Description
Book SynopsisThis study makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of the development of ancient Platonism and of the influence of Greek philosophy on Christian thought. The author examines a number of themes such as Eros, Virtue, and Knowledge in the writings of Plato himself, and shows that, in our interpretation of them, we must recognize certain latent contradictions; his successors, however, attempted, not always successfully, to form a synthesis of Platonic theory based on the genuinely Platonic motif of the attaining of likeness to God.
The author skilfully demonstrates that Plato’s thought contained within itself unresolved, but philosophically fruitful divergences of opinion on the highest topics; the Good, the nature of love, the aim of the life of virtue. The author suggests that the unity of Plato’s thought consists only in certain general beliefs, such as that there are supra-sensible realities and that some aspect of the human soul is immortal. He pro
