Becoming a Platonist

21 November 2022

Becoming a Platonist

I can’t recall a specific moment when I knew that I was a Platonist.  I became a Platonist slowly, over a long period of time.  Looking back, I can recall numerous episodes that, when considered, contributed to my becoming a Platonist.  I wrote previously about one of them; the post is titled ‘The Consolation of Boethius’.  There were others.  For example, when I was a graduate student in philosophy I read Phaedrus and enjoyed it hugely; this left a positive impression on my psyche regarding Plato’s Dialogues.  But reading Phaedrus didn’t result in a ‘conversion’ experience and for many decades I dwelt in other spiritual domains.

Here are a few comments about becoming a Platonist based on my own experience:

1. There is no conversion ceremony in Platonism.  In Christianity, the various traditions have a structured set of lessons, usually culminating in baptism, and this makes you a Christian in that particular tradition.  In Buddhism the standard ceremony is called ‘Taking Refuge’, wherein an individual recites a three-fold commitment: “I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha.”  This is often combined with pledges to commit to basic ethical practices.  Though different Buddhist traditions vary in their specifics, this basic structure of Taking Refuge and Taking Precepts is very widespread.  After participating in such a ceremony, a person is considered to be a Buddhist.  In the Islamic tradition there is a simple prayer that an individual can recite that converts them to Islam.

2. Because of these examples we tend to look for specific ceremonial occasions that mark the entrance of an individual into Platonism.  But I suggest that Platonism more closely resembles a group of spiritual traditions and practices that do not have such a ceremony.  For example, Tea Ceremony has no conversion ceremony.  You become a ‘Tea Person’ by going for lessons, practicing the ceremony, reading the literature, and hanging out with other Tea People.

Or take something more ordinary like baking.  You become a baker by copying other bakers’ habits and recipes, possibly going to a baking school, regularly baking breads, muffins, etc.  Again, there is no ceremony of conversion that makes you a baker; slowly, over time you become a baker and at some point you realize you have become a baker and can say to someone else with ease, “I am a baker.”

3. What are the practices that slowly turn someone into a Platonist? 

3.1 I think the first one is simply reading Platonic literature.  The two most important works are the Dialogues of Plato and the Enneads of Plotinus.  I feel that there is a spiritual energy, or transmission that flows from these works to the reader.  I’m not the only one who has had the experience of a kind of charge, or opening, or insight, or a sense of metaphysical and contemplative understanding, or a sense of awe, that arises from reading these works.  The regular contemplative reading of these works, and I recommend daily reading, is spiritually transformative.

The topic of ‘spiritual reading’, as opposed to ‘mundane reading’ is a big one, a topic that I might post on later.  But I would suggest that one thing that is required is a sense of humility when approaching these works; it is similar to the humility one would feel when approaching someone who has vast knowledge about something you are interested in.  In such a case you would be willing to listen to what they have to say, what they have to offer.  In a similar way, approaching the Dialogues and Enneads as a repository of wisdom and insight will open the reader to what these works have to offer.

For those interested in exploring the nature of reading as a spiritual practice, I recommend Chapter 5, Transforming Through Reading, found in Discovering the Beauty of Wisdom, by Mindy Mandell.

3.2 The second set of practices is focused on ascetic purification.  The three primary ascetic practices are vegetarianism (possibly veganism), abstaining from alcohol and other drugs that ‘cloud the mind and lead to heedlessness’, and sexual restraint.  As I wrote in a previous post, these purification practices are needed to ‘cleanse the lens of perception’, to calm the psycho-physical organism, and to turn that psycho-physical organism towards the transcendental.

3.3 The third set of practices are often called ‘virtues’.  There is a lot of overlap between purifications and virtues.  In a sense, virtues are also purifications, but I tend to look at purifications as ascetic practices, types of renunciation, and virtues as characteristics that need to be grown and cultivated. 

3.3.1 The first type of virtue is ‘civic virtue’, and it refers to being a good member of your community, or ‘polis’.  It means following the laws and customs of one’s community and to not unnecessarily give rise to friction at this level.

3.3.2 The second type of virtue refers to individual characteristics such as Courage, Fortitude, Temperance, Honesty, Justice, Generosity, Stability, etc.  In the literature on ethics, these are generally grouped under ‘Virtue Ethics’ and there is a vast literature about this topic.  

3.3.3 The third type of virtue is contemplation; but it is so significant that I think I will separate it and give contemplation its own slot.

Civic Virtues purify our social relations.  Ethical Virtues purify our habits and our way of living our personal life.  Contemplative Virtues turn our attention away from the world of the senses to the transcendent.

4. Contemplation is, like the Ethical Virtues, a big topic.  It is the third practice that, I think, leads to someone thinking of themselves as a Platonist.  There are many contemplative practices touched on in the Platonic literature; you can find them in Plato, Plotinus, Maximus of Tyre, etc.  But interestingly, I am not aware of what I would call a “Manual” of contemplation.  That is not all that unusual.  For example, scholars say that there was no manual of Chan (Zen) Meditation for the first 1,000 years of its existence.  It was only when Chan teachers began to teach different approaches to meditation (some using kung-an (koan) introspection and some using silent illumination) that the need for manuals arose.  I think something similar applies to the classical period of Platonism.  Perhaps such a manual is something that a contemporary iteration of Platonism can offer?

Contemplation in the Platonic tradition means to turn the mind within and to settle the mind in interior silence.  Once there the light of transcendence may shine forth.  Great patience is needed for this practice to bear fruit. 

5.  That’s a lot!  But my observation is that Platonists, particularly in the earlier parts of their journey, practice one aspect and then another.  For example, they may focus on ascetic practices, or they may focus on spiritual reading, or they may focus on cultivating the virtues, or they may focus on contemplation, etc.  That makes sense because all of these nourish each other so that over time, they grow together.

6.  The big three Platonist practices are 1) reading, 2) basic ascetic commitments or purifications, and 3) contemplation.  I see these as foundational and it is upon their foundation that the other practices can be built.

7.  The world of Platonism is vast.  And the journey outlined in Platonism is a long one.  But it is also a rewarding one.  It is a journey of many lifetimes.  The path of Platonism crosses mountains and deserts of breathtaking beauty.  There are likely to be setbacks, but after the lesson is learned the way to the path is recalled and the journey resumes.