What is Neoplatonism?
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Published 2022-12-30
ESOTERICA: • The Ancient Neo-Platonist Attack on G...
Seekers of Unity: • From Neoplatonism to Kabbalah: A Myst...
Angela's Symposium: • Plotinus & Iamblichus on Magic and Th...
The Modern Hermeticist: • The Platonic Philosopher's Creed
John Vervaeke: • Levels of Intelligibility: Neoplaton...
Part 2 of my contribution, tackling Neoplatonism in Islamic thought, hopefully comes out next week!
Sources/Recomended Reading:
Cooper, John M. (ed.) (1997). "Plato: Complete Works". Hackett Publishing Company.
Dillon, John (1996). "The Middle Platonists". Bristol Classical Press.
Gerson, Loyd P. (ed.) (2019). "Plotinus: The Enneads". Cambridge University Press. (This is the translation of the Enneads I have been using in this episode).
Gerson, Loyd P (2008). "Cambridge Companion to Plotinus". Cambridge University Press.
Gregory, John (ed.) (1998). "The Neoplatonists: a reader". Routledge.
Iamblichus "On the Mysteries". Tranlsated by Emma C. Clarke, John M. Dillon & Jackson P. Hershell. Writings from the Graeco-Roman World. Society of Biblical Literature.
Proclus "The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary". Translated by E.R. Dodds. Second Edition. Oxford University Press.
O'Meara, Dominic J. (1999). "Plotinus: An Introduction to the Enneads". Oxford University Press.
Shaw, Gregory (2014). "Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus". Angelico Press/Sophia Perennis.
Wallis, R.T. (1998). "Neoplatonism". Second Edition. Bristol Classical Paperbacks. Hackett Publishing Company.
Also check out the excellent episodes about Plotinus on the "Secret History of Western Esotericism" pocast: shwep.net/
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:30 Collaboration
03:06 Intro (Part 2)
05:26 Plotinus - Life and works
18:22 Metaphysical underpinnings
26:46 Ascent & Participatory Metaphysics
35:01 Union with the Nous (Intellect)
36:17 Apophatic nature of the One
39:47 Alone with the Alone: Union with the One?
45:17 Neoplatonism after Plotinus
51:11 Defining Neoplatonism
52:24 The influence of Neoplatonism
54:10 Conclusion
#neoplatonism #philosophy #plotinus
All Comments (21)
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As always, check the description for sources and recomended reading to study the topic further. A video like this will always be a particular interpretation of a complex thinker like Plotinus. This video is part of an amazing collaboration with ESOTERICA, Seekers of Unity, Angela's Symposium, The Modern Hermeticist and John Vervaeke. You can find their videos on Neoplatonism below: ESOTERICA: https://youtu.be/ZV5ubPPzT7U Seekers of Unity: https://youtu.be/UmkZ383LcW8 Angela's Symposium: https://youtu.be/lNqnNjsGExM The Modern Hermeticist: https://youtu.be/Wzd98YSG6Hs John Vervaeke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbk3lA6zCic
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I love how these videos are one hour. It's like free university lectures. So generous
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Holy cow, this collaboration is like a masterclass on Neoplatonism
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This will go down in Let's Talk Religion history as an absolute banger.
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Wow!❤ This is so strikingly similar to Vedanta philosophy, where: One = Brahman Nous = Mahat (Intellect) Soul = Ahamkara (Self) Also, much of the vocabulary is the same. For example the aphophatic description of the One is similar to Neti Neti (not this, not this) approach to Brahman. The Union with One is similar to Samadhi experience where the individual Self unites with Brahman. The routine of Plotinus is also similar to what a Vedanta sage would have. Vegetarianism, abstinence or ascetic life, nonviolence, minimalism and such. And as Plotinus mentioned, Gods would actually come to Sages because even among Gods the knowledge of Nous or Brahman was rare & they would secretly come down & associate with Sages who had access to that knowledge. I'm very positive that if different people at different times saw the same thing, then there must be some truth in it.❤
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Thank you Filip for this superb exposition. Helping the Many see the One is no small feat. It's a privilege and pleasure to be working alongside you. Looking forward to the next episode on Islam and Neoplatonism.
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As student of Neoplatonism for several decades, this is the best short introduction I have ever seen or read.
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Thank you! I've been praying someone like you would make one of these because I always hear references to neoplatonism but never had it properly introduced and explained
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I'm so glad you covered this topic, it's actually surprising how Plotinus does not feature in a lot of philosophy videos despite how critical neoplatonism was in bridging antiquity with the middle ages. Really tough to explain the unexplainable but you did it flawlessly and I hope to see more videos expanding on some of these ideas (theurgy, christian/islamic neoplatonism, mysticism, etc)
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Thanks for all that. That was the best explanation I've so far encountered. As you discussed The One, the opening lines of the Tao Te Ching kept coming to mind--"The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao." This, and the other collaborations, were a great way to spend New Years Day. 👌
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I will run out of words but never be able to thanks Filip for such great content, he explains it so well.
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Right as I am getting into Neoplatonism, my favorite YouTuber releases an hour long video on it. This is the best Christmas gift.
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This series is blowing my mind. Thank you for being part of it.
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The Nous sounds like the Tao - or the Tao is like the One. It seems all inter-related and Plotinus is really talking Taoism. Wonderful work! Thank you and Happy New Year!
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20:19 "Nous is a word in Greek that is basically impossible to translate." I can't tell you how long I've struggled with trying to fathom this word. At least now I know I'm not alone!
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i'm always utterly shocked by just how much the ancients figured out about reality before we had to relearn it more than once through later philosophy and then physics.
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Fascinating transmission of ideas. You have a natural gift at teaching and sharing knowledge. You are a great gift to humanity 🙏
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Filip! I just love the way you described everything in 56 minutes.. ears all to your every word.. thank you for making us understand this beauty.
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I wanna see a wizard battle between two exceedingly holy wizards so that the planetstrikes just bounce back and forth between them forever like some kind of Dragon Ball Z episode.
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Wow, fantastic video. I can't thank you enough for the work you do on this channel. It has been so enriching and I will be forever grateful to have had such a fantastic introduction to religion.
