Philosophic Silence and the ‘One' in Plotinus

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Ancient, History
Cover of the book Philosophic Silence and the ‘One' in Plotinus by Nicholas Banner, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nicholas Banner ISBN: 9781108599382
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: March 31, 2018
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: Nicholas Banner
ISBN: 9781108599382
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: March 31, 2018
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

Plotinus, the greatest philosopher of Late Antiquity, discusses at length a first principle of reality - the One - which, he tells us, cannot be expressed in words or grasped in thought. How and why, then, does Plotinus write about it at all? This book explores this act of writing the unwritable. Seeking to explain what seems to be an insoluble paradox in the very practice of late Platonist writing, it examines not only the philosophical concerns involved, but the cultural and rhetorical aspects of the question. The discussion outlines an ancient practice of ‛philosophical silence' which determined the themes and tropes of public secrecy appropriate to Late Platonist philosophy. Through philosophic silence, public secrecy and silence flow into one another, and the unsaid space of the text becomes an initiatory secret. Understanding this mode of discourse allows us to resolve many apparent contradictions in Plotinus' thought.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Plotinus, the greatest philosopher of Late Antiquity, discusses at length a first principle of reality - the One - which, he tells us, cannot be expressed in words or grasped in thought. How and why, then, does Plotinus write about it at all? This book explores this act of writing the unwritable. Seeking to explain what seems to be an insoluble paradox in the very practice of late Platonist writing, it examines not only the philosophical concerns involved, but the cultural and rhetorical aspects of the question. The discussion outlines an ancient practice of ‛philosophical silence' which determined the themes and tropes of public secrecy appropriate to Late Platonist philosophy. Through philosophic silence, public secrecy and silence flow into one another, and the unsaid space of the text becomes an initiatory secret. Understanding this mode of discourse allows us to resolve many apparent contradictions in Plotinus' thought.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book The Dark Side of the Ivory Tower by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Poverty Knowledge in South Africa by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book The Law, Economics and Politics of International Standardisation by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Information and the Nature of Reality by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Catholicism and the Shaping of Nineteenth-Century America by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book An Introduction to Numerical Analysis by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Common Law, History, and Democracy in America, 1790–1900 by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Essentials of Digital Signal Processing by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book An Introduction to Computational Stochastic PDEs by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Status in World Politics by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Thought-based Linguistics by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book FDR's Ambassadors and the Diplomacy of Crisis by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book Geometry of Quantum States by Nicholas Banner
Cover of the book The Performance of Nationalism by Nicholas Banner
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy