Apatheia

20 January 2023

Apatheia

“The soul binds herself to the body by a conversion toward the affections experienced by the body.  She detaches herself from the body by ‘apathy’ [turning away from the body’s affections – note added by translator].”

(Porphyry, Launching Points to the Realm of Mind, translated by Kenneth Guthrie, Phanes Press, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1988, page 36, ISBN: 0933999585)

 

I have a strong appreciation for Porphyry and I think he deserves more credit than he usually receives.  Perhaps this is due to Porphyry living in the shadow of Plotinus.  He was a student of Plotinus and it is Porphyry’s editing and arrangement of Plotinus’s essays, which Porphyry called The Enneads, that we have today.  But Porphyry has a clear grasp of the way virtues and purifications function in the Platonic tradition.  For example, Porphyry wrote a treatise on why vegetarianism is a necessary commitment for the life of a philosopher.  It is true that Porphyry does not have the depth of understanding, or the subtlety that we find in his teacher, Plotinus.  On the other hand, Porphyry doesn’t set about unnecessarily complicating the system of hypostases as later Platonists were inclined to do.  Here are a few comments on the observation that is quoted above:

1.  The soul is a complicated structure in Platonism.  For example, the entire dialogue The Republic is devoted to unpacking the soul in all of its tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses.  In terms of the mystical ascent to The One, the soul seems to have two primary tendencies.  The first is to be fixated on material existence, and the second is to recognize, or recollect, the eternal nature of The One and from that recognition strive to return to it.  Porphyry’s comment is his explanation of how this happens.  The soul is attracted to the ‘affections experienced by the body’, and when it is attracted to these experiences it remains locked in the material realm, or bound in metaphorical chains in the cave of shadows.  But Porphyry suggests that there is a way out; by practicing ‘apathy’ towards bodily experience the soul can detach itself from being driven by the desire for sensory stimulation and begin its long journey back to The One (the non-sensory source of all material existence).

2.  I don’t have the Greek to look at, but I’m going to assume that Guthrie is translating the word ‘apatheia’.  Cultivating apatheia was a primary practice among the Stoics, but according to Porphyry it has its place in Platonism as well.  (I don’t know enough about the history of this practice to know if it was first used by the Platonists or by the Stoics, or perhaps by a third, earlier, tradition). 

3.  Apatheia is related to our word ‘apathy’, but it seems, according to some scholars, to be closer to a word like equanimity.  The point is not to be repulsed by things happening that one dislikes, or seduced by things that one likes.  As the Buddhists would say, “Neither attracted nor repelled.” 

4.  The point is not to be ruled by the body’s constant stream of wants and desires; desires for particular foods, desires for worldly goods of all kinds, desires for bodily pleasures such as sex, desires that other people behave in a certain way and believe certain things, etc.  Through apatheia a space is created in the mind where these desires simply arise and fall away.  In that space it is now possible to recognize the presence of the light of The One, to turn to that light, and over time be guided by that light.

5.  Being ‘guided by the light’ means becoming familiar with the way of life that is conducive to experience the light’s presence, or conducive to occasions for the light’s manifestation.  One begins to realize that indulgence in bodily sensations, such as good food, alcohol and drugs, and erotic experiences, makes it difficult, or even impossible, to find the light or to access it’s guidance.  It’s like looking for a trail on a moonlit night with a group of people who are drinking, talking, and taking drugs; it is likely that you will walk right past the trail, not even noticing that it is there.