Platonism

Who Is Plato?

Henosis

Henosis Henosis is the classical Greek word for mystical “oneness“, “union” or “unity.” In Platonism, and especially Neoplatonism, the goal of henosis is union with what is fundamental in reality: the One, the Source, or Monad. The Neoplatonic concept has precedents in the Greek mystery religions as well as parallels in Eastern philosophy. It is...

A smile is the shortest distance between two people. Victor Borge

Form Of The Good

Form Of The Good “Form of the Good“, or more literally “the idea of the good” (ἡ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἰδέα) is a concept in the philosophy of Plato. It is described in Plato’s dialogue the Republic (508e2–3), speaking through the character of Socrates. This form is the one that allows a philosopher-in-training to advance to...

Aegeus at right consults the Pythia or oracle of Delphi. Vase 440–430 BC. He was told "Do not loosen the bulging mouth of the wineskin until you have reached the height of Athens, lest you die of grief", which at first he did not understand.

Ancient Greek Religion

Ancient Greek Religion Ancient Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology originating in ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. These groups varied enough for it to be possible to speak of Greek religions or “cults” in the plural, though most...

Filippo Lippi, Vision of St. Augustine, c. 1465, tempera, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

Apophatic Theology

Apophatic Theology Apophatic theology, also known as negative theology, is a form of theological thinking and religious practice which attempts to approach God, the Divine, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God. It forms a pair together with cataphatic theology, which...

Reconstruction of the Hagia Sophia basilica (section)

Sophia (wisdom)

Sophia (wisdom) Sophia (σοφία sophía “wisdom“) is a central idea in Hellenistic philosophy and religion, Platonism, Gnosticism, and Christian theology. Originally carrying a meaning of “cleverness, skill”, the later meaning of the term, close to the meaning of Phronesis (“wisdom, intelligence”), was significantly shaped by the term philosophy (“love of wisdom”) as used by Plato. In...

Hellenistic Philosophy

Hellenistic Philosophy

Hellenistic Philosophy The Hellenistic philosophy is the period of Western philosophy and Middle Eastern philosophy that was developed in the Hellenistic period following Aristotle and ending with the beginning of Neoplatonism. Hellenistic schools of thought Pythagoreanism Main article: Pythagoreanism Pythagoreanism is the name given to the system of philosophy and science...

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Sage (philosophy)

Sage (philosophy) A sage (sophos), in classical philosophy, is someone who has attained the wisdom which a philosopher seeks. The first to make this distinction is Plato, through the character of Socrates, within the Symposium. While analyzing the concept of love, Socrates concludes Love is that which lacks the object it seeks. Therefore, the philosopher (meaning lover of...

Site of Plato's Academy in Athens

Platonism

What Is Platonism? Platonism, rendered as a proper noun, is the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. In narrower usage, platonism, rendered as a common noun, refers to the philosophy that affirms the existence of abstract objects, which are asserted to...

Who Is Plato?

Plato

Who Is Plato? Plato (Plátōn, 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was an Athenian philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece, founder of the Platonist school of thought, and the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. He is widely considered the pivotal figure in...

Amhara prayer book from Lasta region of Ethiopia; Hesychasm, the Christian Orthodox Heart Prayer

Hesychasm

What Is Hesychasm? Hesychasm is a mystical tradition of contemplative prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Based on Jesus‘s injunction in the Gospel of Matthew that “when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray”, hesychasm in tradition has been the process of retiring inward by ceasing to register the senses, in order...

Demiurge art

Demiurge

Demiurge In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. The Gnostics adopted the term “demiurge“. Although a fashioner, the demiurge is not necessarily the same as the creator figure in the monotheistic sense, because the demiurge itself and the...

Mental Health Mental Health Head Depression

Neutral Monism

Neutral Monism In the philosophy of mind, neutral monism is the view that the mental and the physical are two ways of organizing or describing the same elements, which are themselves “neutral”, that is, neither physical nor mental. This view denies that the mental and the physical are two fundamentally different things. Rather,...

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Christian Philosophy

What Is Christian Philosophy? Christian philosophy is a development in philosophy that is characterised by coming from a Christian tradition. As Christianity spread throughout the Hellenic world, an increasing number of church leaders were educated in Greek philosophy. The dominant philosophical traditions of the Greco-Roman world then were Stoicism, Platonism,...