Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 42

14 April 2025

Brief Notes on Various Topics – 42

1.  “. . . virtue and great wealth are quite incompatible . . . “

(Plato, Laws, Plato: Complete Works, edited by John M. Cooper, Laws is translated by Trevor J. Saunders, Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis, 1997, page 1423, 742e, ISBN: 9780872203495)

Plato has a consistently hostile attitude towards the accumulation of wealth, or ‘great wealth’.  Plato thinks that cultivating virtue is difficult in such a circumstance as a life of great wealth.  This is a common theme in many spiritual traditions.  Buddhist monastics live a life of voluntary poverty and few possessions.  Jesus famously said that a person cannot follow God and money.  

There are some spiritual traditions that do not have this attitude, so it’s not a universal that is found in all spiritual traditions.  But it is found in many of them and it is worthwhile pondering why this is so. 

My personal observation has been that money is an enormous temptation that can seduce people into abandoning their principles, or virtues, so that its pursuit often leads to deception and harming others, even many others.  For this reason I think it is best for the Platonist practitioner to live a life of at least modest means.

1.1  One of the interesting things about asceticism, something that is unexpected, at least it was by me, is how happy its practitioners often are.  I first ran into this when reading the Therigatha and Theragatha from the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.  In particular the Theirgatha, which are poems of the earliest Buddhist Nuns (Theri) are often expressions of how happy they are to now live a life of renunciation when comparing it with the life they previously lived.  

We tend to think of such a life as grim and unfulfilling because we view such a life through a materialistic lens.

I think this is true of asceticism in general, and true of Platonist asceticism specifically.  The traces of Platonist asceticism are difficult to find and consist mostly of stories about such practitioners.  There are not a lot of such stories.  Still, they may be enough to demonstrate the great joy that an ascetic life brings to its practitioners.

2.  “But no race, Greek or foreign, seafaring or landsmen, nomadic or urban, can bring itself to dispense with establishing some kind of symbols for the honour they pay their gods.”

(Maximus of Tyre, Oration 2: Images of the Gods, translated by M. B. Trapp, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1997, page 23, ISBN: 0198149891)

I think Maximus brings this up because it is a perennial problem for those spiritual traditions that point to an ineffable ultimate.  An ineffable ultimate is one that cannot be seen, heard, cannot be touched, and is beyond sensory experience or mental fabrication.  But this is difficult for human beings to understand, or to rest in, or to be satisfied with.  The result of this difficulty is for human beings to create symbols of various types as stand-ins for the ultimate.  These stand-ins are perceivable by one or more of the senses and thus more accessible.  It is not surprising, therefore, that it is often the case that people think of the symbolic reality as the end of their journey to the divine.  

A paragraph later Maximus writes:

“For God, Father and Creator of all that exists, is greater than the Sun and the heavens, mightier than time and eternity and the whole flux of Nature; legislators cannot name him, tongues cannot speak of him, and eyes cannot see him.  Unable to grasp his essence we seek the support of sounds and names and creatures, and shapes of gold and ivory and silver, and plants and rivers and peaks and streams; though desiring to understand him, we are forced by our own weakness to name merely terrestrial beauties after his divine nature.”

(As above, page 23)

4.  “If most men live and die without knowing what true happiness is, the reason is not that they do not desire it – at heart they never desire anything else – but that they look for it in the wrong place.  They confuse it with the round of pleasures, with health and long life, with worldly wealth, or with that irresponsible power which, by lifting its possessor above all law enables him always to ‘do as he likes.’”

(A. E. Taylor, Platonism and its Influence, Edicions Enoanda, Barcelona, 2018, page 48, ISBN: 9781977012975)

A. E. Taylor (1869-1945) was a British Idealist philosopher at a time when British Idealism was a pervasive movement in that country.  Platonism and its Influence was published in 1924.  He was a Christian Platonist but his Christianity seems to have been strongly shaped by the Church of England which has a different perspective than Catholic Platonism.  I first encountered A. E. Taylor as a young undergraduate where my professor recommended Taylor’s short work on Metaphysics.  I found it to be a masterpiece of conciseness and insight; I’ve reread it several times.

The quote elaborates on the idea that everyone is searching for the Good (the transcendental) but they cannot find it because they think of this in terms of a search for material happiness.  I think the source for this view are remarks in the Dialogues where Plato states that no one intentionally does evil, that people do evil things because they are ignorant of the true nature of the cosmos and therefore think that what they are doing will make them happy.

I often heard this kind of teaching when I was studying Buddhism.  The idea is that all living creatures are seeking peace, happiness, equanimity, and so forth, but because they do not know the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path they are unable to attain these goals.

I wonder if these kinds of teachings are true.  As I have grown older I have become more pessimistic about humanity.  I’m not sure that it is the case that everyone is seeking true happiness and transcendent peace.  In a sense this is an unanswerable question because our experience with others is very limited in number.  And my change of view doesn’t seem to have impinged on my practice; that is to say that my growing pessimism regarding humanity has not diminished my own commitments to study, practice, and contemplation.  My feeling is that the soul of many people is so deeply buried in negative habits and tendencies that it is unlikely that many souls will ever see the light outside the cave, or will join with that light.  In other words, I think we tend to underestimate the obstacles to spiritual growth and the tenacity of a materially focused life.  Again, though this is pessimistic, it does not deflect my own ongoing practice; in some ways I think it strengthens it.  Either way, Platonism offers the possibility of spiritual growth and realization.  And that is what really matters.

5.  One of the intriguing things about the contemporary Catholic Platonist, Peter Kreeft, is that he sometimes interprets Thomas Aquinas in Platonist terms.  This is unusual; at least it is unusual in the reading on Christian Platonism I have done.  It seems to be the case that Aquinas is thought of as an Aristotelian.  Of course there is an intimate relationship between Plato and Aristotle, and maybe Kreeft is relying on that historical connection. 

“The most recent and most radical philosophy called Deconstructionism centers on the denial that even words are signs, and reduces them to things that are either the causes or effects of power.  The Platonic tradition, exemplified by Aquinas’s hermeneutic, is the total opposite of this because it says that even things are words and signs as well as being things . . . A symbol is a kind of analogy in words, of course, but for Aquinas analogies are not just in words and language or just in thought and concept, but they are first of all in being.  Reality itself is analogical.”

(Kreeft, Peter, The Platonic Tradition, St. Augustine’s Press, South Bend, Indiana, 2018, page 63, ISBN: 9781587316500)

I don’t know enough about Aquinas to comment on Kreeft’s emphasis on the Platonic tradition in this context.  But it’s intriguing to me that Kreeft feels very comfortable with the idea that Platonism plays a significant part in the thought of Aquinas.

Regarding the idea that the things of this world are inherently analogical (I would probably say metaphorical), I think this is beautifully stated.  I think this is affirmed in the Dialogues by the use of analogy, and other structures of comparison, as modes of reasoning.  The quoted passage highlights one of the failings of contemporary philosophy, particularly in the analytic tradition and traditions derived from the analytic tradition.  And that is that the analytic tradition does not seem to understand how words work, that words are not numbers, and that words are, as Kreeft implies, inherently analogical.

I think we can understand what Kreeft is saying by noting how in Platonism certain experiences are symbols, or analogies, of transcendental realities.  The experience of beauty is such an experience.  So is the experience of numbers.  So is the experience of justice,  And so is the experience of equanimity and peace.  All of the manifestations in the material world that exhibit these realities, no matter how dimly, act as messengers from the divine, letting us know that in comparison to the dim and distorted experience of these realities here, these realities are only analogies, or emanations, or instantiations, of the the pure presence of these realities there.

Our soul responds to these realities because our soul is also such a reality.  Our soul is at the same time a symbol, and an analogy, of the divine, and the actual presence of the divine in our life and lives.  The soul is inherently present in the One, the transcendental, and the individual because of its everywhere and everything nature.  If we follow that which resonates with the soul we will walk the way to the Good and the One with patient assurance.

To See God

26 November 2022

To See God 

“Already in the second century we find the typical pattern for the interaction between Platonic philosophy and Christianity in Justin [Martyr’s] autobiographical account of his philosophical and religious journey.  Philosophy in the ancient world was not just an academic or scholarly exercise but also a very personal and life-changing thing.  In fact it was more like an alternative religion, a total way of life.  After all, the word ‘philosophy’ means ‘the love of wisdom,’ not ‘the game of cleverness.’  Justin says the aim of the philosophers had always been ‘to see God.’”

Peter Kreeft, The Platonic Tradition, Saint Augustine’s Press, South Bend, Indiana, 2018, ISBN: 9781587316500, page 55.

 

1. Justin Martyr was an early Christian philosopher and theologian who lived from about 100 to 165.  He had studied Platonism and considered both Socrates and Plato to be precursors of Christianity.  This is what Kreeft means by saying that Justin Martyr used what would become a ‘typical pattern’ of early Christian thinkers with regard to Platonism.  They saw Platonism as leading to Christianity and as, in some sense, preparing the Roman culture for the appearance of Christianity.  This is not a view that non-Christians find compelling or attractive, naturally, but it does explain why early Christianity was so strongly Platonic in its emerging theology.

2. Kreeft states that Philosophy in the ancient, I would say ‘classical’, world was a “life-changing thing.”  This is seen in the stories about people who became Platonists and their life was completely altered by taking this step; for example they changed their diet, gave up luxuries and opulence, gave up political power, etc.  Contemporary philosophy is not like that because what contemporary philosophy offers is not compelling enough to want a student of, for example, analytic philosophy, to sacrifice and renounce worldly attachments and ambitious for the very meager rewards of contemporary philosophy. 

3. Kreeft quotes Justin Martyr as saying that the purpose of classical philosophy was to ‘see God’.  In other words, classical philosophy was salvific; I would argue that Platonism still is when it is taken seriously.

4. Kreeft states that classical philosophy, and Platonism in particular, was like an ‘alternative religion’.  My own view is that Platonism in the classical period was understood by the classical world to be primarily religious in nature; by ‘primarily religious in nature’ I mean that the purpose of Platonism was (and remains) union with the transcendental, the eternal.  When Kreeft says that Platonism is like an ‘alternative religion’ I think this remark is spoken not about Platonism’s status in the classical world, but, rather, Platonism’s status in modernity.  Platonism is an ‘alternative religion’ in the same way that Dharmic religions are ‘alternatives’ for westerners.  By ‘in the same way’ I mean that dwellers in Western modernity are just as distant from Platonism as they are from Dharmic traditions.  This means that the religious nature of Platonism comes as a surprise to many; this was true of myself as my studies in philosophy at University did not prepare me for comprehending Platonism as one of the great spiritual traditions of all time, a tradition that is still compelling in its beauty, scope, and transcendental understanding.

5. Today many people think of themselves as ‘spiritual but not religious’.  Though the phrase is vague, my intuition is that a tradition like Platonism fits well into this kind of thinking because Platonism is not an institutionalized form of spirituality.  Yet at the same time, it has an attractive tradition of practice and study; a spiritual practice that people can access to the degree that they are able, and practice to the degree that their situation allows.

 

 

7 November 2022

Peter Kreeft Contrasts Modernity and Platonism

“Plato and Aristotle live in adjoining towns in the same country; we live in a different country, a brave new world, in which an idea is only an opinion, a form is only a shape, an end is only a personal motive, a substance is only a chemical, happiness is only a feeling, virtue is only prudery, justice is only legality, souls are only religious superstitions, and judgments that claim objective truth are only judgmentalism and intolerance.”

(Peter Kreeft, The Platonic Tradition, St. Augustine’s Press, South Bend, Indiana, 2018, page 39.)

 

I think Kreeft’s summation of the chasm between modernity and the view of Platonism is insightful and well-written.  A few comments:

1. I can’t remember where I read this, it was years ago, but it was pointed out that in the Classical world Paganism and Christianity and Judaism shared significant foundational understandings.  Both Paganism and Christianity and Judaism adhered to the understanding of transcendental realities.  All of these traditions also affirmed that a life devoted to understanding and experiencing the transcendental was a well-lived human life.  Pagan philosophy, and Platonism in particular, battled with Christianity over many issues, not the least of which was political power.  But from the perspective of modernity, Paganism and Christianity are opposed to the modernist project and share a world view.

2. There has never existed a culture like modernity, a culture that dismisses the reality of the non-sensory and the transcendental.  There have always been materialists; early Buddhist discourses mention them in India, and the atomists of Greece also come to mind.  But it is only in modernity that materialism and reductionism dominate the culture.  For modernity this simply means that all previous cultures were wrong.  But for some of us who are more skeptical about our own cultural situation, it suggests that modernity is disturbed, and disturbing, and leaves out the central realities that make human life worth living.

3. For the contemporary Platonist this situation is a challenge that previous Platonist writings are unlikely to address.  We will have to figure out how to negotiate the situation on our own, learning from each other how to walk the Platonic Way in spite of the drawbacks of modernity.

 

 

20 October 2022

The Geography of Platonism Today

Platonism is a tradition that has developed over thousands of years.  Over this long span of time different interpretations of Platonism have emerged.  I think of these interpretations as communities, or loosely defined subdivisions, of the City of Platonism.  They all share a common polis, but each subdivision of the City of Platonism has its own rules and regulations and its own self-understanding.  Perhaps a good comparison would be the Cantons of Switzerland.  Here are some of the Cantons of Platonism as I see it at this time:

1. Academic Platonism – This is where most people are introduced to Platonism today.  Plato is viewed in this context as an important figure in the history of Western culture.  My personal experience, which has been affirmed by others, is that contemporary Academic Platonism is interested in Plato for the structure of Plato’s arguments, and for Plato’s place in the history of Western Philosophy.  But many contemporary academic philosophers reject Platonism as a living option and topics such as rebirth or the goal of attaining transcendence tend to be dismissed these days because they clash with the dominant views of materialism and reductionism. 

There are academics who find Platonism inspiring, but there are not many of them.

2. Christian Platonism – Early Christian authors such as Justin Martyr and, most famously, Saint Augustine, retained significant Platonist views when they converted to Christianity.  This has left a deep imprint on Christian theology and mysticism.  This has continued to be the case, though the explicitly Platonist interpretation of Christianity has been muted by the turn to Aristotelianism in the Middle Ages.  Nevertheless, Platonic Christianity has its articulate spokespeople today; Peter Kreeft is a good example.

3. Mathematical Platonism – There has always been a strong connection between mathematics and Platonism because numbers are a fine example of Plato’s doctrine of forms.  Mathematicians who hold to the view that numbers and their relations are discovered, rather than numbers and their relations being human creations, are Platonists and most of them are consciously aware of that. (As an aside, if you go on youtube and search for discussions on this topic you can find many.) Platonism nourished mathematical knowledge and was, in turn, nourished by mathematical approaches to philosophical issues.  For example, Proclus wrote a commentary on Euclid’s Elements and sought to adopt Euclid’s structure in Proclus’s The Elements of Theology. 

4. Aesthetic Platonism – In the arts, such as poetry, music, architecture, and painting, there are some who understand their own art or craft in Platonic terms.  The exalted place that Beauty has in the Platonic tradition, particularly in the writings of Plotinus, means that this is an easy connection to make.  Music and poetry are understood to be means for connecting with higher hypostases and even with Beauty itself.  Often this is heavily mixed with occult procedures, rituals, and history so that it is not always easy to see the specifically Platonic views.  But there were, and are, people who understand the connection and find the Platonic world view nourishing for their own aesthetic efforts.

5. Thomas Taylor Platonism – Thomas Taylor (15 May 1758 to 1 November 1835) was a British Platonist who was dedicated to translating the works of many Platonist authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Maximus of Tyre, Proclus, et al.  Taylor was the first to translate into English the entire works of Plato and Aristotle.  Taylor’s understanding of Platonism was heavily influenced by the works of Proclus (8 February 412 to 17 April 485).  Proclus was the head of the Athenian Academy and a prolific commentator on Plato, as well as writing original interpretation of Platonism such as the above-mentioned Elements of Theology.  Proclus’s approach is analytical in many ways, but it is also interested in the practice of Theurgy which becomes a central concern for Proclus and those who align with Proclus’s interpretation, such as Thomas Taylor.

Taylor’s translations have been the foundation for a contemporary understanding of the Platonic tradition.  It operates through the Prometheus Trust, whose home base is in England.  The Prometheus Trust is dedicated to making available Taylor’s translations, offering classes in the Platonic tradition, and in general supporting the presence of the Platonic tradition in the English-speaking world.  My observation is that many contemporary Platonists have studied with the Prometheus Trust or are in some way connected with the Trust; there are, for example, a number of youtubers, such as Mindy Mandell, who have this kind of connection.

I think it is instructive that the Prometheus Trust is not part of any academic institution; in fact, it is critical of Academic Platonism, which is understandable.  In some ways I feel that the Prometheus Trust offers a model for others who want to nourish the presence of Platonism in the world today. 

6.  Ascetic Platonism – There are some contemporary Platonists who are inspired by Plato’s, and others’, ascetic writing.  That is to say that they view Platonism as an ascetic spiritual tradition.  The Dialogue Phaedo is the primary resource for these ascetic teachings, though one can find the ascetic perspective scattered throughout the works of Plato and Plotinus. 

Ascetic Platonism understands Platonism as a spiritual tradition that closely resembles the monastic traditions found within Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.  For example, Eric Fallick, a Platonist Ascetic, writes, “Platonism is a spiritual or religious or soteriological system that offers a path to release from the endless cycle of reincarnation and its concomitant misery.  It belongs to a family of such systems comprising Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Orphism, Pythagoreanism and Platonism . . . “ (Eric Fallick, An Extremely Brief Introduction to Platonism, www.platonistasceticism.blogspot.com; also Eric Fallick’s book Platonist Contemplative Asceticism: Practice and Principle is a good resource for this perspective.)

It is difficult to know how much of a presence Ascetic Platonism has.  There is no organization dedicated to presenting this view, and asceticism as such is highly marginalized in modernity.  Nevertheless, I suspect that there have always been ascetic Platonists; you read stories about them here and there in the Platonic tradition.  And this way still has a presence even in the midst of modernity.

7. No doubt, I have left out some Platonist Cantons; for example, I suspect that there is at this time a Hindu Platonist Canton or Region, which means a Platonism that is informed by the Hindu tradition and Hinduism’s structures of interpretation.  But I have only been able to see it at the margins and don’t really know much about it.

Personally, I see all this activity as a sign of health.  In a time when materialism and reductionism dominate the world, it is a sign of the strength of the Platonic tradition that it has the capacity to flourish even in a cultural situation that would, at first, seem hostile to its presence.