THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF NEOPLATONISM Th e Routledge Handbook of Neoplatonism is an authoritative and comprehensive survey of the most important issues and developments in one of the fastest growing areas of research in ancient philosophy. An international team of scholars situates and re- evaluates Neoplatonism within the history of ancient philosophy and thought, and explores its infl uence on philosophical and religious schools worldwide. Th e Routledge Handbook of Neoplatonism is a major reference source for all students and scholars in Neoplatonism and ancient philosophy, as well as researchers in the philosophy of science, ethics, aesthetics and religion. Pauliina Remes is University Lecturer in Philosophy at Uppsala University (Sweden). She is the author of Plotinus on Self: Th e Philosophy of the “We” (2007) and Neoplatonism (2008), and the editor of Ancient Philosophy of the Self (2008, with J. Sihvola) and Consciousness: From Perception to Refl ection in the History of Philosophy (2007, with S. Heinämaa and V. Lähteenmäki). Svetla Slaveva-Griffi n is Associate Professor of Classics and a core faculty in the History and Philosophy of Science Program at the Florida State University. She has published on a wide range of topics in ancient philosophy, including Plotinus on Number (2009). ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOKS IN PHILOSOPHY Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy are state-of-the-art surveys of emerging, newly refreshed, and import- ant fi elds in philosophy, providing accessible yet thorough assessments of key problems, themes, thinkers, and recent developments in research. All chapters for each volume are specially commissioned, and written by leading scholars in the fi eld. Carefully edited and organized, Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy provide indispensable reference tools for students and researchers seeking a comprehensive overview of new and exciting topics in philosophy. Th ey are also valuable teaching resources as accompaniments to textbooks, anthologies, and research- orientated publications. Available: Th e Routledge Handbook of Embodied Cognition Edited by Lawrence Shapiro Th e Routledge Handbook of Neoplatonism Edited by Pauliina Remes and Svetla Slaveva-Griffi n Forthcoming: Th e Routledge Handbook of Global Ethics Edited by Darrel Moellendorf and Heather Widdows Th e Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Philosophy of Religion Edited by Graham Oppy Th e Routledge Handbook of the Stoic Tradition Edited by John Sellars Th e Routledge Handbook of German Idealism Edited by Brian O’Connor, Michael Rosen, Hans Joerg Sandkühler, and David Wood Th e Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being Edited by Guy Fletcher Th e Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Imagination Edited by Amy Kind Th e Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Colour Edited by Derek Brown and Fiona Macpherson Th e Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Biodiversity Edited by Justin Garson, Anya Plutynski, and Sahotra Sarkar Th e Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of the Social Mind Edited by Julian Kiverstein Th e Routledge Handbook of Collective Intentionality Edited by Marija Jankovic and Kirk Ludwig Th e Routledge Handbook of Brentano and the Brentano School Edited by Uriah Kriegel Th e Routledge Handbook of Epistemic Contextualism Edited by Jonathan Jenkins Ichikawa Th e Routledge Handbook of Philosophy and Evolution Edited by Richard Joyce Th e Routledge Handbook of Modality Edited by Otávio Bueno and Scott Shalkowski THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF NEOPLATONISM Edited by Pauliina Remes and Svetla Slaveva-Griffi n First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Th ird Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Pauliina Remes and Svetla Slaveva-Griffi n, selection and editorial matter; individual chapters, the contributors Th e right of Pauliina Remes and Svetla Slaveva-Griffi n to be identifi ed as the authors of the editorial matter, and of the individual authors for their contributions, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereaft er invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been applied for ISBN: 978-1-844-65626-4 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-74418-6 (ebk) Typeset in Minion Pro and Frutiger by Kate Williams, Swansea. Contents Acknowledgements ix Abbreviations xi 1. Introduction: Neoplatonism today 1 Pauliina Remes and Svetla Slaveva-Griffi n PART I: (RE)SOURCES, INSTRUCTION AND INTERACTION Introduction 13 2. Platonist curricula and their infl uence 15 Harold Tarrant 3. Th e Alexandrian classrooms excavated and sixth-century philosophy teaching 30 Richard Sorabji 4. Middle Platonism and its relation to Stoicism and the Peripatetic tradition 40 Gretchen Reydams-Schils and Franco Ferrari 5. Plotinus and the Gnostics: opposed heirs of Plato 52 John D. Turner 6. Plotinus and the Orient: aoristos dyas 77 Vishwa Adluri PART II: METHODS AND STYLES OF EXEGESIS Introduction 103 7. Aristotelian commentary tradition 106 Han Baltussen v vi CONTENTS 8. Th e non-commentary tradition 115 Andrew Smith 9. Plotinus’ style and argument 126 Luc Brisson 10. Proclus’ geometrical method 145 Marije Martijn PART III: METAPHYSICS AND METAPHYSICAL PERSPECTIVES Introduction 163 11. Metaphysics: the origin of becoming and the resolution of ignorance 166 Sara Ahbel-Rappe 12. Th e metaphysics of the One 182 Jens Halfwassen 13. Number in the metaphysical landscape 200 Svetla Slaveva-Griffi n 14. Substance 216 Riccardo Chiaradonna 15. Matter and evil in the Neoplatonic tradition 231 Jean-Marc Narbonne PART IV: LANGUAGE, KNOWLEDGE, SOUL AND SELF Introduction 247 16. Th e gift of Hermes: the Neoplatonists on language and philosophy 251 Robbert M. van den Berg 17. Neoplatonic epistemology: knowledge, truth and intellection 266 Lloyd P. Gerson 18. Iamblichus on soul 280 John F. Finamore 19. From Alexander of Aphrodisias to Plotinus 293 Frederic M. Schroeder 20. Metaphysics of soul and self in Plotinus 310 Gwenaëlle Aubry 21. Perceptual awareness in the ancient commentators 323 Péter Lautner CONTENTS vii PART V: NATURE: PHYSICS, MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY Introduction 341 22. Physics and metaphysics 343 Alessandro Linguiti 23. Neoplatonism and medicine 356 James Wilberding 24. Humans, other animals, plants and the question of the good: the Platonic and Neoplatonic traditions 372 Kevin Corrigan PART VI: ETHICS, POLITICAL THEORY AND AESTHETICS Introduction 393 25. Plotinus on metaphysics and morality 396 Suzanne Stern-Gillet 26. Plotinus on founding freedom in Ennead VI.8[39] 421 Bernard Collette-Dučić 27. Freedom, providence and fate 437 Peter Adamson 28. Action, reasoning and the highest good 453 Pauliina Remes 29. Political theory 471 Dominic J. O’Meara 30. Plotinus’ aesthetics: in defence of the lifelike 484 Panayiota Vassilopoulou PART VII: LEGACY Introduction 505 31. Neoplatonism and Christianity in the West 508 Dermot Moran 32. Neoplatonism and Christianity in the East: philosophical and theological challenges for bishops 525 Dimitar Y. Dimitrov 33. Islamic and Jewish Neoplatonisms 541 Sarah Pessin Contributors 559 Bibliography 563 Index of passages cited 613 General index 631 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements Th e appearance of this volume would have been impossible without the support of many individuals and institutions. Besides the contributors, we wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for upholding the Handbook to the highest standards of scholarship and giving it all in their comments; Michael Chase, Simon Fortier and Coralie Seizilles de Mazanco for their help in translating certain articles from French; Carl O’Brien for translating Jens Halfwassen’s chapter from German with the assistance of Th omas Arnold and Tolga Ratzsch; Marcaline Boyd and Amanda Richard for their editorial assistance; Steven Gerrard and the production team at Acumen for their vision, and patience, at every stage of the project; Tony Bruce and the production team at Routledge for their wholehearted welcome of the book into their Handbooks series; the Department of Classics and the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science at Florida State University; the Department of Philosophy at Uppsala University; the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, the Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences, and its “Understanding Agency” Programme; the Florida State University Council on Research and Creativity; C. H. Beck for allowing here the appearance of an English translation of a chapter from Halfwassen (2004); University of Laval Press for allowing the appearance of a revised version of Finamore (2009); and University of London Press for allowing the appearance of an updated version of a chapter from Sorabji (2010). We are most in debt to the forgiving understanding of our families. But none of this would have been possible without a friendship that knows no limits and no borders, from the long Finnish summer days of Mikkeli to the cosy coff ee houses of stormy Cardiff . Pauliina Remes and Svetla Slaveva-Griffi n ix