Monist and Dualist Tendencies in Platonism before Plotinus
The author argues that the Platonism that Plotinus inherits – setting aside Ammonius Saccas, of whom we know all too little – is by the later second century distinctly dualist in tendency, and is able, especially in the case of Plutarch, to quote Plato to its purpose. Plato himself, though, as the a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | ell |
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Novosibirsk State University Press
2015-04-01
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| Series: | SCHOLE |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.nsu.ru/classics/schole/1/1-1-dillon-3.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797977652778237952 |
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| author | Dillon, John |
| author_facet | Dillon, John |
| author_sort | Dillon, John |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The author argues that the Platonism that Plotinus inherits – setting aside Ammonius Saccas, of whom we know all too little – is by the later second century distinctly dualist in tendency, and is able, especially in the case of Plutarch, to quote Plato to its purpose. Plato himself, though, as the author maintains, is, despite appearances to the contrary, what one might term a ‘modified monist’. That is to say, he fully recognizes the degree of imperfection and evil in the world, and holds it to be ineradicable, but he does not in the last resort believe in a positive countervailing force to the Good or the One. What we have is simply a negative force, whether Indefinite Dyad, disorderly World-Soul, or Receptacle, which is an inevitable condition of their being a world at all, but which, as a side-effect of introducing diversity, generates various sorts of imperfection. It is this scenario that justifies his follower Hermodorus in declaring that Plato recognizes only a single first principle, and it to this sort of monism – if anything, in a more pronounced form – that Plotinus returns. The article is published in a Russian translation in Vol. II, issue 1 |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:10:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-20f41bcea1b042f3bbe7bffbe488eca6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1995-4328 1995-4336 |
| language | ell |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:10:26Z |
| publishDate | 2015-04-01 |
| publisher | Novosibirsk State University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SCHOLE |
| spelling | doaj.art-20f41bcea1b042f3bbe7bffbe488eca62022-12-25T10:44:17ZellNovosibirsk State University PressSCHOLE1995-43281995-43362015-04-01113750Monist and Dualist Tendencies in Platonism before PlotinusDillon, John0Trinity College, DublinThe author argues that the Platonism that Plotinus inherits – setting aside Ammonius Saccas, of whom we know all too little – is by the later second century distinctly dualist in tendency, and is able, especially in the case of Plutarch, to quote Plato to its purpose. Plato himself, though, as the author maintains, is, despite appearances to the contrary, what one might term a ‘modified monist’. That is to say, he fully recognizes the degree of imperfection and evil in the world, and holds it to be ineradicable, but he does not in the last resort believe in a positive countervailing force to the Good or the One. What we have is simply a negative force, whether Indefinite Dyad, disorderly World-Soul, or Receptacle, which is an inevitable condition of their being a world at all, but which, as a side-effect of introducing diversity, generates various sorts of imperfection. It is this scenario that justifies his follower Hermodorus in declaring that Plato recognizes only a single first principle, and it to this sort of monism – if anything, in a more pronounced form – that Plotinus returns. The article is published in a Russian translation in Vol. II, issue 1http://www.nsu.ru/classics/schole/1/1-1-dillon-3.pdfmonismdualismOld Academy |
| spellingShingle | Dillon, John Monist and Dualist Tendencies in Platonism before Plotinus SCHOLE monism dualism Old Academy |
| title | Monist and Dualist Tendencies in Platonism before Plotinus |
| title_full | Monist and Dualist Tendencies in Platonism before Plotinus |
| title_fullStr | Monist and Dualist Tendencies in Platonism before Plotinus |
| title_full_unstemmed | Monist and Dualist Tendencies in Platonism before Plotinus |
| title_short | Monist and Dualist Tendencies in Platonism before Plotinus |
| title_sort | monist and dualist tendencies in platonism before plotinus |
| topic | monism dualism Old Academy |
| url | http://www.nsu.ru/classics/schole/1/1-1-dillon-3.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dillonjohn monistanddualisttendenciesinplatonismbeforeplotinus |