Neoplatonism is a term used to designate the form of Platonic philosophy that developed in the Roman Empire from the third to the fifth century A.D. and that based itself on the corpus of Plato's dialogues. Sara Rappe's challenging and innovative study is the first book to analyze Neoplatonic texts themselves using contemporary philosophy of language. It covers the whole tradition of Neoplatonic writing from Plotinus through Proclus to Damascius. In providing the broadest available survey of Neoplatonic writing the book will appeal to classical philosophers, classicists, as well as students of religious studies.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Engaging, important, and provocative..." Ancient Philosophy
"Rappe's excellent book will have a significant impact on the study of late antique religion..." The Journal of Religion
"Provides a seriously refreshing reading of some of the more problematic and inspiring passages in the neoplatonic tradition...Recommended for classicists and students of neoplationism, also theologians interested in patristic studies will find this style of interpretation suggestive." Neoplatonism
"In this elegant an important book, Sara Rappe confronts a crucial enigma of Neoplatonism...Reading Neoplatonism is a most valuable introduction to Neoplatonism altogether and that its radical argument with respect to the meditative and non-discursive character of this tradition successfully challenges many received historical assumptions." Frederic M. Schroeder, Queen's University, Mouseion
"The book is an admirable piece of scholarship with impeccable knowledge of the Neoplatonic tradition, clear description of complex ideas, and a highly engaging narrative." Journal of the American Academy of Religion
"This is one of those good books that does not leave one silent. It is a book to learn from and to discuss as well as to disagree with. Rappe's daring choice of method leads to a genuinely new interpretation." Bryn Mawr Classical 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
"Rappe is to be commended for a provocative, rich, and stirring work. In our current climate, where everything is a text, including breakfast, it is refreshing to have presented in full force a system that saw text as a pedagogical tool meant to lead beings to something beyond text." St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly
"Sara Rappe has given us a stimulating book full of interesting suggestions concerning philosophers hardly known, in some cases, in the English-speaking world...[a] daring and innovative work." The Philosophical Review
"Rappe's excellent book will have a significant impact on the study of late antique religion..." The Journal of Religion
"Provides a seriously refreshing reading of some of the more problematic and inspiring passages in the neoplatonic tradition...Recommended for classicists and students of neoplationism, also theologians interested in patristic studies will find this style of interpretation suggestive." Neoplatonism
"In this elegant an important book, Sara Rappe confronts a crucial enigma of Neoplatonism...Reading Neoplatonism is a most valuable introduction to Neoplatonism altogether and that its radical argument with respect to the meditative and non-discursive character of this tradition successfully challenges many received historical assumptions." Frederic M. Schroeder, Queen's University, Mouseion
"The book is an admirable piece of scholarship with impeccable knowledge of the Neoplatonic tradition, clear description of complex ideas, and a highly engaging narrative." Journal of the American Academy of Religion
"This is one of those good books that does not leave one silent. It is a book to learn from and to discuss as well as to disagree with. Rappe's daring choice of method leads to a genuinely new interpretation." Bryn Mawr Classical 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
"Rappe is to be commended for a provocative, rich, and stirring work. In our current climate, where everything is a text, including breakfast, it is refreshing to have presented in full force a system that saw text as a pedagogical tool meant to lead beings to something beyond text." St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly
"Sara Rappe has given us a stimulating book full of interesting suggestions concerning philosophers hardly known, in some cases, in the English-speaking world...[a] daring and innovative work." The Philosophical Review
Book Description
Neoplatonism is a term used to designate the form of Platonic philosophy that developed in the Roman Empire from the third to the fifth century A.D. and that based itself on the corpus of Plato's dialogues. Sara Rappe's challenging and innovative study is the first book to analyse Neoplatonic texts themselves using contemporary philosophy of language. It covers the whole tradition of Neoplatonic writing from Plotinus through Proclus to Damascius. In providing the broadest available survey of Neoplatonic writing the book will appeal to classical philosophers, classicists, as well as students of religious studies.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent introduction to Neoplatonic textuality,
This review is from: Reading Neoplatonism: Non-discursive Thinking in the Texts of Plotinus, Proclus, and Damascius (Hardcover)
This excellent book begins with an interrogation: why were the Neoplatonists so weary of discursive thinking while at the same time being the most exegetical philosophical school of all Antiquity? This question's vastness precludes any exhaustive treatment, but Rappe's study goes a long way in fleshing out the most important aspects of its ambitious and fascinating theme, namely the nature of Neoplatonic knowledge and the multiple (not to mention extremely varied) ways that lead to mystical experience in Neoplatonism (philosophical exegesis, mathematics, myth, theurgy, prayer and invocation, etc.). Rappe focuses on Plotinus, Proclus and Damascius - an audacious decision, since most scholars tend to isolate Plotinus from the later Neoplatonists, but a welcome one because Plotinus is at least as fascinated as the later Neoplatonists by the 'gap' between the text and what it can't express, if not even more so. A small caveat: the book would have benefitted from further proofreading done by a French speaker; the French quotes and titles are full of errors. Still, it remains a must-read study for students of Neoplatonism and religion.
5 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sara Rappe does it again.,
By "tlieberm" (Charlevoix, MI United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Reading Neoplatonism: Non-discursive Thinking in the Texts of Plotinus, Proclus, and Damascius (Hardcover)
The acclaimed philosopher Sara Rappe has written a very interesting collection of work. The central question - how is the thinking of Plato still applicable today. Extensive research gives as many answers as possible...perhaps not all the answers are necessary. Prof. Rappe's style is shaky at times, of Neoplatism is your thing, you will not be disappointed. A great way to get in touch with classical thinking
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Reading Neoplatonism touches on issues as diverse as Plotinus' critique of essentialism and Proclus' references to theurgy. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
noetic triad, introspective stance, geometric symbolism, theurgic ritual, representational gap, theurgic rite, discursive thinking, second hypostasis, identity thesis, unwritten doctrines, primordial tradition, transparent world, sacred discourse, cosmic manifestation, mathematical symbolism, metaphysical discourse Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Peri Archon, Chaldean Oracles, Sextus Empiricus, Plato's Parmenides, Corpus Hermeticum, Rhapsodic Theogony, Elements of Theology, Life of Isidore, Life of Plotinus, Plato's Symposium, Plato's Timaeus, Aristotelian Commentators, Middle Platonic, All of Greek, Claude Calame, Demiurgic Eros, John Dillon, Late Antique, Luc Brisson, Porphyry Sent, Proemium Simplicii New!
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Reading Neoplatonism touches on issues as diverse as Plotinus' critique of essentialism and Proclus' references to theurgy. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
noetic triad, introspective stance, geometric symbolism, theurgic ritual, representational gap, theurgic rite, discursive thinking, second hypostasis, identity thesis, unwritten doctrines, primordial tradition, transparent world, sacred discourse, cosmic manifestation, mathematical symbolism, metaphysical discourse Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Peri Archon, Chaldean Oracles, Sextus Empiricus, Plato's Parmenides, Corpus Hermeticum, Rhapsodic Theogony, Elements of Theology, Life of Isidore, Life of Plotinus, Plato's Symposium, Plato's Timaeus, Aristotelian Commentators, Middle Platonic, All of Greek, Claude Calame, Demiurgic Eros, John Dillon, Late Antique, Luc Brisson, Porphyry Sent, Proemium Simplicii New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 89
books:
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1
book
cites this book:
- The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary (Clarendon Paperbacks) by Proclus on 6 pages
- On The Soul by Aristotle on page 210, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- John Searle and his Critics (Philosophers and their Critics) by Ernest Lepore in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Posterior Analytics (Clarendon Aristotle) by Aristotle on page 32, and Back Matter
- The Art of Memory by Frances A. Yates in Front Matter, and Back Matter
See all 89 books this book cites
- The Texture of the Divine: Imagination in Medieval Islamic and Jewish Thought by Aaron W. Hughes in Back Matter
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