Having discussed the symbolic exegesis of the characters of Aeneas, Aphrodite and Diomedes in Iliad V, this post will now turn to exploring through Proclus’ Hymns the theurgic significance of this passage in Homer from the perspective of the later Platonists. It is worth establishing from the outset that while Proclus disagrees with Plotinus on…
Aphrodite in Iliad V: A Plotinian Approach [Part 2]
Plotinus certainly loved reading Homer. He frequently quotes from him for rhetorical flourish, to elevate his speech and enjoin the reader to undertake the spiritual philosophical ascent which he describes. One beautiful example can be seen in the first treatise he ever wrote, En. I.6.8.16-21: Plotinus’ direct quotations from Iliad V, however, are quite limited. …
Aphrodite in Iliad V: Thinking through Platonic Soteriology with van Kooten [Part 1]
In his 2022 contribution to the Festschrift für Reinhard Feldmeier, George van Kooten provides an probing and insightful comparison between, on the one hand, the Johannine Christ, and on the other hand, the depiction of Aphrodite in Iliad V and Eros in Diotima’s speech in Plato’s Symposium. While disagreeing with certain interpretative moves made by…
Listening to Palestinian Music, or How to Better Understand Plotinus in “On Beauty”
Plotinus’ short remarks concerning music in the first section of his treatise “On Beauty” (En. I.6) both reveal something interesting about his aesthetics and demonstrate the need to historically contextualize his work. Plotinus begins his chronologically very first treatise writing that τὸ καλὸν ἔστι μὲν ἐν ὄψει πλεῖστον, ἔστι δ’ ἐν ἀκουαῖς κατά τε λόγων…
Soul and Vimarśa between Plotinus and Utpaladeva (Part 4: Multi-Leveled Subjectivity)
As has become clear through the other points of comparison, Vimarśa and Soul are both immanent and transcendent principles. They refer both the individual and universal modes, or perhaps microcosmic and macrocosmic registers, of consciousness, within what Just calls “multilevelled subjectivity:” “…the topic of multilevelled subjectivity was at the centre of philosophical attention in India…
Platonic Polytheism Persisting (ISNS 2026 Presentation)
I am happy to share a video of a presentation I recently gave at the 23rd Annual Conference of the International Society for Neoplatonic Studies entitled “Platonic Polytheism Persisting: Surveying the Living Platonisms of Contemporary Pagan Thought”. Here, I present an argument that in the last ~25 years, Platonic texts and ideas have become more…
Soul and Vimarśa between Plotinus and Utpaladeva (Part 3: Causality)
In this series, we have been comparing the thought of Plotinus and Utpaladeva, particularly through looking at structural similarities between their concepts of Vimarśa and Soul. This third part will analyze a further structural similarity, one which is central for both thinkers’ metaphysical systems: both Vimarśa and Soul play a crucial role in theories of…
Soul and Vimarśa between Plotinus and Utpaladeva (Part 2: Immateriality)
In this series, we are exploring structural similarities between the concept of Soul in Plotinus’ Enneads and Vimarśa in Utpaladeva’s ĪPK. In the previous post, this centered on the dynamic relationship these concepts have to consciousness, in that they proceed from and reflect back upon the principle of consciousness. This relationship implies a further structural…
Soul and Vimarśa between Plotinus and Utpaladeva (Part 1: Procession and Reflection)
In this first part of this series, I will be comparing the how the concepts of Soul and Vimarśa in, respectively, Plotinus’ Enneads and Utpaladeva’s Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā (“Verses on the Recognition of the Lord”, hence abbreviated ĪPK) both (1) proceed from and (2) reflect a prior principle, understood as a kind of universal consciousness. Notably, in…
Soul and Vimarśa between Plotinus and Utpaladeva (Introduction)
In this series, I will be engaging in an extended comparison of the role of the Soul in Plotinus’ Enneads with that of Vimarśa in Pratyabhijñā philosophy. This comparative study will analyze the similar roles played by both concepts within their respective metaphysical systems, for the sake of contextualizing recent scholarly interest (including my own…