Philosophic Silence and the ‘One’ in Plotinus

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Synopsis
Plotinus, the greatest philosopher of Late Antiquity, discusses at length a first principle of reality - the One - which, he tells us, cannot be expressed in words or grasped in thought. How and why, then, does Plotinus write about it at all?

This book explores this act of writing the unwritable. Seeking to explain what seems to be an insoluble paradox in the very practice of late Platonist writing, it examines not only the philosophical concerns involved, but the cultural and rhetorical aspects of the question.

The discussion outlines an ancient practice of ‛philosophical silence' which determined the themes and tropes of public secrecy appropriate to Late Platonist philosophy. Through philosophic silence, public secrecy and silence flow into one another, and the unsaid space of the text becomes an initiatory secret. Understanding this mode of discourse allows us to resolve many apparent contradictions in Plotinus' thought.

Approaches the use of themes of silence and secrecy in Plotinus in a way which accounts for their social and rhetorical, as well as their philosophical, significance.

Utilises methodologies from a number of fields, including classics, history of religions, and philosophy.

Constructs a model of a mode of discourse - philosophic silence - which determined in part the ways in which Platonist philosophers were expected to engage in public secrecy.

Copyright:
2018

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:
9781108599382
Related ISBNs:
9781107154629, 9781107154629
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Nicholas Banner
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Philosophy
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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