Description
Book SynopsisNeoplatonism designates the form of Platonic philosophy that developed in the Roman Empire from the third to the fifth century AD and that based itself on the corpus of Plato's dialogues. Sara Rappe's challenging study analyses Neoplatonic texts themselves using contemporary philosophy of language.
Trade Review'The application of a modern literary approach to the rather esoteric field of neoplatonism is exciting and fruitful. The book is filled with sharp insights and comparisons that I have never seen before in the literature.' Lloyd Gerson, University of Toronto
'… a stimulating and provocative book.' Classics Ireland
Table of ContentsPreface: discursive strategies and Neoplatonic texts; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction. Representing a tradition: exegesis, symbol and self-reflection; Part I. Language in the Enneads: 2. Plotinus' critique of discursive thinking; 3. Non-discursive thinking in the Enneads; 4. Introspection in the dialectic of the Enneads; 5. The symbolism of the Enneads; Part II. Text and Tradition in Neoplatonism: 6. History of an enigma: mathematical symbolism in the Neoplatonic tradition; 7. Transmigrations of a myth: Orphic texts and Platonic contexts; 8. Language and theurgy in Proclus' Platonic Theology; 9. Damascius' ineffable discourse; 10. Conclusion: reading Neoplatonism; References; General index; Index locorum.
