Neo-Platonism
Late-antique metaphysical revival
Neo-Platonism is a philosophical system developed in the 3rd century CE that revived and reinterpreted Plato's ideas, emphasizing a hierarchical reality emanating from a single, transcendent source called "the One." The system influenced Christian, Jewish, and Islamic theology, particularly ideas about the soul's ascent toward the divine and the relationship between the material and spiritual worlds.
Neo-Platonic thought shaped medieval mysticism.
Something that flows out
- hypostasisUnderlying essence or substance
- nousFaculty of rational thought
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
- participationAct of taking part
intelligible · substance · form · matter · principle · hierarchy · potentiality · actuality
Something that flows out
- nousFaculty of rational thought
- henosisMystical absorption into ultimate reality
- psycheTotal mental life
- returnGo back again
procession · contemplation · intellect · soul · hierarchy · logos · triad · demiurge
Mystical absorption into ultimate reality
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- ascentUpward movement
- illuminationProvision of light
- unionJoining into one
gnosis · theurgy · ecstasy · purification · meditation · vision · spiritual · divine
Wholeness through cohesion
- simplicityLack of complexity
- infiniteHaving no bounds
- sourcePoint of origin
- goodSatisfactory in quality
ineffable · transcendent · monad · absolute · unconditioned · unknowable · cause · perfection
Fourth-century church father
- Pseudo-DionysiusPseudonymous late-antique theologian
- AquinasScholastic philosopher-theologian surname
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
- ChristianityFaith based on Jesus
Kabbalah · Avicenna · medieval · transmission · reception · revival · Florentine · Medici
Philosophy derived from Stagira's sage
- StoicismVirtue-centered ancient philosophy
- EpicureanismPhilosophy valuing serene pleasure
- CynicismPhilosophy rejecting material desires
- GnosticismSalvation through hidden wisdom
Hermeticism · syncretism · paganism · Alexandria · Athens · Academy · Roman · Greek
emanation
Something that flows out
- hypostasisUnderlying essence or substance
- nousFaculty of rational thought
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
participation · intelligible · substance · form · matter · principle · hierarchy · potentiality · actuality · cause
emanation
Something that flows out
- nousFaculty of rational thought
- henosisMystical absorption into ultimate reality
- psycheTotal mental life
return · procession · contemplation · intellect · soul · hierarchy · logos · triad · demiurge · reversion
henosis
Mystical absorption into ultimate reality
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- ascentUpward movement
- illuminationProvision of light
union · gnosis · theurgy · ecstasy · purification · meditation · vision · spiritual · divine · silence
unity
Wholeness through cohesion
- simplicityLack of complexity
- infiniteHaving no bounds
- sourcePoint of origin
good · ineffable · transcendent · monad · absolute · unconditioned · unknowable · cause · perfection · purity
Augustine
Fourth-century church father
- Pseudo-DionysiusPseudonymous late-antique theologian
- AquinasScholastic philosopher-theologian surname
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
Christianity · Kabbalah · Avicenna · medieval · transmission · reception · revival · Florentine · Medici
Aristotelianism
Philosophy derived from Stagira's sage
- StoicismVirtue-centered ancient philosophy
- EpicureanismPhilosophy valuing serene pleasure
- CynicismPhilosophy rejecting material desires
Gnosticism · Hermeticism · syncretism · paganism · Alexandria · Athens · Academy · Roman · Greek
Neo-Platonismmaterialism
Prioritizing goods over spirit
physicalism · atomism · Epicureanism · naturalism · mechanism
Neo-Platonismempiricism
Knowledge through observation
skepticism · sensationalism · scientific method · anti-rationalism
neo, Platonism, Platonist, Platonic, Plato, neonatal, neonate, neologism, neophyte