Allegory and Ascent in Neoplatonism
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Socialist Fairy Tales, Fables, and Allegories from Great Britain
© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be distributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical means without prior written permission of the publisher. ■ Introduction In 1974, I visited the mining area of South Wales to make a short educational radio programme about the nationalization of the mines, which took place under the Labour government of 1945– 50. One miner and political activist, Chris Evans, gave me a long interview ranging across the history of locality, mining, work, and his hopes for a socialist future. In describing the nature of life and work, he moved into recitation mode and said: I go to work, to earn money to buy bread to build up my strength, to go to work to earn money to buy bread to build up my strength to go to work . We laughed wryly. I enjoyed the way in which he had reduced the whole cycle of life and work into one rhythmic account. In literary terms, it turns the intricate interactions of existence into emblems, single vignettes that flow one to the other, contrasting with each other. It is, then, a particular kind of storytelling used with the in- tent of revealing or alerting a reader or listener to what the speaker thinks is an unsatisfactory state of affairs. The fact that the story doesn’t end with a conclusion hits the button because through its never- ending form (rather than through words themselves) it re- veals the folly, drudgery, and wrongness of what is being critiqued. 1 For general queries, contact [email protected] © Copyright, Princeton University Press. -
Alternate History – Alternate Memory: Counterfactual Literature in the Context of German Normalization
ALTERNATE HISTORY – ALTERNATE MEMORY: COUNTERFACTUAL LITERATURE IN THE CONTEXT OF GERMAN NORMALIZATION by GUIDO SCHENKEL M.A., Freie Universität Berlin, 2006 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (German Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2012 © Guido Schenkel, 2012 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines a variety of Alternate Histories of the Third Reich from the perspective of memory theory. The term ‘Alternate History’ describes a genre of literature that presents fictional accounts of historical developments which deviate from the known course of hi story. These allohistorical narratives are inherently presentist, meaning that their central question of “What If?” can harness the repertoire of collective memory in order to act as both a reflection of and a commentary on contemporary social and political conditions. Moreover, Alternate Histories can act as a form of counter-memory insofar as the counterfactual mode can be used to highlight marginalized historical events. This study investigates a specific manifestation of this process. Contrasted with American and British examples, the primary focus is the analysis of the discursive functions of German-language counterfactual literature in the context of German normalization. The category of normalization connects a variety of commemorative trends in postwar Germany aimed at overcoming the legacy of National Socialism and re-formulating a positive German national identity. The central hypothesis is that Alternate Histories can perform a unique task in this particular discursive setting. In the context of German normalization, counterfactual stories of the history of the Third Reich are capable of functioning as alternate memories, meaning that they effectively replace the memory of real events with fantasies that are better suited to serve as exculpatory narratives for the German collective. -
The Language of Union in Jewish Neoplatonism
Chapter 5 “As Light Unites with Light”: The Language of Union in Jewish Neoplatonism Like their Christian and Muslim counterparts, Jewish writers between the 10th and 13th centuries increasingly expressed the soul’s transformation and prog- ress towards God in Platonic, Neoplatonic, and Neo-Aristotelian terms. These philosophical systems provided models that not only allowed the human soul to come close to God, but also enabled union with Him, through mediating spiritual or mental elements. In the early writings of Jewish Neoplatonists, under the direct influence of Arab Neoplatonism, the notion of mystical union was articulated for the first time since Philo. The Neoplatonist “axis of return”, which constitutes the odyssey of the soul to its origin in the divine, became creatively absorbed into rabbinic Judaism. Judaism was synthesized once again with Platonism, this time in the form of the Platonism of Proclus and Plotinus and their enhanced idea and experience of mystical henōsis with the “Nous” and the “One”.1 In their classic study on Isaac Israeli (855–955),2 Alexander Altmann and Samuel Stern, claimed that this 10th-century Jewish-Arab Neoplatonist artic- ulated for the first time a Jewish-Arabic version of henōsis as ittihad. In his Neoplatonic understanding of Judaism, Isaac Israeli incorporated the ideas of spiritual return and mystical union into his systematic exposition of rabbinic Judaism. Israeli interpreted this spiritual return as a religious journey, and viewed the three stages of Proclus’s ladder of ascension—purification, illumi- nation, and mystical union—as the inner meaning of Judaism and its religious path. His synthesis paved the way for the extensive employment of the termi- nology of devequt—but significantly, in the Neoplatonic sense of henōsis—in medieval Jewish literature, both philosophical and Kabbalistic. -
Augustine and the Art of Ruling in the Carolingian Imperial Period
Augustine and the Art of Ruling in the Carolingian Imperial Period This volume is an investigation of how Augustine was received in the Carolingian period, and the elements of his thought which had an impact on Carolingian ideas of ‘state’, rulership and ethics. It focuses on Alcuin of York and Hincmar of Rheims, authors and political advisers to Charlemagne and to Charles the Bald, respectively. It examines how they used Augustinian political thought and ethics, as manifested in the De civitate Dei, to give more weight to their advice. A comparative approach sheds light on the differences between Charlemagne’s reign and that of his grandson. It scrutinizes Alcuin’s and Hincmar’s discussions of empire, rulership and the moral conduct of political agents during which both drew on the De civitate Dei, although each came away with a different understanding. By means of a philological–historical approach, the book offers a deeper reading and treats the Latin texts as political discourses defined by content and language. Sophia Moesch is currently an SNSF-funded postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford, working on a project entitled ‘Developing Principles of Good Govern- ance: Latin and Greek Political Advice during the Carolingian and Macedonian Reforms’. She completed her PhD in History at King’s College London. Augustine and the Art of Ruling in the Carolingian Imperial Period Political Discourse in Alcuin of York and Hincmar of Rheims Sophia Moesch First published 2020 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation. -
The Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster
The Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster The Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster v. 12.11, www.philaletheians.co.uk, 29 June 2018 Page 1 of 25 THEOSOPHY AND THEOSOPHISTS SERIES THE CHALDEAN ORACLES OF ZOROASTER Contents A brief note about the Chaldeans. 3 Cause God, Father, Mind, Fire Monad, Duad, Triad. 4 Ideas Intelligibles, Intellectuals, Iynges, Synoches, Teletarchæ, Fountains, Principles, Hecate, and Dæmons. 8 Particular Souls Soul, Life, Man. 13 Matter Matter, the Word, and Nature. 16 Magical and Philosophical Precepts [For would-be disciples] 20 The Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster v. 12.11, www.philaletheians.co.uk, 29 June 2018 Page 2 of 25 THEOSOPHY AND THEOSOPHISTS SERIES THE CHALDEAN ORACLES OF ZOROASTER A brief note about the Chaldeans. These “mysterious” Akkadians or Chaldeans, whose name both upon classical and biblical authority designates not only a nation but that peculiar priestly caste initiat- ed in and entirely devoted to the Sciences of astrology and magic. Held sacred in all ages, this peculiar learning was concentrated in Babylon and known in the remotest periods of history as a system of religious worship and Science which made the glory of the Chaldean.1 [The Chaldeans] assuredly got their primitive learning from the Brahmans, for H.C. Rawlinson shows an undeniably Vedic influence in the early mythology of Babylon; and Col. Vans Kennedy has long since justly declared that Babylonia was, from her origin, the seat of Sanskrit and Brahman learning.2 . [H]Ea, the God of Wisdom, [is] now identified with the Ōannēs of Berosus, the half-man, half-fish, who taught the Babylonians culture and the art of writing.3 It is maintained that INDIA (not in its present limits, but including its ancient bound- aries) is the only country in the world which still has among her sons adepts, who have the knowledge of all the seven sub-systems and the key to the entire system. -
Life with Augustine
Life with Augustine ...a course in his spirit and guidance for daily living By Edmond A. Maher ii Life with Augustine © 2002 Augustinian Press Australia Sydney, Australia. Acknowledgements: The author wishes to acknowledge and thank the following people: ► the Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel, Australia, for support- ing this project, with special mention of Pat Fahey osa, Kevin Burman osa, Pat Codd osa and Peter Jones osa ► Laurence Mooney osa for assistance in editing ► Michael Morahan osa for formatting this 2nd Edition ► John Coles, Peter Gagan, Dr. Frank McGrath fms (Brisbane CEO), Benet Fonck ofm, Peter Keogh sfo for sharing their vast experience in adult education ► John Rotelle osa, for granting us permission to use his English translation of Tarcisius van Bavel’s work Augustine (full bibliography within) and for his scholarly advice Megan Atkins for her formatting suggestions in the 1st Edition, that have carried over into this the 2nd ► those generous people who have completed the 1st Edition and suggested valuable improvements, especially Kath Neehouse and friends at Villanova College, Brisbane Foreword 1 Dear Participant Saint Augustine of Hippo is a figure in our history who has appealed to the curiosity and imagination of many generations. He is well known for being both sinner and saint, for being a bishop yet also a fellow pilgrim on the journey to God. One of the most popular and attractive persons across many centuries, his influence on the church has continued to our current day. He is also renowned for his influ- ence in philosophy and psychology and even (in an indirect way) art, music and architecture. -
On the Chaldaean Oracles 565
Classical Quarterly 56.2 563–581 (2006) Printed in Great Britain 563 doi:10.1017/S0009838806000541 A NEGLECTED TESTIMONIUM ON THECHALDAEAN ORACLESG. BECHTLE A NEGLECTED TESTIMONIUM (FRAGMENT?) ON THE CHALDAEAN ORACLES* INTRODUCTION The Chaldaean Oracles, their Platonic context and their influence on later Platonism have recently received fresh scholarly attention (from, for example, Polymnia Athanassiadi, Carine van Liefferinge and Ruth Majercik).1 But although an important quotation from the Oracles—in indirect speech—can be found in the anonymous Turin Commentary on the Platonic Parmenides (9.1–8), this latter does not seem to have received a great deal of attention in the scholarly literature on the Oracles.2 Thus it seems that the Commentary’s importance with respect to the Oracles is either not fully realized or else undervalued. Probably because the piece of text is a non-literal, that is, non-metric, quotation, editors of the Chaldaean Oracles have rejected the notion that it constitutes an actual fragment, and have viewed it only as a testimonium or a text of reference.3 However, it will be argued that what we actually * I would like to thank the Swiss National Science Foundation for generously supporting my work on this article. I also owe a debt of gratitude to both the anonymous referee and Luc Brisson for their valuable comments. 1 P. Athanassiadi, ‘The Chaldaean Oracles: theology and theurgy’, in P. Athanassiadi and M. Frede (edd.), Pagan Monotheism in Late Antiquity (Oxford, 1999), 149–83. C. van Liefferinge, La Théurgie. Des Oracles Chaldaïques àProclus, Kernos supplément 9 (Liège, 1999). R. -
Summary Essay"
Muhammad Abdullah (19154) Book 4 Chapter 5 "Summary Essay" This chapter on 'The Peripatetic School' talks about this school and its decline. By 'peripatetic', it means the school of thought of Aristotle. Moreover, 'The Peripatetic School' was a philosophy school in Ancient Greece. And obviously its teachings were found and inspired by Aristotle. Other than that, its followers were called, 'Peripatetic'. At first, the school was a base for Macedonian influence in Athens. The school in earlier days -and in Aristotle's times- was distinguished by doing research in every field, like, botany, zoology, and many more. It tried to solve problems in every subject/field. It also gathered earlier views and writings of philosophers who came before. First, it talks about the difference in botanical writings of Theophrastus and Aristotle. Theophrastus was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic School. He was a plant biologist. Theophrastus wrote treatises in many areas of philosophy to improve and comment-on Aristotle's writings. In addition to this, Theophrastus built his own writings upon the writings of earlier philosophers. The chapter then differentiates between Lyceum (The Peripatetic School) and Ptolemaic Alexandria. Moreover, after Aristotle, Theophrastus and Strato shifted the focus of peripatetic philosophy to more of empiricism and materialism. One of Theophrastus' most important works is 'Metaphysics' or 'A Fragment'. This work is important in the sense that it raises important questions. This work seems to object Aristotle's work of Unmoved Mover. Theophrastus states that there's natural phenomenon at work. However, some interpretations suggest that Theophrastus goes against Platonist. Theophrastus says, "...the universe is an organized system in which the same degree of purposefulness and goodness should not be expected at every level." Additionally, the chapter points out that objecting the writings and building your own work upon it is what the 'real' Aristotelian way of doing work is. -
Plotinus and the Artistic Imagination John S
Roger Williams University DOCS@RWU School of Architecture, Art, and Historic School of Architecture, Art, and Historic Preservation Faculty Publications Preservation 2015 Plotinus and the Artistic Imagination John S. Hendrix Roger Williams University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://docs.rwu.edu/saahp_fp Part of the Architecture Commons Recommended Citation Hendrix, John S., "Plotinus and the Artistic Imagination" (2015). School of Architecture, Art, and Historic Preservation Faculty Publications. Paper 31. http://docs.rwu.edu/saahp_fp/31 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Architecture, Art, and Historic Preservation at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Architecture, Art, and Historic Preservation Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Plotinus and the Artistic Imagination John Hendrix In the thought of Plotinus, the imagination is responsible for the apprehen- sion of the activity of Intellect. If creativity in the arts involves an exercise of the imagination, the image-making power that links sense perception to noet- ic thought and the nous poietikos , the poetic or creative intellect, then the arts exercise the apprehension of intellectual activity and unconscious thought. According to John Dillon in “Plotinus and the Transcendental Imag- ination,” 1 Plotinus’ conception of the imagination led to the formulation of the imagination as a basis of artistic creativity. In Plotinus, imagination operates on several different levels: it produces images in sense perception, it synthesizes images in dianoetic thought, and it produces images in correspondence with the articulation through logos of noetic thought. -
Erotic Devotional Poetry: Resisting Neoplatonism in Protestant Christianity Sarah M
Seattle aP cific nivU ersity Digital Commons @ SPU Honors Projects University Scholars Spring June 1st, 2019 Erotic Devotional Poetry: Resisting Neoplatonism in Protestant Christianity Sarah M. Pruis Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects Part of the Christianity Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, European History Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, History of Christianity Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, Philosophy Commons, Practical Theology Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, and the Theory and Criticism Commons Recommended Citation Pruis, Sarah M., "Erotic Devotional Poetry: Resisting Neoplatonism in Protestant Christianity" (2019). Honors Projects. 109. https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/109 This Honors Project is brought to you for free and open access by the University Scholars at Digital Commons @ SPU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ SPU. EROTIC DEVOTIONAL POETRY: RESISTING NEOPLATONISM IN PROTESTANT CHRISTIANITY by S. M. PRUIS FACULTY ADVISOR, JENNIFER MAIER SECOND READER, YELENA BAILEY A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University Scholars Honors Program. Seattle Pacific University 2019 Approved Date ABSTRACT A genre best known for its appearance in Eastern religions, erotic devotional poetry uses sensual imagery to access an experience of the -
Iamblichus and Julian''s ''Third Demiurge'': a Proposition
Iamblichus and Julian”s ”Third Demiurge”: A Proposition Adrien Lecerf To cite this version: Adrien Lecerf. Iamblichus and Julian”s ”Third Demiurge”: A Proposition . Eugene Afonasin; John M. Dillon; John F. Finamore. Iamblichus and the Foundations of Late Platonism, 13, BRILL, p. 177-201, 2012, Ancient Mediterranean and Medieval Texts and Contexts. Studies in Platonism, Neoplatonism, and the Platonic Tradition, 10.1163/9789004230118_012. hal-02931399 HAL Id: hal-02931399 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02931399 Submitted on 6 Sep 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Iamblichus and Julian‟s “Third Demiurge”: A Proposition Adrien Lecerf Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France [email protected] ABSTRACT. In the Emperor Julian's Oration To the Mother of the Gods, a philosophical interpretation of the myth of Cybele and Attis, reference is made to an enigmatic "third Demiurge". Contrary to a common opinion identifying him to the visible Helios (the Sun), or to tempting identifications to Amelius' and Theodorus of Asine's three Demiurges, I suggest that a better idea would be to compare Julian's text to Proclus' system of Demiurges (as exposed and explained in a Jan Opsomer article, "La démiurgie des jeunes dieux selon Proclus", Les Etudes Classiques, 71, 2003, pp. -
Gulino 1 Pleasure and the Stoic Sage a Thesis Presented to the Honors
Gulino 1 Pleasure and the Stoic Sage A Thesis Presented to The Honors Tutorial College of Ohio University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation from the Honors Tutorial College with the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy By Kathleen R. Gulino June 2011 Gulino 2 Table of Contents Sources and Abbreviations 2 Introduction 3 Chapter 1: Οἰκείωζις 9 Chapter 2: Χαρά 25 Conclusions 42 References 50 Gulino 3 Sources and Abbreviations Throughout this work, I cite several traditional sources for Stoic and Hellenistic texts. Here I have provided a list of the abbreviations I will use to refer to those texts. The References page lists the specific editions from which I have cited. Fin. Cicero, De Finibus (On Moral Ends) NA Gellius, Noctes Atticae (Attic Nights) Div. Inst. Lactantius, Divine Institutes DL Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers LS A.A. Long and D.N. Sedley, The Hellenistic Philosophers Ep. Seneca, Epistulae (Letters) Gulino 4 Introduction. The Hellenistic period refers, generally speaking, to the years beginning with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and ending with the downfall of the Roman Republic, considered as Octavian‘s victory at the battle of Actium, in 31 BCE. Philosophy was a Greek activity throughout this period, and at the outset, the works of Plato and Aristotle were the main texts used in philosophical study. However, as the Hellenistic culture came into its own, philosophy came to be dominated by three schools unique to the period: Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Skepticism. All of these, having come about after Aristotle, are distinctively Hellenistic, and it was these schools that held primary influence over thought in the Hellenistic world, at least until the revival of Platonism during the first century.1 Today, in the English-speaking world, the names of these traditions are still familiar, remaining in popular usage as ordinary adjectives.