Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 29

29 May 2024

Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 29

1.  I tend to be broadly accepting of the items, the Dialogues and Letters, in the Platonic Canon.  Even dialogues such as Rivals or Axiochus I tend to accept as authentic.  It wouldn’t bother me if some of these items turns out to be definitively not something Plato wrote, it’s just that the reasons offered for rejecting this or that item strike me as not very strong.  I’m not the only one that thinks this way; Waterfield in his recent biography of Plato referred to the back and forth among scholars regarding the authenticity of the Letters and how this back and forth at times feels more like a change of fashion than anything else.

I think I started feeling this way when I discovered Alcibiades I.  I first encountered an edition of Plato’s Complete Works in the Edith Hamilton et al edition.  This edition leaves out Alcibiades I (along with other dialogues).  As I learned more about the Platonic Canon I learned that Alcibiades I was an important dialogue in Late Classical Platonism.  I found an edition of the dialogue and read it.  I think it is a wonderful dialogue and I can see why it attained prominence.  Marginalizing this dialogue seemed arbitrary to me.  Since then I have been skeptical regarding the tendency among some modern scholars to whittle away at the Canon.

2.  One of the things I like about Platonic spirituality is that it has a deep understanding of causality, particularly when causality is applied to spirituality.  Having met hundreds of spiritual teachers from many various traditions, my feeling is that many contemporary spiritual teachers do not understand causality.  More accurately, many contemporary spiritual teachers seek to do away with causality when talking about spirituality. 

I am referring specifically to the process of purification in the Platonic tradition, how it works and its specific practices.  Purification is the causal basis and process for the spiritual ascent and spiritual realization.  This view is also taken by Mark Anderson in his book Pure; I’ve posted about this before so I won’t go into details here.  Asceticism is a part of purification; other parts are the cultivation of virtues and Platonic contemplation.  If we understand purification from the perspective of causation, then we can also understand Platonic asceticism in the same way.

3.  I was talking to a friend recently about the music of Bach.  My friend attended a concert of vocal music by Bach.  He noticed how Bach will take a theme and sometimes expand the theme so that it lasts longer, and sometimes shrink the theme to something like half its original length.  My friend is a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner and has been for a long time.  And what came to his mind after the concert is that spiritual teachings have the same kind of temporal flexibility; at times a particular view or practice will be presented briefly, while at other times it may be discussed at great length.

I thought this was insightful.  It reminded me of how Plotinus will sometimes mention a theme in passing and at other times unpack it at great length.  This is also true of Plato.  A good example of this is the topic of Beauty.

4.  I find it amusing how often nihilists will insist that life is meaningless and at the same time argue vehemently that people should do X, or live in a way that the nihilist approves of.  At some deep level I don’t think it is actually possible for a human being to be a nihilist; it’s just an idea people enjoy for a few years so they can shock others.

5.  I recently heard a Theravada monk talk about Dhamma practice; he compared it to carpentry.  I like those kinds of analogies.  He further unpacked the analogy by pointing out that if someone wants to become a carpenter it is insufficient for them to simply gather information about carpentry; at some point they have to actually cut boards and hammer nails.  In a similar way, the monk suggested, it is insufficient to simply gather information about the Dhamma; he even mentioned that extensive knowledge of the Suttas is insufficient.  What is necessary is the practice of Dhamma and he specifically mentioned the practices of purification and ethical discipline.

I feel this way about Platonism; I mean that it is necessary to practice purification and ethical discipline as understood in a Platonic context.  This is the Platonic path.  It includes things like vegetarianism, contemplation, refraining from drugs and alcohol, sexual restraint that leads to chastity, and so forth. 

Personally, I think that if one is practicing purification then gathering information about Platonism through reading the Dialogues and the Enneads is transformed into a spiritual practice; the reading becomes an act of purification in that context.  This happens because the teachings presented in the Dialogues and Enneads is clarified through the practices of purification.  Without these purification practices it is almost inevitable that misunderstandings of the written texts will arise.

 

  

Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 28

26 May 2024

Brief Notes on Various Topics – 28

1.  A lot of books on Platonism are very expensive.  Partly this is due to the rising costs of books in general.  Partly this is due to some of these books being written by authors who do not have an academic position; they may be very knowledgeable in Greek, in the Classics, and in Platonist philosophy, but they are, to an extent, outside of the academy and because of this some routes to publication are not open to them.  Such authors sometimes rely on publishers who print academic literature by those who are not necessarily academics themselves, but these publishers have a very high price point.  When I say ‘very high’ I recently ran across such a book that was almost $300.00 for a book that was under 300 pages (hardback edition.)  This is not a problem confined to Platonism.  It is a general problem for academic literature including University publishers who often publish exclusively for the purposes of library placement and because of this the price of these presses can be very high.

This has been going on for decades but there does not seem to be any group seeking to alleviate this difficulty.  That’s too bad.

2.  It is natural that Platonists disagree with each other regarding the specifics of their philosophical tradition.  It is natural because we live in a realm where differentiation and strife are dominant and this manifests as an inability to maintain unity. 

But I think that these differences are, at times, exaggerated.  Here’s an analogy:  the classical symphony begins in the 1700’s.  Composers like C. P. E. Bach and others of his time, wrote early symphonies.  Haydn pivotally shaped the form.  And many others followed including Beethoven, Schubert, and so forth to Bruckner and further on into the contemporary period.  They all share a common history and they are all writing in the same form.  But they have their differences in style which are easy to hear.  Even so, we recognize the unity of their endeavors and the shared task that the composers set themselves when deciding to compose a symphony.

In a similar way, I see Platonists as involved in the same basic task; that being to illuminate the nature of the transcendental.  But there are differences among the philosophers who take on the task of writing a metaphysical symphony.

3.  Ennead VI.6 contains an extended discussion on number.  At one point Plotinus writes about the order of the basic Noetic triad of Being, Intellect, and Life.  A. H. Armstrong writes, “The order of the primary triad: Being before Intellect, Intellect before Life; the real numbers are in and prior to Being . . .” (page 9)  This differs from understanding the Noetic triad as in some sense functioning at the same level; that is to say that they mutually entail each other (meaning if you have Being you necessarily have Intellect and Life, if you have Intellect you necessarily have Being and Life, and if you have Life you necessarily have Being and Intellect.)  This also differs, I think, with how Proclus would impose his triadic scheme of unfolding on the Noetic triad, but going into that would make this too complicated and I’m not confident that I understand what Proclus is suggesting.

I think what Plotinus is saying is that number is the principle of differentiation and looked at as a principle, you could say that number both precedes Being and is in Being.  However, if we can say that number is in Being, I think it would make sense to say that number is also in Intellect and Life because both Intellect and Life are governed by the principle of differentiation and differentiation arises from number.

These are thought experiments; the different ways of looking at the Noetic triad are not necessarily exclusive; that is to say they do not necessarily contradict each other because in the Noetic these realities would be transparent to each other and not separate from each other.  This can happen because Noetic realities do not have material content.  One could say that these various ways of understanding the Noetic triad and its relationship to number are facets of that reality which are in the Noetic domain a unity.

4.  When referring to strife as a basic reality of the material realm, it occurs to me that this is so because strife is exciting and stimulating to the senses.  The antidote to this is the ascetic practices of the Platonic tradition which means withdrawing from sensory stimulation.

5.  I think I mentioned before that I worked for a time at a prison for the criminally insane as a Buddhist Minister.  When I was first there I had the idea that the inmates would meditate in silence.  It was a complete failure.  The silence and stillness was simply an opportunity for various delusions to emerge, including hallucinations.  I changed the program and switched to chanting instead of silent contemplation, along with using the Jataka Tales as the basis for Dharma talks.

What this taught me long term is that the practice of silent contemplation, sometimes known as interior silence, is not for everyone.  For some, such a practice will only increase delusions and attachment.  I don’t think this is appreciated enough among meditation teachers.

 

 

Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 27

22 May 2022

Brief Notes on Various Topics – 27

1.  I’ve noticed that I have insights into Platonist philosophy in waves.  I mean that after having an insight(s) I seem to go through a period, that usually lasts around three years, where no new insights appear.  During this period I find myself applying my new understanding to various aspects of Platonic philosophy.  My intuition is that my mind is engaged subconsciously with the philosophical/spiritual questions raised by Platonic philosophy continuously, but this rises to conscious awareness only intermittently.

2.  I have great admiration for people I know who found a spiritual home and have continued to cultivate the wisdom of that tradition over the decades of their life.  In contrast, I am a wanderer through spiritual traditions, unable to stay put in one home; always a visitor. 

I used to have negative feelings about this.  But in some ways this history has given me insights that are only available to wanderers like me.  For example, being able to comprehend Platonism as a Dharmic tradition is due to my years of primarily Buddhist study, but also the time I spent on the Jain tradition.  Without this background I would not have recognized the Dharmic nature of Platonism.  It is possible to understand that Classical Platonism and modern views of philosophy are very different without having clarity as to the nature of Classical Platonism itself.  For example, you could understand that Platonism is concerned with the transcendental and modern philosophy is not.  But this doesn’t tell you why Platonism is concerned with the transcendental or the function that the transcendental has in the Platonist tradition. And modernist philosophy is unable to illuminate this interest because it rejects the idea of the transcendental altogether.  In a case like this one has to turn to traditions where the transcendental is central.  In my case this was the Dharmic traditions.  (There are other aspects of Platonism that align with Dharmic traditions, like ethics, but going into those would make the post too long.)

3.  There are organized and disorganized religions (or spiritualities, if you prefer.)  Organized religions have an observable structure of authority and a pattern of learning that cultivates its view of the world in successive generations.  Disorganized religions lack an observable structure of authority.  Disorganized religions have practitioners and some practitioners gain a positive reputation and are consulted and listened to; but their authority is, for the most part, due to their dedication to their tradition over many years rather than because they have assumed some specific role or title within an organization.  Sometimes people like this are simply referred to as ‘elders.’ 

In the modern world I would place Platonism in the disorganized category.  There are people who have studied, and in some cases practiced, Platonism for most of their lives and because of this they are listened to and admired.  We might think of them as Platonist Elders.  But they do not assume a position of authority in an organizational setting.  It is like admiring a cook who has, over many years, perfected their craft; and this may be in a home setting, not as a professional chef.  Or it is like admiring someone who has been a potter for decades and clearly grown in their skill.  Or it is like someone who has grown in the skills they display in many, various, fields of human endeavor.

I’m not saying that Platonism is a craft; but I’m suggesting that the practice of Platonism has craft-like aspects such as becoming more skillful in communicating its views over time; and to the extent that reading is a craft, becoming a better reader of Platonic texts.  And the asceses of Platonism can also be viewed as skills that are cultivated in the way that a craft is cultivated.

4.  I was reading Ennead VI.4.12 and I noticed that Plotinus uses simile in this paragraph to argue for a certain view of the relationship between soul and the source of souls.  Here it is, “Just as there is often a sound in the air, and a word in the sound, and an ear is there and receives and perceives it; and if you put another ear in the middle of the space between, the word and the sound would come also to it, or rather the ear would come to the word . . . in this same way that which is able to have soul will have it, and another again and yet another from the same source.” (Armstrong translation, page 309)

Here Plotinus compares how many ears can hear a sound, or receive a sound, with the sound coming from a singular source.  For example, at a solo concert each member of the audience receives the same sound(s) coming from the performer’s instrument.  In a similar way material bodies receive soul from the source of soul which in our case would be the world soul which receives its existence from noetic realities, and these noetic realities receive their existence from the transcendental, the Good and the One.

Noting this, it brought back to me again how Platonist philosophers will use devices such as metaphor and simile to make a philosophical point.  I forget which Ennead it is in, but Plotinus refers to these as ‘comparisons.’  The important thing to keep in mind is that when Platonic philosophers refer to ‘reason’ and ‘rationality’ they include things like metaphor and simile (as well as allegory and myth) in their understanding of reason.  That is not true today in modern philosophy; using such devices would be a signal that they are not committed to the much narrower and depleted understanding of reason that pervades modernist philosophy, particularly that of the analytic branch.  I think this is a great loss for philosophy; but perhaps by becoming conscious of how such devices are used in Plato and Plotinus we can restore them to the house of reason.

5.  One thing I like about ascetic practices is that it is clear how to recover if you fail at an ascetic commitment.  The process is simply to renew one’s commitments to the ascetic practice.  It’s like a musician who, due to distraction, doesn’t practice one day.  The next day, realizing his mistake, the musician simply renews the commitment to daily practice.  Or it is like a meditator who has a commitment to a daily meditation practice in the morning, but one day oversleeps and has to go to work, and so misses the meditation session.  A simple renewal of the commitment is all that is needed to continue on the path. 

I think the one obstacle to this kind of renewal is that we often very harsh towards ourselves and if we fail in a commitment, we tend to think it has all fallen apart.  I don’t see it that way.  Life is complicated and unexpected things happen that can interfere with commitments and vows.  This is natural and to be expected.  The inability to embody a practice on a specific occasion does not entail the loss of intention and I think intention is the key to restoring the practice.  An everyday example is someone who is on a diet, but one day succumbs to temptation.  Again, this is natural.  By drawing on the power of intention the diet can be restored; similarly for ascetic practices.

This kind of back and forth can last a long time.  But gradually, over time, the periods of embodying the ascetic practice last longer, and then longer still, until they become second nature to the way we live in the world and it is no longer a struggle to maintain the ascetic practices one is committed to.

 

 

Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 26

18 May 2024

Brief Notes on Various Topics – 26

1.  I often compare Classical Platonism to the Dharmic traditions of India such as Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shaivism, and so forth.  As I have explained, my view is that Classical Platonism, both in its teachings and in its view of the cosmos, and in its view of the purpose of human life, more closely resembles these Dharmic traditions than modern and contemporary philosophy.  To emphasize this, I will sometimes use the phrase ‘Platonist Dharma.’ 

The other day I was reading a short book, really a longish essay, on suffering and its place in ethics.  The book never mentions Buddhism.  It tries to unpack what suffering means without ever noting the Buddhist tradition and its insights on this topic even though the first of the Four Noble Truths is the Truth of Suffering (Dukkha).  I found this startling.  I suspect that is because I spent a lot of time studying Buddhism and the basics of Buddhism have to a significant extent become a part of my mind; for example, when I see a book that has suffering as its theme, I automatically assume that there will be an engagement with the Buddhist tradition on the part of the author.  This engagement may be critical or praising, it may be a critique or a resource, but I assume the relationship will be there.  But I’m wrong about that.

To a significant extent Western Philosophy today remains unaware of the contributions and systems of non-Western thought and this is true even for very liberal, or even radical, Western philosophers.  What this means is that when I suggest that Platonism resembles Dharmic traditions in significant ways it is doubtful that most Western philosophers will know what I am referring to. 

2.  I don’t recall where I first ran into the idea that it is typical that only 2% of those who hear about a spiritual practice or tradition will end up involved with that tradition.  But it is my observation that this is true; it is born out by many years of observation.  I think people are very busy, they have many obligations and duties, and because of this the demands of a spiritual tradition may seem simply to be just another demand on their time.  And in a secular culture such as ours, the idea of a non-material spiritual dimension may seem laughable. 

I have been involved in a number of spiritual traditions (I am restless that way) and I observed this 2% rule among these traditions.  In some cases a tradition may receive some positive publicity at some point and because of this there is an influx of seekers.  But that drops off and evens out. 

In the case of Platonism I think it is less than 2%.  This is because Platonism is not presented, at least not usually presented, as a spiritual tradition and so people just don’t think about engaging Platonism, or philosophy, in this way.  I used to think that this was a ‘terrible’ situation, and in some ways it is.  On the other hand, it means that those who are practicing Platonism today as a spiritual tradition are likely to stick with it.

3.  One of the reasons conservatives tend to be outmaneuvered by their opponents is that it is inherent in existence that things change and pass away; things are in the process of begoning.  If you are fond of that which is passing away the tendency is to interpret that passing away, that begoning, by finding a material cause that undermines the existence of it.  But here Platonism has helped me understand that begoning is of the nature of this realm and all the things within it.  Looked at it in this way, there is no reason for regret.

4.  According to Platonist cosmology the cosmos is everlasting in its cyclical nature which is governed by the World Soul and by number.  The cosmos is everlasting because that is the way that material existence can engage with the eternity of the One and the Noetic.  As Plato says, it is ‘the moving image of eternity.’

When we become more aware of the cyclic nature of material existence this can be a way of approaching that which is everlasting.  The flow of the seasons, the cycle of day and night, are instantiations of cyclical everlastingness.  When seen in this way they can be used to transcend becoming and begoning and function as a gate to the Noetic.

5.  In a dream I had recently I was paddling a canoe on a small like in Wisconsin that I used to visit with my family when I was young.  The sun was setting.  The canoe was now moving forward on a path of light, having left the lake behind.  It still sounded like water when I dipped my paddle into the stream of light.  And there were ripples in the stream of light.  I interpret this as a symbol of the eternal sun; that which our sun is a material symbol of. 

It is a long journey.  But the journey to the Good, the One, the Beautiful, and the Eternal is the journey to our true home and our true peace.

 

 

Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 25

14 May 2024

Brief Notes on Various Topics – 25

1.  I think of cyclical reading as a spiritual practice.  By cyclical reading I mean regularly rereading a book.  This happens usually on a yearly basis, but if the book is short, it can be several times a year, or if the book is very large the cycle can last multiple years.  But the most common is a yearly cycle.

I have done this with the Enneads of Plotinus for many years now.  I think cyclical reading nourishes our spiritual understanding.  Though I am reading the same thing each year, the Enneads in this case, my understanding grows with each reading.  This resembles the way a plant grows as it is nourished through the cycle of the seasons.  Each year the seasonal cycle returns, and each year the tree receives the gifts of the seasons to nourish its growth.

I used to live near Armstrong Woods.  The largest tree there is the Colonel Armstrong Tree, named after the guy who first worked to preserve this forest.  The tree is estimated to be 1,400 years old.  The tree has a very productive relationship with the nourishment brought to it from the seasonal cycles.

In a similar way, we can nourish our souls through the cyclical reading of the Enneads and the Dialogues.  And after a lifetime of reading, perhaps our souls will have a metaphorically similar strength and depth as the Colonel Armstrong Tree.

The one obstacle to cyclic reading that I run into, and that I have seen others run into, is that cyclic reading shrinks the amount of time we have available for new reading.  This was a strong hindrance for me.  I overcame it by becoming aware that each time I read the Enneads it is, in a sense, the first time I have read the Enneads.  I only became aware of this by engaging in this practice of cyclical reading.  It is the first time each time in the sense that my mind and soul have gradually become more and more receptive to what the Enneads have to offer; so I’m not simply repeating the previous experience.  Instead I’m having a new experience with the same material.  In a way it’s like a sunset; each sunset is the same experience, yet each sunset differs, both because the atmospherics change day by day, but also because I change day by day.  When looked at in this way rereading the Enneads and the Dialogues makes sense and it is now something I look forward to.

2.  I read recently that researchers have discovered the location of Plato’s burial site.  This was reported in The Smithsonian magazine for this month, May, 2024.  The information comes from a scroll that was part of a library of such scrolls at Herculaneum, which was destroyed at the same time as Pompeii, in 79 C.E.  These scrolls were badly damaged, and were in such a condition that they could not be unrolled.  But recent developments in scanning technology allowed researches to slowly uncover what was written on some of them.  One of the scrolls is a work called The History of the Academy by Philodemus.  According to this scroll, it appears that Plato was buried in the garden of the Academy near a temple to the Muses.  (The Academy was destroyed by Sulla in 87 B.C. in his conquest, and sacking, of Athens on behalf of Rome.  That is why only scattered ruins remain.) 

Perhaps one day a new burial site, dedicated to Plato, and perhaps other heads of the Academy, will emerge.

3.  I recently listened to a lecture on Boethius and his Consolation.  I’m what you might call a ‘fanboy’ for Boethius so I tend to listen to the odd online lecture about him.  The lecturer greatly admired Boethius but felt that the metaphysical orientation of Boethius is an obstacle for today’s reader.  It was an interesting point, one I have considered myself.

The dialogue between Philosophy and Boethius in the Consolation covers many issues, but it is primarily a dialogue about metaphysics.  Boethius was grounded in Platonist metaphysics and this comes out in the Consolation.  An overall arch of the dialogue is that Boethius has either forgotten about these teachings, or never clearly followed out their implications.  Philosophy is there, in Boethius’s hour of need, to instruct him on these primarily metaphysical issues.

What is interesting to me, vis a vis the lecture, is that this metaphysical emphasis in the Consolation only seems to be a barrier today for University educated philosophers such as the lecturer.  He argued that after Nietzsche’s attack on philosophy, which was an attack on metaphysics, along with other dismissals of metaphysics, it is difficult to comprehend what Boethius is saying, or more accurately, it is difficult to take Boethius and Philosophy seriously in the 21^st century.

But that doesn’t seem to have an impact on most readers.  My guess is that most readers of the Consolation do not bring to their reading the anti-metaphysical prejudices of modernist philosophy.  Even if the reader is not a Platonist or a Christian, they likely still have an underlying metaphysical perspective and the reader is skilled enough to transfer the understandings offered in the Consolation to their own metaphysical context.  It’s not that hard; it’s kind of like listening to a song with the musicians using instruments you aren’t used to or familiar with. 

The Consolation continues to be read by a lot of people, often when they are in a crisis.  My observation is that the Consolation will be recommended by a friend and in this way it is passed on from person to person. 

4.  In spiritual traditions there is usually a stratification of participants in accord with what the tradition regards as the degree of their dedication.  For example, in the Buddhist tradition, which I was involved with for decades, there is a basic division between lay people and monastics.  Monastics are considered to be more dedicated and worthy of support by laypeople. 

In spiritual traditions where there is no formal tradition of stratification there is nevertheless a recognition that some people are more dedicated than others.  For example, it might be pointed out how much time a particular person devotes to study and practice in contrast to the average participant.

I was thinking about how this might apply to Platonism; in particular when Platonism is understood to be a spiritual tradition.  Most people are what I might call casual Platonists; I mean that they enjoy Platonism and irregularly read core texts, but I don’t see casual Platonists practicing contemplation, cultivating the virtues, or taking on the practices of asceticism.  Looked at by these just mentioned criteria (contemplation, virtues, and asceses), which I think of as roughly equivalent to a Buddhist (or Jain) monastic, such dedication is rare.  That’s not a bad thing; but I think it is good to keep in mind a kind of archetype of a dedicated Platonist practitioner as it helps in the cultivation of one’s own practice of the Platonist Dharma.

5.  There are times when I get depressed; that’s not unusual.  I think it makes sense that now and then people fall into depression.  Given the situation in this world of strife, of becoming and begoning, it can, at times, be difficult to not feel depressed.

But, like all things in becoming and begoning, depression also passes.  Depression is kind of like a very hot day in the desert that makes you feel enervated.  But the weather changes, the seasons move on.  And the Presence of Eternity remains.

 

 

Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 24

11 May 2024

Brief Notes on Various Topics – 24

1.  The world of materiality is, I think, more encompassing than is generally thought.  The distinguishing feature of the ‘world’ is becoming and begoning, also known as samsara and genesis.  When looked at in this way any aspect of existence that has this distinguishing feature of becoming and begoning is part of the ‘world.’  This would include between-lives dimensions of existence which is where becoming and begoning plays itself out in important respects.  The ‘world’ would also include those realities that lie beyond our particular sense experiences such as sounds we can’t hear and sights we can’t see due to the structure of our sensory apparatus.  The ‘world’ also includes dimensions where other beings, such as deities, Gods, and Goddesses, dwell because they are all part of becoming and begoning; they are born and pass away.  That is why deities are so frequently depicted as mingling with those of us who dwell on earth; deities can do this because the realm they live in, and the realm humanity lives in, are the same realm.  It’s like walking from one room to another.

Only when we reach the Noetic do we move beyond becoming and begoning and enter the realm of eternity.  The Noetic is not eternity as such, that is to say Noetic realities are not eternal by nature as a defining feature of their existence.  The eternity of the Noetic is due to the metaphysical closeness of the Noetic to the One; it is the One, the ultimately transcendent, that is eternity as such, that is unity as such, that is the Good as such.

2.  David J. Yount, the contemporary philosopher and scholar of Platonism, argues strongly in his book Plato and Plotinus on Mysticism, Epistemology, and Ethics that Plato was a mystic.  Yount made a survey of philosophers and how they regard this issue.  Among those Yount surveyed, 33 said Plato is a mystic, and 18 said Plato was not a mystic.  Comparing this to Plotinus, 48 said Plotinus is a mystic and 1 said Plotinus was not a mystic.  (Yount let people define mysticism on their own terms so there was no shared definition.)

What’s interesting is that those surveyed overwhelming regard Plotinus as a mystic, while, in contrast, a significant portion regard Plato as not a mystic.  This is the result of the conjuring of the category ‘Neoplatonism’ which sought to separate Plotinus and Plato by regarding Plato as a proto-modernist and Plotinus as a throwback to an earlier, pre-philosophical, way of thinking.  In many respects this distinction has been successfully implanted in modernity.  That is why Yount’s previous book, Plotinus the Platonist was written; to demonstrate that the two philosophers are both participants in an ancient tradition and that this ancient tradition was mystical in nature.

3.  When we practice silent contemplation or meditation, such a practice does not mean that there are no sounds.  Suppose we are on retreat at a remote hermitage.  We set aside time for silent contemplation and during that period of silent contemplation there is the sound of the wind, perhaps the sound of a bird singing, perhaps the sound of a coyote strolling through the long grass, and so forth.  In silent contemplation we simply let those sounds appear and disappear without lingering on those sounds, or grasping them.  When the sounds subside, they simply subside.  This is how we transcend becoming and begoning of the sensory realm; we simply allow it to subside.

The practice of interior silence is the same procedure applied to mental formations such as hopes, emotions, fears, fantasies, plans, memories, and so forth.  We simply allow them to subside.  This is how we transcend mental formations.

I think this is what Plotinus meant by ‘take away everything.’ 

4.  It’s interesting to speculate as to whether or not robots and forms of AI (artificial intelligence) could practice contemplation, and whether or not such things could live what Platonists refer to as a ‘spiritual life.’  I recall many years ago, when my parents came to visit, some friends of mine hosted a dinner for them.  It was a wonderful evening.  Very convivial.  At one point during the conversation someone said that they had no problem with the idea that computers could become conscious.  My mother looked aghast, maybe disgusted is closer.  She rejected the idea outright.

I see consciousness, or Mind, as a reality that pervades existence; in a sense I would say that all things are conscious, even those things that most people would consider inanimate.  So for me the question isn’t if a particular thing is conscious; rather the question is if we humans could recognize the mode of consciousness of that thing; whether we could interact with that thing in a way that resembles how we interact with beings whom we think of as conscious such as human beings and animals. 

Because robots and AI were created by human beings it seems possible to me that they would mimic modes of human consciousness, at least enough for us humans to recognize that we are interacting with a conscious being.  I don’t know if such beings could enter into a spiritual path, whether they could transcend material existence, but I don’t inherently rule it out.  We’ll just have to wait and see.

5.  Many years ago I hiked past the moon and stars.  I feared I was lost.  But a bridge of golden light appeared which crossed the void.  After reaching the other side of the bridge, I continued on my way.  It is a long journey, but the path is clear.  And the journey becomes easier as I become more familiar with the lay of the land.  Sometimes I think about how far I have come and how far I have left to go.  This does not discourage me; with every step I sense the Presence of Eternity and the grace that guides me. 

Now and then I find a message from those who have walked this path before; words of encouragement and insight, words of assurance, nourishment for the soul. 

Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 23

8 May 2024

Brief Notes on Various Topics – 23

1.  Part of my experience with Platonism is that presentations centered on certain philosophical discussions that I initially found opaque gradually become clear and of interest.  In this cycle of reading Plotinus that I am currently engaged in, the discussion in Ennead VI about the Categories of Aristotle became much clearer to me.  Before I didn’t understand why Plotinus was so focused on this discussion.  This time around I see the discussion as a kind of refinement of the nature of the Platonic path, especially in terms of what the practitioner is looking for, and needs to pay attention to, in the material realm by clarifying the categories of material experience and their relationship to Noetic Being.

This kind of experience has happened before.  It shows me that Platonism is a gradual path, that wisdom blossoms slowly, and the benefits that persistent study has.

2.  I think that Platonism is an inherently mystical tradition, that Platonism is primarily a mystical tradition.  The word ‘mysticism’ has its difficulties; people mean many different things by the word.  I have searched for another word to use, but have not found any other word more suitable. 

I say Platonism is a mystical tradition because of the emphasis on the transcendental and how the transcendental is understood; I am referring to the beyond nature of the transcendental in Platonism.  That is to say that the transcendental has no marks or characteristics.  The Noetic has marks and characteristics, and the Henads of the Theurgists have marks and characteristics; but the Good, the One, and the Beautiful do not (the Good, the One, and the Beautiful are names for the transcendental (as is the term ‘the transcendental’) but the One is not the One, and the Good is not the Good, and the Beautiful is not the Beautiful.)  This can only be understood in contemplation.

As Plotinus says, “Take away everything!”

3.  I have posted poetry here.  These days most of my poetry is in the haiku form.  Recently a friend of mine asked about my inclusion in my haiku of what I would call ‘mental formations,’ meaning things like emotions, dreams, ideas, abstract notions such as numbers, hopes, and things like that.  I responded that my view is that mental formations are not ontologically different from sensory formations.  Just as visual appearances are embedded in becoming and begoning, so also are our ideas, dreams, hopes, plans, fears, and so forth.  They are part of the material world, part of the world of genesis and samsara that needs to be left behind.

4.  I’m reading a book titled The Crisis of Mysticism by Bernard McGinn.  It is about the Quietism controversy that emerged in the late 17^th century.  Early in the book McGinn points out that more than 100 books were placed on a list of ‘forbidden books’ because of their association with Quietism after Quietism was determined to be a heresy (which it is still considered to be today.)  Nearly all of these books were placed on the forbidden list for extremely tenuous reasons.  McGinn states that because of this there was a consequent great loss of mystical literature in Western culture.  I hadn’t thought of that before, but it explains why mysticism has been marginalized and distorted since the condemnation of the Quietists.

For Platonists I think this helps to explain why it is often difficult for modern philosophers to see Platonism as a mystical tradition.

5.  At times following a spiritual path is like hiking through an unknown landscape because a sense of caution naturally emerges.  Initially you are not sure what the landscape is offering, what are its dangers and what are its benefits.  At times like this the spiritual journey might slow down as one takes one careful step at a time.

6.  I recently had lunch with a friend I haven’t seen in about 35-40 years.  It was good to get together again after all that time.  He asked what I’ve been doing lately.  I answered that I was writing a blog devoted to Platonism.  There was no response and my friend quickly shifted the conversation to other topics.

That makes sense to me.  I think it is a natural consequence of pursuing a spiritual path; I mean that those who are not interested in spirituality of any kind, which includes a large portion of humanity these days, prefer to talk about other things.  I don’t mind.  On the other hand, it helps me to understand why having spiritual friends is so beneficial.