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 AD and that based itself on the corpus of Plato's dialogues. Sara Rappe's challenging study analyses Neoplatonic texts themselves using contemporary philosophy of language. It covers the whole tradition of Neoplatonic writing from Plotinus through Proclus to Damascius. Addressing the strain of mysticism in these works, the author shows how these texts reflect actual meditational practices, methods of concentrating the mind, and other mental disciplines that informed the tradition as a whole. In providing such a broad survey of Neoplatonic writing, the book will appeal to classical philosophers classicists as well as students of religious studies.
Outlines of Scepticism, by the Greek philosopher Sextus Empiricus, is a work of major importance for the history of Greek philosophy. It is the fullest extant account of ancient scepticism, and it is also one of our most copious sources of information about the other Hellenistic philosophies. Its first part contains an elaborate exposition of the Pyrrhonian variety of scepticism; its second and third parts are critical and destructive, arguing against 'dogmatism' in logic, epistemology, science and ethics - an approach that revolutionized the study of philosophy when Sextus' works were rediscovered and published in the sixteenth century. This volume presents the accurate and readable translation which was first published in 1994, together with a substantial new historical and philosophical introduction by Jonathan Barnes.
Brennan offers an interpretation of the brand of skepticism represented in the writings of the third-century Roman historian and philosopher. He takes as his starting point passages in which Sextus cl
This extensively revised and updated second edition of The Neoplatonists provides a valuable introduction to the thought of the four central Neoplatonist philosophers, Plotinus, Porphyry, Proclus and
Blank presents a new translation into clear modern English of a key treatise by one of the greatest of ancient philosophers, together with the first ever commentary on this work. Sextus Empiricus'sAga
This book performs for the Academici Libri what P.L. Schmidt achieved for the De legibus - it studies the entire tradition of the work, including its original publication, its influence in Antiquity,
Calling him the most important philosopher between Aristotle and Augustine, Gerson (philosophy, U. of Toronto) details the arguments of Plotinus (AD 205-270) in metaphysics, epistemology, psychology,
These ten essays on Cicero's Academic Books (the Academia and Lucullus) deal with various aspects of Academic scepticism, ancient epistemology, and the history of the Academy. The tradition from Socra
Proclus (410-485) was the last great Greek philosopher. In this study, Proclus expert Lucas Siorvantes sets out to strip away the complexities surrounding this traditionally difficult philosopher, wit
Each volume of this series of companions to major philosophers contains specially commissioned essays by an international team of scholars, together with a substantial bibliography, and will serve as a reference work for students and non-specialists. One aim of the series is to dispel the intimidation such readers often feel when faced with the work of a difficult and challenging thinker. Plotinus was the greatest philosopher in the 700-year period between Aristotle and Augustine. He thought of himself as a disciple of Plato, but in his efforts to defend Platonism against Aristotelians, Stoics, and others, he actually produced a reinvigorated version of Platonism that later came to be known as 'Neoplatonism'. In this volume, sixteen leading scholars introduce and explain the many facets of Plotinus' complex system. They place Plotinus in the history of ancient philosophy while showing that he was a founder of medieval philosophy.
The Outlines of Pyrrhonism by the 2nd century A.D. Greek physician Sextus Empiricus was immensely influential in the history of Western philosophy. The rediscovery and publication of this work in the
Proclus' Elements of Theology is a concise summa of the Neoplatonic system in its fully developed form; and for the student of late Greek thought, second in importance only to theEnneads of Plotinus.
Plotinus is the last great philosopher of antiquity, although in more than one respect, a precursor of modern times. The Enneads bring together Neoplatonism--mystic passion and ideas from Greek philo
