Suchergebnisse

This volume deals with the relation between Jacques Derrida's writing and Neoplatonism (ancient, patristic, medieval). Starting from the undeniable fact of Derrida's continuous engagement with this tradition, the present study deals not only with the actual reading of the Neoplatonists by Derrida ("Derrida after Neoplatonism") but also with a hypothetical reading of Derrida by Neoplatonism ("Neoplatonism after Derrida"). Thus, the intended audience is both philologists and philosophers interested in the encounter of ancient and contemporary thought. Separate chapters are devoted to a general study of Neoplatonism and Deconstruction, commentaries on three Derridean texts in which their 'Neoplatonic' implications are developed, and a treatment of the problem of non-discursive thought in which all Neoplatonic and Derridean perspectives are transcended

"Sosipatra, Hypatia, Macrina: some of the most famous female philosophers of antiquity were connected to Neoplatonism. But what does it mean to be a woman philosopher in late antiquity? How is the inclusive nature of the Neoplatonic schools connected to their ethical, political, and metaphysical ideas? What role does the religious dimension of late Neoplatonism and the role of women as priestesses play in understanding Neoplatonic women philosophers? This book offers thirteen essays that examine women and the female in Neoplatonism from a variety of perspectives, paying particular attention to the interactions between the metaphysics, psychology, and ethics"--

The stereotype of "Platonic love" that developed during the Renaissance implies a type of relationship, between two people of the opposite gender, which does not involve sexual activity. A new examination of certain relevant texts by Neoplatonists such as Plotinus, Porphyry, Hierocles, Hermias, Proclus and Olympiodorus, written during the period of Late Antiquity, establish that the question of sexuality is present in the very architecture of their systems, thus maintaining a coherent approach over time. "Mixed love", tending towards the sexual union that enables the conception of children, is morally good. Through an exegesis of the Symposium, Phaedrus and First Alcibiades, each of these Neoplatonic philosophers explores sexuality through the prisms of cosmology, ethics and political theory.

I raise the issue of the role of God with respect to morality and why we should be concerned with Him. Then the difficulty that God existence is still irrelevant even if He created the world and even if the Divine Commandment Theory is right that He is responsible for Morality. A Jewish Neo-Aristotelian solution is considered but rejected, and the Jewish Neoplatonist solution endorsed and sympathetically but cautiously endorsed. Free Will is considered from the Neoplatonist point of view. Something like Jewish incarnation is suggested at the end, with an appendix on sex.

This book argues that Western philosophy's traditional understanding of Being as substance is incorrect, and demonstrates that Being is fundamentally Relationality. To make that argument, the book examines the history of Western philosophy's evolving conception of being, and shows how this tradition has been dominated by an Aristotelian understanding of substance and his corresponding understanding of relation. First, the book establishes that the original concept of Being in ancient Western philosophy was relational, and traces this relational understanding of Being through the Neoplatonists. Then, it follows the substantial understanding of Being through Aristotle and the Scholastics to reach its crisis in Descartes. Finally, the book demonstrates that Heidegger represents a recovery of the original, relational understanding of Being

This book argues that Machiavelli's thought entertains a more complex relationship to Platonic philosophy than previously assumed. Far from rejecting Platonism in bulk, Machiavelli actually engages with important Platonic tenets, the role of philosophical education for political leaders, and the relationship between mythmaking and policymaking.