Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 14

18 March 2024

Brief Notes on Various Topics – 14

1.  I’m reading Ennead IV at the moment.  Ennead IV focuses on the soul.  I’ve said this before on this blog, but I think it is worth repeating; I’m always a bit surprised at the complexity and range of what falls under the idea of ‘soul’ in Platonist literature.  For example, Plotinus mentions how the soul participates in various activities and specifically mentions weaving as such an activity.  (According to A. H. Armstrong, this example was used first by Aristotle in Aristotle's De Anima or On the Soul.)  I doubt that those who believe in the soul today would make that kind of an observation; it implies that the soul is an active participant, not just an observer, of ordinary activities.

Regarding the specific example of weaving, I think part of the connection to soul is the rhythmic nature or weaving.  The World Soul (some translators call this the All Soul) is the source of cyclic material existence.  Cyclic existence is rhythmic existence.  Looked at in this way the rhythmic nature of weaving, and other rhythmic activities, is the way the individual soul mimics the creative activity of the World Soul.

2.  I wonder if it would be helpful to introduce a concept along the lines of ‘Observant Platonist?’  I think of this idea as referring to a Platonist who takes the ethical disciplines the reader finds in the Dialogues, the Enneads, and elsewhere, as defining of what it means to be a Platonist.  This would contrast with the kind of Platonist who defines Platonism as an interlocking cluster of ideas and views, but does not have anything to say about the role of ethical precepts in the practice of Platonism.  This kind of distinction already exists in ordinary ways of describing someone’s religious commitments.  ‘Observant’ is applied to Jews who are on the rigorous side of observing their heritage of religious practices; the same could be said of Catholics who are similarly inclined.  The concept can easily be extended to religions in general.  Perhaps it could find a place in Platonist practice?

I suspect that resistance to this way of classifying Platonists would be seen most strongly among contemporary Platonists who think of themselves as secular and have constructed a secular version of Platonism.

3.  In thinking about Platonist ethical discipline, I am leaning towards seeing non-harming as the foundation of that discipline, the overriding principle.  The other specific disciplines, such as vegetarian/vegan diet, refraining from alcohol and drugs, sexual restraint, and so forth, are applications of the principle of non-harming to specific areas of human life.

4.  Having a good rebirth is not the goal of Platonism.  Leaving rebirth behind by taking up residence in the Noetic is; and beyond the Noetic, merging with the Eternal, the Good, the One and the Beautiful.

5.  I have a mystical view when it comes to evaluating those who have lived a reclusive life.  In today’s world such a life is often critiqued as being self-indulgent and that it would be better to be socially ‘engaged’ as an expression of love, compassion, and concern for others.  But there is another way of looking at the life of a hermit or recluse; and that is that such a life benefits all living beings. 

This way of looking at a reclusive life emerges from what I call the ‘ascetic ideal.’  It is a natural consequence of the ascetic ideal even though it is not, in most cases, the conscious purpose of a hermit.