History of Philosophy

Ancient Philosophy

Platonism

Following Plato's death, his disciples continued to develop his teachings. Initially, the center of Platonic philosophy was the Academy in Athens, founded by Plato himself. Over time, schools established by Platonists appeared throughout the Mediterranean. The history of Platonism after Plato is typically divided into three periods: Early Platonism, Middle Platonism, and Neoplatonism. Each period had its own distinct characteristics, created symbioses with other philosophical schools of Antiquity, and introduced its innovations into the philosophical discourse.

Early Platonism refers to the period of the Platonic philosophical school's development that began with Plato’s death in 348 BCE and ended in 84 BCE, when the Roman dictator Sulla conquered Athens and closed Plato’s Academy. The Academy in Athens was the focal point of Platonic philosophy during this period. This era is divided into three temporal segments:

• The Old or First Academy: This is the period when the Academy was led by Speusippus (348-339), Xenocrates (339-314), Polemon (314-270), and Crates (270-265). The role of mathematics in Plato’s philosophy was always very high, and towards the end of Plato’s life, the influence of Pythagoreanism and its mathematical cultivation intensified within the Academy. After Plato, his closest followers identified ideas with numbers, merging Platonism with Pythagoreanism and emphasizing the role of mathematics in knowledge.
• The Second Academy: This period was marked by the leadership of Arcesilaus (265-241), Lacydes (241-225), Evander (225-167), and Hegesinus (167-165). During this time, skeptical convictions predominated among Plato’s followers. They saw no effective way to grasp the truth and preferred to abandon such attempts.
• The New or Third Academy: This period, when the Academy was led by Carneades (165-127), Clitomachus (127-110), and Philon of Larissa (110-84), continued the development of skepticism, though not as radically as in the Second Academy. This period ended with the closure of the Academy by the Roman dictator Sulla, who conquered Athens in 84 BCE.

After the closure of the Academy in 84 BCE, the single center of Platonic philosophy ceased to exist. Platonic adherents established their own schools across various parts of the Mediterranean. This period is known as Middle Platonism and contributed several notable thinkers to the history of philosophy:

• Antiochus of Ascalon (c. 140/125-68 BCE), hailing from an Hellenized family in Ascalon (present-day Israel), studied at the Athenian Academy before moving to Rome and also residing in other cities, ultimately dying in Mesopotamia. With the destruction of the Athenian Academy, skeptical ideas disappeared from Platonism. Representatives of Middle Platonism set new objectives and sought ways to address them. Antiochus outlined his philosophical inquiries with two questions: what can be considered true (the criterion of truth) and what is the highest good (the supreme good). On the criterion of truth, Antiochus was influenced by the Stoics and accepted perceptual immediacy as the criterion. If a person sees or hears something and has no reason to doubt their capacity to perceive reality accurately, then such perception can be deemed trustworthy. While Antiochus drew similar conclusions to the Stoics on the criterion of truth, he rejected Stoic ethics regarding the concept of good. The Stoics believed that the ideal of moral life should be absolute indifference. A morally perfect person should achieve spiritual tranquility and learn to ignore all corporeal aspects. Antiochus, on the other hand, argued that a person is not only spirit but also body. Therefore, their morality should encompass spiritual, corporeal, and societal values. Antiochus considered the desire to live as the primary stimulus for moral life. This desire underlies all human activity, and it is this desire that constitutes the criterion of moral goodness. A deed that promotes life is considered good, while one that harms life is deemed morally evil. This applies to all forms of activity and external expressions of humanity.
• In Egypt, the Alexandrian school of Platonism emerged, with notable representatives such as Eudorus and Philo. Eudorus, a disciple of Antiochus and a creative thinker, was enthusiastic about Pythagoreanism, like the Platonists of the First Academy, and cultivated mathematics. However, ethics occupied a central place in his philosophy. Eudorus believed that the goal of moral life is natural life, meaning a person acts well when they follow the dictates of nature. Since natural principles were implanted in humans by God, who created them, living in accordance with nature means resembling God. Philo of Alexandria, born into an Hellenized Jewish family in Alexandria, aimed to combine the Bible with Platonism in his philosophy. Drawing from the biblical account where Moses, by the burning bush, asks

God for His name, and God responds with "I Am" (Yahweh), Philo concluded that the biblical God could be identified with the Platonic Good-Being. God creates the world rationally; thus, between God and the world stands an intermediary—Logos (Reason)—which embodies the ideas. Humanity is created in the image of God, implying that a divine principle embedded in humans distinguishes them from the material world. This principle is reason, through which humans can contemplate the ideas contained within the Logos. Reason differentiates humanity from all other creation.

• In the first century CE, Platonism was revived in Athens. The most distinguished representative of Athenian Platonism at this time was Plutarch (c. 46-120/125 CE). For Plutarch, as for most philosophers of his era, ethics was the central theme of contemplation. Consequently, the primary question of his philosophical system was the purpose of life. Plutarch saw this purpose in emulating God, but unlike Eudorus, who equated emulation of God with living in accordance with nature, Plutarch contrasted them: emulation of God is the higher goal of moral life, surpassing nature. Like Antiochus, Plutarch argued that moral goodness requires not only spiritual perfection but also the satisfaction of bodily needs. Happiness cannot be achieved in isolation; it necessitates the collective efforts of society to build an ideal world. Such organized collective efforts are politics. Plutarch condemned the Stoics for neglecting the importance of politics. He devoted much attention to theology, asserting that God is absolutely unknowable and thus cannot be named. Plutarch referred to God as the One, an entity about which nothing can be expressed. God is the source of all existence. Since God created the world rationally, the principle upon which the world is based is Logos. The world is permeated by the World Soul, which animates and vivifies it. Humans contain fragments of the World Soul, which render them spiritual beings, and fragments of Logos, which make them rational.

The third stage in the development of Platonism was Neoplatonism, founded by Plotinus (204/205-270). His biography is little known, as he was disinclined to speak of himself. It is known that he was born in Egypt and moved to Rome, where he established his philosophical school. Based on Platonic philosophy, he developed a system that encompasses the following aspects:

• The One: In Plotinus's philosophy, the focus is solely on religious questions. Plotinus believed that the task of philosophy is not the accumulation of knowledge but spiritual purification (catharsis) and union with the divine (theosis). God is an absolutely transcendent and unknowable essence, which cannot be described in any way. Therefore, Plotinus referred to it as "The One," the supreme unity of existence. It cannot be known by reason but can be encountered in mystical contact, revealing the depth of the divine mystery.
• The World Mind: God desires to express itself outwardly. Since nothing exists other than The One, The One cannot express itself in anything other than itself. In expressing outwardly, The One creates new entities, which, however, are not distinct from The One, for only The One truly exists. Plotinus observed that before a person creates something, they first conceive it. Hence, intellectual activity precedes the production of the object. Similarly, with The One, the first expression is the Mind, which contains the thoughts of The One—what Plato referred to as ideas.
• The World Soul: The Mind creates ideas not for their own sake but for their actualization. Thus, the next stage of the expression of The One is the World Soul, the sphere of the realization of ideas. The lowest level of the Soul is the material world, which borders on non-being. The material world completes the expression of The One. In Plotinus's philosophy, everything that exists is merely various modes of the divine's existence; everything is God. This perspective is known as pantheism.
• The Doctrine of Humanity: Humanity is a crucial element in Plotinus's philosophy. Each person is free to choose the direction of their life. They can direct their life upwards: perfecting the spirit (attaining the Soul), developing the mind (attaining the Mind), and in mystical illumination, merge with The One. However, a person also has the option to turn their gaze toward non-being. Focusing on The One requires considerable effort and spiritual refinement. Steering one's life towards non-being requires no effort at all. Plotinus advocated for spiritual improvement, and thus he and his followers lived a strict ascetic lifestyle. Plotinus believed that after death, a person is reborn in a new body. The quality of this new life is determined by the morality of the previous one.

After Plotinus's death, his students and followers developed Neoplatonism in several directions, each becoming an independent school:

• Roman Neoplatonism was established by Porphyry (c. 233-301/305). His interpretation of the main categories of Neoplatonism differed somewhat from Plotinus's. While Plotinus considered The One as a transontological category, asserting that The One transcends being, and referred to being as what emanates from The One, Porphyry regarded The One as the highest level of being. All levels of being emanating from The One are imperfect. To achieve perfection, they must actualize their higher principle to the fullest. Porphyry saw the task of philosophy as liberating humans from material dependence, achieving purification (catharsis) of the human spirit.
• Syrian Neoplatonism was founded by Iamblichus (c. 240/245-320/325), a student of the Pythagoreans and Porphyry. Iamblichus lived during a time when ancient Greek religion was fading, making way for Christianity. He remained devoted to Greek paganism and sought to construct a philosophical system that would give ancient Greek religion new life. Iamblichus accepted Plotinus's hierarchical division of being but, whereas Plotinus divided being into The One, Mind, and Soul, Iamblichus further differentiated these entities. Thus, within The One, Iamblichus distinguished an absolutely transcendent aspect, which defies any human comprehension, from The One as the creative principle of the world, which manifested in creation. Similarly, Iamblichus divided the Mind and Soul into various levels. He considered the human soul as the presence of Mind and Soul in the material body, with its primary characteristics being intellect and spirituality.
• Athenian Neoplatonism was founded by Proclus (412-485). The starting point of his philosophy was the theory of knowledge. Proclus believed that the knowledge of truth is possible through three paths: philosophy, which reveals truth through reason; myths, which reveal truth through images; and faith, which directly connects a person with God. According to these three modes of knowledge, Proclus encouraged his students towards three forms of spiritual-intellectual activity: reading the texts of philosophers, especially Plato; studying ancient poets who conveyed myths; and participating in religious rites. Proclus regarded The One as beyond being; between it and the world lies a vast array of intermediaries. He divided Plotinus’s Mind into three hypostases: the intelligible Mind, which contemplates being; the intelligible-intellectual Mind, which contemplates life; and the intellectual Mind, which contemplates ideas. Similarly, Proclus divided the World Soul into three levels, each consisting of different types of individual souls: divine, demonic, and partial.