Platonism

Neoplatonic Virtue: Proclus' Socratic DeathIn this class, we see how Marinus presents Proclus as a Socratic philosopher, setting up a series of parallels between the death of Socrates…

Neoplatonic Virtue: The Fulfillment of Proclus' LifeIn this week’s Neoplatonic Virtue class, Yitzchok and I finish our reading of The Life of Proclus (paragraphs 33–38), reflecting on the…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Orphism, Theurgy and Theia PhiliaIn this class we explore paragraphs 27–32 of Marinus’ Life of Proclus, where Proclus’ contemplation turns from interpretation to direct theurgic activity.…

Neoplatonic Virtue: From Purification to Contemplation in the Life of ProclusIn this session, Antonio-Luis Costa-Vargas and Yitzchok Lowy continue their reading of The Life of Proclus, reaching the…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Proclus the HierophantIn this class, we complete Proclus’ account of the political virtues and turn to the purificatory virtues. We look at how sympathia (fellow feeling)…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Christ, Typhon, and the Chaos at the Center of the WorldIn this session of the Neoplatonic Virtue course, we continued reading Marinus’ Life of Proclus and…

Neoplatonic Virtue: The Education of ProclusIn this session, we continue our reading of Marinus’ Life of Proclus, following the philosopher’s education step by step. We trace: Proclus’ natural…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Fate, Daimon, and the Life of ProclusIn this session of the Neoplatonic Virtue course, we weave together myth, astrology, and biography. We begin with questions about…

Proclus Rising: The Philosopher's Natal ChartJoin me for a special livestreamed class where we explore the natal chart of the late Neoplatonist philosopher Proclus, reconstructed from a mysterious…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Iamblichus' Curriculum and Proclus' Philosophical NatureIn this session of the Neoplatonic Virtue course, we explore Iamblichus’ curriculum for reading Plato as preserved in the Anonymous Prolegomena…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Astrology, the Daimon, and the Higher SelfIn this session, we conclude our reading of Book IX of De Mysteriis, where Iamblichus explores the role of the…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Daimon, Narrative and AstrologyIn this session of the Neoplatonic Virtue course, we begin with Plato’s Myth of Er, exploring the soul’s choice before birth and how…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Material Sacrifice and Divine FriendshipIn this class, we delve into Iamblichus’ critique of the idea that sacrifice can be explained purely through natural sympathy — a…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Beyond Sympathy: Plotinus, Iamblichus, and the Hidden Power of RitualIn this session of the Neoplatonic Virtue course, we conclude our reading of De Mysteriis II.11 and…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Plato, Iamblichus, and Divine MadnessIn this class, we return to the Platonic texts that form the background for Plotinus and Iamblichus, focusing especially on the Phaedrus…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Contemplation and TheurgyIn this session of our Neoplatonic Virtue course, we first finish Porphyry’s Sententiae 32 by wrapping up our discussion of purification: How does the…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Grades of Virtue and Purificatory Virtue In this session, we explore Porphyry’s account of the four classes of virtue and their connection to different types of…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Porphyry on Contemplation and Paradigms of VirtueIn this second session on Porphyry’s Sentence 32, we explore the Neoplatonic hierarchy of virtues in greater depth, focusing on…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Porphyry on Political and Purificatory VirtueIn this 90-minute seminar, we begin reading Sentence 32 of Porphyry’s Sentences, a text that distills and systematizes Plotinus’ teachings on…

Neoplatonic Virtue: On the Daimon and the Soul’s AscentIn this class, we complete our reading of Plotinus’ treatise On Our Allotted Guardian Spirit (Ennead III.4), focusing on the…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Daimonic TensionYitzchok Lowy and I go through chapters 3,4 and 5 of Plotinus' On Our Allotted Daimon, which discuss PLotinus' variable theory of daimones, where there…

Neoplatonic Virtue: Plotinus on the Soul's Cosmic RoleYitzchok Lowy and I discuss chapters 1 and 2 of Ennead III.4 "On Our Allotted Spirit". In these chapters Plotinus sets…

Neoplatonic Virtues: Sources on DaimonesYitzchok Lowy and I discuss the non-social virtues mentioned in the Life of Plotinus and how Porphyry's biography presents a few aspects of the…