Eros in Neoplatonism and its Reception in Christian Philosophy

Zusammenfassung Showing the ontological importance of Eros within the philosophical systems inspired by Plato! Dimitrios A. Vasilakis examines the notion of Love (Eros) in key texts of the Neoplatonic philosophers! Plotinus (204/5-270 C.E)! Proclus (c.412-485 C.E.)! and the Church Father! Dionysius the Areopagite (late 5th or early 6th century). Outlining the divergences and convergences between the three brings forward the core idea of love as deficiency in Plotinus and how this is transformed into plenitude in Proclus and Dionysius. Does Proclus diverge from Plotinus in his hierarchical scheme of Eros? Is the Dionysian hierarchy to be identified with Proclus' classification of love? By placing Enneads ! III.5! the Commentary on the First Alcibiades and the Divine Names side by side Vasilakis provides a full exploration of these crucial questions. Speaking to vital scholarship! including contemporary Greek work on the subject! this original study traces a clear historical line between three seminal late antique thinkers! situating Proclus as the bridge between the pagan Neoplatonism of Plotinus and the Patristic synthesis of Dionysius. Informationen zum Autor Dimitrios A. Vasilakis received his PhD from King's College London! UK and completed a post-doc in Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität! Munich! Germany. He has taught at KCL and LMU and publishes articles on ancient Greek philosophy (Neoplatonism) and its reception in the Orthodox East. Inhaltsverzeichnis PrefaceAbstract and Key-wordsIntroductionChapter 1: Plotinus and Enneads III.5.[50]: "On Love"1.1. The ontological status of Soul's Eros1.2. Potential objections and answers1.3. Nous and Eros1.4. ConclusionsChapter 2: Proclus on the First Alcibiades2.1. Providential and Reversive eros: Proclus versus Plotinus?2.2. Locating Eros in the intelligible hierarchyChapter 3 Dionysius and the Divine Names3.1. Divine Eros and its function3.2. From Christian agape to the Christification of ErosEpilogueBibliographyIndex ...

This is an imaginative book ... His argument is successful because he pays attention to textual nuances.

Autorentext
Dimitrios A. Vasilakis received his PhD from King's College London, UK and completed a post-doc in Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany. He has taught at KCL and LMU and publishes articles on ancient Greek philosophy (Neoplatonism) and its reception in the Orthodox East.

Klappentext

Showing the ontological importance of eroswithin the philosophical systems inspired by Plato, Dimitrios A. Vasilakis examines the notion of erosin key texts of the Neoplatonic philosophers, Plotinus, Proclus, and the Church Father, Dionysius the Areopagite. Outlining the divergences and convergences between the three brings forward the core idea of love as deficiency in Plotinus and charts how this is transformed into plenitude in Proclus and Dionysius. Does Proclus diverge from Plotinus in his hierarchical scheme of eros? Is the Dionysian hierarchy to be identified with Proclus' classification of love? By analysing The Enneads, III.5, the Commentary on the First Alcibiadesand the Divine Namesside by side, Vasilakis uses a wealth of modern scholarship, including contemporary Greek literature to explore these questions, tracing a clear historical line between the three seminal late antique thinkers.

Zusammenfassung
Showing the ontological importance of eros within the philosophical systems inspired by Plato, Dimitrios A. Vasilakis examines the notion of eros in key texts of the Neoplatonic philosophers, Plotinus, Proclus, and the Church Father, Dionysius the Areopagite. Outlining the divergences and convergences between the three brings forward the core idea of love as deficiency in Plotinus and charts how this is transformed into plenitude in Proclus and Dionysius. Does Proclus diverge from Plotinus in his hierarchical scheme of eros? Is the Dionysian hierarchy to be identified with Proclus' classification of love? By analysing The Enneads, III.5, the Commentary on the First Alcibiades and the Divine Names side by side, Vasilakis uses a wealth of modern scholarship, including contemporary Greek literature to explore these questions, tracing a clear historical line between the three seminal late antique thinkers.

Inhalt

Preface
Abstract and Key-words
Introduction

Chapter 1: Plotinus and Enneads III.5.[50]: "On Love"
1.1. The ontological status of Soul's Eros
1.2. Potential objections and answers
1.3. Nous and Eros
1.4. Conclusions

Chapter 2: Proclus on the First Alcibiades
2.1. Providential and Reversive eros: Proclus versus Plotinus?
2.2. Locating Eros in the intelligible hierarchy

Chapter 3 Dionysius and the Divine Names
3.1. Divine Eros and its function
3.2. From Christian agape to the Christification of Eros

Epilogue
Bibliography
Index