Philosophic Silence and the ‘One' in Plotinus

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Ancient, History
Cover of the book Philosophic Silence and the ‘One' in Plotinus by Nicholas Banner, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nicholas Banner ISBN: 9781108599382
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: March 31, 2018
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: Nicholas Banner
ISBN: 9781108599382
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: March 31, 2018
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

Plotinus, the greatest philosopher of Late Antiquity, discusses at length a first principle of reality - the One - which, he tells us, cannot be expressed in words or grasped in thought. How and why, then, does Plotinus write about it at all? This book explores this act of writing the unwritable. Seeking to explain what seems to be an insoluble paradox in the very practice of late Platonist writing, it examines not only the philosophical concerns involved, but the cultural and rhetorical aspects of the question. The discussion outlines an ancient practice of ‛philosophical silence' which determined the themes and tropes of public secrecy appropriate to Late Platonist philosophy. Through philosophic silence, public secrecy and silence flow into one another, and the unsaid space of the text becomes an initiatory secret. Understanding this mode of discourse allows us to resolve many apparent contradictions in Plotinus' thought.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Plotinus, the greatest philosopher of Late Antiquity, discusses at length a first principle of reality - the One - which, he tells us, cannot be expressed in words or grasped in thought. How and why, then, does Plotinus write about it at all? This book explores this act of writing the unwritable. Seeking to explain what seems to be an insoluble paradox in the very practice of late Platonist writing, it examines not only the philosophical concerns involved, but the cultural and rhetorical aspects of the question. The discussion outlines an ancient practice of ‛philosophical silence' which determined the themes and tropes of public secrecy appropriate to Late Platonist philosophy. Through philosophic silence, public secrecy and silence flow into one another, and the unsaid space of the text becomes an initiatory secret. Understanding this mode of discourse allows us to resolve many apparent contradictions in Plotinus' thought.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book Rival Reputations by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book American Protestantism in the Age of Psychology by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book A History of 1930s British Literature by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Medieval Affect, Feeling, and Emotion by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Hegel and Nineteenth-Century Philosophy by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Phonology by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Cognitive Impairment in Schizophrenia by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book The Textualization of the Greek Alphabet by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Migration, Mobility and Place in Ancient Italy by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Programming with Higher-Order Logic by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Stability Regions of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Plasmonic Nanoelectronics and Sensing by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book CMOS and Beyond by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book The Biafran War and Postcolonial Humanitarianism by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book The Cambridge Handbook of Artificial Intelligence by Nicholas Banner
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy