All Good Things

 6 July 2024

All Good Things

I have decided to conclude my Blog, “The Presence of Eternity.”  There are a number of reasons.

1.  I have observed an increasing tendency to repeat myself on points I have previously raised.  The repetitions, again, I have observed, don’t really add any new insights.  I take this as a signal that it’s time to move on to other things.

2.  There are a large number of projects from my past, mostly books, some music, some poetry, that I need to finish, to pull them together into publishable shape.  Some of these are forty years old and have been resident in my closet all that time.  Others are newer.  But the time has come to put these out to those who might be interested.  I spend a lot of time on this blog and I think that time should be more focused on completing these projects.

3.  I wish to spend more time in contemplation and in accordance with this I have to simplify my commitments to create available times for that practice.

4.  I don’t feel that what I am saying is unique; others are saying the same things, so it’s not as if what I have to say about Platonism won’t be said by anyone else.  I’m confident that contemplative Platonism will always have its articulate representatives.

5.  I have enjoyed writing this blog.  My plan at this time is to leave it up and accessible for people who may be interested.  I also plan to turn the blog into book form; the first volume has already been formatted and needs only the addition of things like a table of contents and perhaps an index to complete it.  My hope is that I can finish this sometime in August. When it is complete I will post a notice to that effect on this blog.

The second volume will contain the complete Notes and Comments on Phaedo, since that has a unity to it.  The third volume will end where the blog ends, with this post.  In all three volumes the sections will follow the chronological order of the blog.

After I turn the blog into book form, I will likely remove the blog itself since it will have served its purpose.

6.  I want to thank all those who have spent time with this blog.  And a special thanks to those who offered corrections and comments; Eric Fallick and Jim Perdue are foremost in this regard.  The blog is more elegant, more accurate, and certainly has fewer typos, due to their feedback.

7.  Finally, I want to encourage people to continue with their Platonist practice, with the ascetic commitments of Platonism, and to continue their long journey to the Good, the One, and the Beautiful.  Every single step is worthwhile.

Best wishes on your journey,

Xenocrates 

Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 33

3 July 2024 

Brief Notes on Various Topics – 33

1.  “Athenian:  You see, my argument says that the correct way of life must neither pursue pleasures nor, conversely, entirely avoid pains.” (Laws, 792c, Reeve translation, page 208)

“Ath.  My argument asserts that the correct way of life should neither pursue pleasures nor entirely flee pains.” (Laws, 792c, Pangle translation, page 180)

I like this succinct summary of the Platonic way of life.  It runs counter to the dominant view of how we should live our lives today, which is focused on accumulating pleasurable experiences, the more intense the better.  I think this leads to great harm starting with things like addiction, on up to concerns of state.  In fact, I think pursuing pleasure as the basis of life is not really possible; there are so many examples of people consciously engaging in unpleasant activities because other things are more valuable.  These range from someone going to an unglamorous job day after day to support their family, to the disciplined ascetic on his quest to the Good and the One.

2.  It’s interesting to listen to different people talk about Platonism and how their talk is shaped by their status, or station, in life.  My observation has been, for example, that academic Platonists speak primarily to other academics; secondarily they speak to their students.  In contrast, what I call ‘amateur’ Platonists (by which I mean Platonists who are attracted to Platonism but do not have any academic credentials) seem to forego academic terminology, and their specialized vocabulary is limited.  And the tone is different; the amateur Platonist seems to be reporting their own experience or journey with Platonism whereas the academic Platonist seems to be developing an overall and all-encompassing understanding of Platonism that they want other people to adopt.

The artistic Platonist appears to only mention Platonism now and then; they are more likely to talk about their poetry, art, or music, than the philosophy behind their work.  But if they sense that someone is open to this background, they are open to sharing it and explaining how it influences what they are doing.  

Mystical Platonists are primarily interested in Platonism as a teaching that guides them on the mystical journey to the transcendental.  Other issues in the works of Platonism are secondary and do not occupy their attention to nearly the same degree.

3.  If you think that abstractions are made from the ground up (meaning that they are derivative of sensory data and experience) then abstractions are less real than concrete, material things.  If you think, as Platonists do, that concrete, material things, are derivative of higher realities, such as the forms, then abstractions are changed into noetic realities.  This is a big gap, more like a chasm, between materialism and Platonism.

4.  An issue that contemporary Platonists deal with is loneliness; I think this particularly applies to what I referred to above as the amateur Platonist.  The amateur Platonist is, I think, primarily attracted to Platonism because Platonism offers a sense of meaning in a culture that is, for the most part, devoid of meaning and even openly hostile to the idea that there is meaning in the cosmos.  The pursuit of the Platonic path sets the contemporary Platonist at odds with friends and family, or often does so, and leads to a feeling of isolation.  This sense of isolation can be overcome by the contemplative Platonist through noetic experiences, and even glimpses of the One.  Still, I think becoming a Platonist will, at least at some point, result in a feeling of social isolation.  Personally, I think that is a price worth paying.

5.  I’m a slow learner.  In some ways I think that has helped me, in the long run, in accessing Platonist teachings.  I am used to not understanding something the first time it is presented (or the second time, or the third time; you get the idea.)  The consequence of this is that when I first encountered teachings in Platonism that I didn’t understand I wasn’t distressed by that feeling.  I suppose if I had not understood anything in what I was reading I would have put it aside altogether.  But that wasn’t the case.  Instead, it was more like finding gold nuggets while sifting sand.  As time went on, the vein of gold became richer and more present.

I offer this because I think in an academic environment there is a kind of pressure to understand philosophical material quickly due to the semester structure of university classes.  But it’s possible to learn Platonism outside of that context and to become more and more familiar with Platonism over time, over many years.