Neoplatonism
Mystical Platonic revival
Neoplatonism is a philosophical system developed in the third century, building on Plato's ideas about reality existing in hierarchical levels—from a supreme, ineffable One down through Mind and Soul to the material world.
The tradition emphasizes that all existence emanates from this singular divine source, and that the soul's purpose is to ascend back toward unity with it through contemplation.
Neoplatonic ideas profoundly influenced Christian, Jewish, and Islamic theology, as well as Renaissance thought.
Her poetry draws on Neoplatonic themes of spiritual ascent.
Ritual invoking gods
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- gnosisExperiential sacred understanding
- illuminationProvision of light
- ecstasyOverwhelming intense delight
ascent · purgation · henosis · Pseudo-Dionysius · visionary · prayer · ritual · invocation
Medieval academic theology method
- HermeticismEsoteric Greco-Egyptian spiritual tradition
- KabbalahJewish esoteric tradition
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
- AvicennaMedieval Persian physician-philosopher
Moral worth or benefit
- unityWholeness through cohesion
- transcendenceSurpassing usual limits
- emanationismDoctrine of cosmic outpouring
- ontologyStudy of existence's nature
immateriality · eternity · absolute · supernal · simplicity · infinity · causality · substance
Mystical absorption into ultimate reality
- returnGo back again
- processionFormal moving line
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
- participationAct of taking part
reversion · triad · demiurge · world-soul · matter · privation · causation
Philosophy derived from Stagira's sage
- StoicismVirtue-centered ancient philosophy
- AlexandrianOf a famed Egyptian city
- AthenianAncient Greek city-dweller
- SyrianFrom a Levantine nation
theurgy
Ritual invoking gods
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- gnosisExperiential sacred understanding
- illuminationProvision of light
ecstasy · ascent · purgation · henosis · Pseudo-Dionysius · visionary · prayer · ritual · invocation · ineffable
Scholasticism
Medieval academic theology method
- HermeticismEsoteric Greco-Egyptian spiritual tradition
- KabbalahJewish esoteric tradition
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
Good
Moral worth or benefit
- unityWholeness through cohesion
- transcendenceSurpassing usual limits
- emanationismDoctrine of cosmic outpouring
ontology · immateriality · eternity · absolute · supernal · simplicity · infinity · causality · substance · participation
henosis
Mystical absorption into ultimate reality
- returnGo back again
- processionFormal moving line
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
participation · reversion · triad · demiurge · world-soul · matter · privation · causation
Aristotelianism
Philosophy derived from Stagira's sage
- StoicismVirtue-centered ancient philosophy
- AlexandrianOf a famed Egyptian city
- AthenianAncient Greek city-dweller
- Greek philosophyAristotle, Socrates, Pythagoras, Academy, ethics
- metaphysicsessence, being, reality, existence, substance theory
- philosophiesempiricism, stoicism, nihilism, idealism, materialism
- philosophyethics, logic, metaphysics, ontology, epistemology
- RenaissanceLeonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Mona Lisa
- ancient philosophyAristotle, Socrates, Epicureanism, Stoicism, Platonists
Neoplatonismmaterialism
Prioritizing goods over spirit
physicalism · Epicureanism · atomism · naturalism · nominalism
Neoplatonismempiricism
Knowledge through observation
sensationalism · positivism · scientific method · instrumentalism · pragmatism