing good things but also evil things aswell. After Augustine encountered Neoplatonic teachings he called Manichean teachings extremely simplified, pointing out that people are not found in every life situation torn between just two alternatives: good and evil, since people have multiple, complex and complicated desires and needs. In other words, we do not ask ourselves constantly whether we are going to do good or evil? Instead, Augustine says, we decide to do things that are not entirely good or entirely bad. From this, it follows that we do not have two substances in us that are in war with each other, light and darkness, good and evil, but the problem is in our will that longs for a multitude of things that we want, of which only some are good.

For example according to the Neoplatonism, exclusive emphasis solely on material things around us and obsessive desire to have what we see in the world around us is actually turning away from the Good, while spiritual contemplation, virtue and kindness turn us to the Goodness under the axiom "like attracts like". Turning away from God is a state of "evil" in us, so in this Augustine's teaching we find Neoplatonic principle of vertical orientation of the soul which he named the vertical orientation of the will. Whether our will is closer to God, facing upward and looking inside, or does it aspire going down, away from God through looking too much externaly to the material world. Since evil is the lack of good, when our will is turned away from God, we have an obvious lack or deficit of our love for God, and this state we can call true "evil" in us. Our will longs for a lot of different things and according to Neoplatonistic belief the multitude and complexity is the inferior state, while longing and love for only one ultimate source, the God, is a superior state of as it reflects simplicity and unity of all that exists. So unlike the Manichean vision of evil and sin that comes from the principle of Evil, Augustine introduces Neoplatonic concept of "lack of good" and turning the human will away From God. In this way he formulated his doctrine of good and evil influenced by Neoplatonism which was completely different from the dualistic approach we find in Gnosticim and Manichaeism.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Remes, Paulina, Neoplatonism, Acumen publishing, 2008.

Gregory Shaw, and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of (: Studies in the History of ), 1995.

David Brakke, Gnosticism: From Nag Hammadi to the Gospel of Judas, The Great Courses, 2015. Steven Runciman, The Medieval Manichee: A Study of the Christian Dualist Heresy, 1947. Kurt Rudolph, Gnosis The Nature and History of Gnosticism, 2000.