BMCR 2009.08.06: Schott on Remes, Neoplatonism. Ancient Philosophies

Pauliina Remes, Neoplatonism. Ancient Philosophies.  Stocksfield:
Acumen, 2008.  Pp. xii, 244.  ISBN 9781844651252.  L14.99 (pb).

Reviewed by Jeremy M. Schott, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
([email protected])
Word count:  1884 words
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The Platonists of late antiquity introduced students to their tradition
through a curriculum that began with basic ethics and Aristotelean
logic and concluded with metaphysics and theology. The "bottom-upism"
of the classic Neoplatonic curriculum stands in contrast to what
Pauliina Remes describes as the "top-downism" characteristic of
Neoplatonic philosophy. This new introduction to the Neoplatonic
tradition thus inverts the ancient curriculum: a detailed and
thoughtful explication of metaphysics and first principles lays the
groundwork for introductions to physics, psychology, ethics, and
politics. At the same time, however, Remes is keen to stress the
often-neglected concern of Neoplatonism with sensible reality. The
result is an introductory text that offers a detailed, balanced
portrait of Neoplatonism as a tradition concerned both with
"otherwordly" transcendence and fundamental questions of lived human
experience. I will begin with a summary and evaluation of the contents
of each chapter and, since this volume is intended as an introductory
text for students, will conclude with a broad assessment of the value
of the book for undergraduate and graduate curricula.

Remes begins with an "Introduction" that situates Neoplatonism within
the history of ancient philosophy. She briefly traces Neoplatonism's
background in Middle Platonism, and offers an outline of five
characteristics that differentiate Neoplatonism as a distinct
tradition: (i) commitment to a first principle that is the ultimate
source of all that is; (ii) "a proliferation of metaphysical layers and
entities"; (iii) "a hierarchy that reaches from what is absolutely one
to the varied manifold of the perceptible universe"; (iv) "the central
layers of reality. . .are simultaneously metaphysically real and
essentially connected to. . .the human soul"; (v) "non-intellectual
life and striving is understood as the desire for wholeness, perfection
or completeness, and continuation" (7-8). Finally, she offers brief but
detailed biographical sketches of key figures from Plotinus to John
Philoponus.

Chapter 2 considers metaphysics. Neoplatonic metaphysics, she argues,
can seem less strange when understood as a response to two enduring
questions in ancient philosophy: first, the existence and origin of
unity and diversity and second, the problem of change. Rather than
presenting a bare schematic of metaphysical hierarchies (though she
does provide helpful charts of the Plotinian and Proclean systems
towards the end of the chapter), Remes shows how the proliferation of
ontological levels beyond the basic Platonic distinction between being
and becoming stemmed from the need to answer problems inherent in the
Platonic corpus or prompted by later interpretations or critiques of
Plato by Aristotle and the Stoics. The chapter is structured
diachronically, tracing the development of metaphysical speculation
from Plotinus through Proclus. Remes follows this chronological pattern
in subsequent chapters as well, helping to situate the Neoplatonists
not only in relation to other philosophies but also traces points of
debate internal to the tradition itself.

Chapter 3 considers "Nature and the Sensible Universe" and situates
Neoplatonic physics as a negotiation of points of conflict and
complementarity between the Platonic and Peripatetic traditions.
Neoplatonic discussion of the hypostasis Soul and the World Soul or
Soul of the All, for example, "amalgamates" (80) the Aristotelean
notion of soul as an internal principle of life and the Timaeus'
account of the fashioning of the "Soul of the Cosmos." Remes similarly
traces Aristotelean and Platonic tensions within Neoplatonic reflection
on matter, time, and evil. Remes' discussion of Neoplatonic commentary
on Aristotle's concept of substance in the Categories shows students
how what was once considered merely as Neoplatonic "eclecticism" has
come to be recognized in current scholarship as a fruitful and
productive site of engagement with the Peripatetic tradition.

In Chapter 4, Remes explores "Human Being and the Self." Neoplatonism
posits a microcosmic hierarchy that is "an internalization of the
Platonic metaphysical," or macrocosmic, "hierarchy" (101). Remes
presents Neoplatonic anthropology as an effort to explain how the
different ontological levels of human being function while at the same
time constituting a unified human person. In a subsection titled "Soul
and Body," she explains the complexities of this in some detail; this
is an area where the author has made some recent original contributions
in her own work (Pauliina Remes, Plotinus on Self: The Philosophy of
the "We" [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007]). Here she
offers a succinct but nuanced introduction to the problems of
ensoulment and individuation in Plotinus and Proclus. She also explores
some of the soteriological and epistemological consequences of the
Plotinian and Proclean doctrines.

Chapter 5, "Epistemology and Philosophical Psychology," begins by
tracing Neoplatonic doctrines of perception and imagination in
Plotinus, Porphyry, and Proclus. The discussion of the
interrelationship and functioning of the faculties of perception,
judgment, and phantasia, and their role in thought and memory is
particularly lucid. A later subsection explores the distinction between
discursive thought (dianoia) and pure intellection (noe^sis). Remes
notes that some recent scholarship tends to posit an almost absolute
difference between these modes of cognition. She stresses, however, the
central connection of epistemology and ontology in Neoplatonism. The
individual intellect, like the hypostasis Intellect in which it
participates, is ontologically one-many. Intellect thinks all objects
of knowledge (with which it is metaphysically identical)
simultaneously, and is thus one. Yet the objects thought are many. It
is to Intellect as this multiplicity that discursive thought must
relate as its ontologically lower image or imitation (150-151). This is
but one example of many places in the text where Remes offers an
entre/e into some of the more lively points of debate in modern
Neoplatonic studies. The chapter concludes with a consideration of
contemplative and theurgical practices. Remes explains the Plotinian
meditative pursuit of homoiosis theou^, or "likeness to god," in terms
of Neoplatonic anthropology--the microcosm of human being makes
possible an "inward turn" (166) that is also a metaphysical ascent.
Remes links theurgical practice with later Neoplatonic rejections of
the Plotinian unfallen soul. If human being does not extend to the
highest metaphysical levels, some sort of divine aid is required to
assist the soul's ascent. Remes concludes with a brief summary of the
Porphyrian-Iamblichean debate over theurgy.

The sixth chapter focuses on "Ethics and Politics," two areas that have
until recently received short shrift in the study of Neoplatonism. Like
other ancient philosophies, Neoplatonism claimed to offer a way of life
productive of eudaimonia: genuine, virtuous well-being. The
"inward-turn" explored in the previous chapter, Remes explains, also
entails an ethical imperative. Achieving "likeness to god" requires the
cultivation of the virtues--the first level of virtue, the political,
brings passions under control, and must be practiced in the context of
human relational action. But, Remes acknowledges, the "inwardness" of
Neoplatonism seems to problematize any ethics that takes account of
"other-regard" (186-187). Although Neoplatonic ethics does not resemble
anything familiar to an ethics informed by, say, the Christian
tradition, the striving for union with the One presents a genuine
challenge to egoism and may, Remes suggests, serve as a basis for the
recognition of the essential similarity of all humans--Neoplatonic
anthropology, as Remes discusses in Chapter 4, is speculation about
"us," after all (99).

Finally, Remes briefly considers Neoplatonic political philosophy. The
traces of later Platonic political philosophy are to be found in
exegeses of the philosopher-king of the Republic and his fashioning of
the paradigmatic polis, a social order that is understood to facilitate
the cultivation of the political virtues. Remes stresses the lack of
treatises on practical ethics in the Neoplatonic tradition, and points
out that later Neoplatonists filled this gap by adding Epictetus' Stoic
Handbook to their curriculum. But the Neoplatonic corpus is no as
sparse in this area as Remes suggests. While the tradition did not
produce systematic treatises on ethics or political philosophy there
was a commentary tradition on, for example, the Republic and
Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Remes may have wished to steer clear of
the commentators in deference to Miira Tuominen's The Ancient
Commentators on Plato and Aristotle in the same series. But Remes also
neglects Porphyry's very practical treatise On Abstinence from Animal
Food. Much on ethics and politics can also be found in the rich
tradition of Neoplatonic bios literature: texts such as Porphyry's Life
of Plotinus, Marinus' Life of Proclus, and Damascius' Life of Isidore
offer "living" vignettes of eudaimonia and the political virtues.

A final chapter presents a brief survey of "The Neoplatonic Legacy."
Remes gives a brief "who's who" of Neoplatonic influence: the
Cappadocians, Augustine, pseudo-Dionysius, Avicenna, al-Ghazali,
Psellus, Plethon, Ficino, and others all receive mention. She also
includes one or two paragraphs each sketching Neoplatonic contributions
to later philosophy of God, nature, psychology, epistemology,
self-hood, and aesthetics. The chapter is not intended as an in-depth
exploration of Neoplatonism's nachleben; rather, it suggests to
students some ideas for further reading.

The remainder of the book includes several features especially useful
in an introductory text. A glossary offers succinct
explanations/definitions of key Neoplatonic vocabulary and will be of
help to students approaching this material for the first time. Remes
also provides a well-conceived "Guide to further reading" before the
formal bibliography. Here, Remes lists major editions and translations
(mostly English) for the major figures considered in the text, followed
by a lists of suggested reading to accompany each chapter and
subsection. Her lists include both classic monographs and the most
recent research in each field. This section will be of great help to
graduate students looking to create a good reading list on
Neoplatonism.

As the chapter synopsis above suggests, Remes conceives the book not as
an outline of Neoplatonic doctrine but rather as an exploration of real
historical philosophical speculation and debate. Her portrait is of a
vibrant, engaging tradition focused on meaningful intellectual work.
This is a nice corrective to older surveys of late ancient philosophy,
which tend to present Neoplatonism as decadent, "spiritualized," and
concerned more with theurgic magic than philosophy. Many introductions
to Neoplatonism also tend to focus somewhat myopically on the
complexities of the metaphysical hierarchy. Remes does a fine job
introducing metaphysics, but her focus in the book's middle chapters on
anthropology, psychology, and ethics really set this book apart. It is
these areas that are receiving attention in recent research (including
Remes' own work), and this book situates students within the most
current and promising trends in the field. This innovative approach and
attention to the most current research does not come at the expense of
a solid introduction to the basics of the tradition. Remes is careful
throughout the text to present the "Principles" of Neoplatonism; she
does this after the fashion of Proclus' Elements of Theology, offering
a one-sentence principle (e.g. "Principle I. 'All that exists is caused
by a single first cause') followed by an explanation. Throughout, Remes
demonstrates the integral connections between Neoplatonic metaphysics,
epistemology, psychology, and anthropology--each aspect of the
tradition is explored and explained in terms of the whole. What seems
odd when examined in isolation--the apparent lack of Neoplatonic
interest in ethics and politics, for instance--becomes clear when
understood in terms of the broader philosophical system.

This book excels as an introductory text. It would work well as a
graduate or advanced undergraduate course text if paired with a good
reader; Dillon and Gerson's Neoplatonic Philosophy (Indianapolis:
Hackett, 2004) or Sorabji's three-volume Philosophy of the Commentators
(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2005), for instance. Remes'
well-conceived book offers students an introduction to the field of
Neoplatonic studies as well as the details of the Neoplatonic
tradition.