III.

History

Neoplatonism began in Alexandria, Egypt, in the 3rd century ad. Its founder and foremost exponent was the Roman philosopher Plotinus, who was born in Egypt, studied in Alexandria with the philosopher Ammonius Saccus, and about 244 carried the Neoplatonic doctrine to Rome, where he established a school. His major works comprise the Enneads, which contain a comprehensive exposition of Neoplatonic metaphysics. Other important Neoplatonic thinkers were the Syrian-Greek scholar and philosopher Porphyry, the Syrian-Greek philosopher Iamblichus, and the Greek philosopher and mathematician Proclus.

The elements of asceticism and unworldliness in Neoplatonism appealed strongly to the Fathers and Doctors of the Christian Church. The early Christian prelate St Augustine, in his Confessions, acknowledged the contribution of Neoplatonism to Christianity and indicated the profound influence exerted by its doctrines on his own religious thinking. Although a number of medieval theologians and philosophers, notably the German mystic Meister Eckhart, were deeply influenced by Neoplatonism, Roman Catholic dogmatists condemned its unorthodox tenets. In the 15th century, however, Neoplatonism became more generally accepted. The German Roman Catholic speculative philosopher Nicholas of Cusa and other mystics sought to overcome the doubt arising from the limitations of human knowledge by espousing the theory of direct human intuition of God, a theory closely akin to the Neoplatonic doctrine that the soul in a state of ecstasy has the power to transcend all finite limitations.

The humanists of the Italian Renaissance, in their reaction against the previously dominant rationalistic philosophy of Aristotle, turned to the idealistic metaphysics of Plato, and thence to Neoplatonism. Notable in this connection was the Italian scholar Marsilio Ficino, who, under the patronage of the wealthy nobleman Cosimo de' Medici, translated and annotated the works of Plotinus, Porphyry, and Iamblichus. In England, the 17th-century Cambridge Platonists exhibited marked affinities with Neoplatonic philosophers. A number of 19th- and 20th-century thinkers and writers have been influenced by Neoplatonism; among them were several of the most important British Romantic poets, including William Wordsworth, John Keats, and Percy Bysshe Shelley.