Theophany: The Neoplatonic Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite (S U N Y Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy)

__Situates Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite as a Neoplatonic philosopher in the tradition of Plotinus and Proclus.__ The work of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite stands at a cusp in the history of thought: it is at once Hellenic and Christian, classical and medieval, philosophical and theological. Unlike the predominantly theological or text-historical studies which constitute much of the scholarly literature on Dionysius, Theophany is completely philosophical in nature, placing Dionysius within the tradition of ancient Greek philosophy and emphasizing, in a positive light, his continuity with the non-Christian Neoplatonism of Plotinus and Proclus. Eric D. Perl offers clear expositions of the reasoning that underlies Neoplatonic philosophy and explains the argumentation that leads to and supports Neoplatonic doctrines. He includes extensive accounts of fundamental ideas in Plotinus and Proclus, as well as Dionysius himself, and provides an excellent philosophical defense of Neoplatonism in general. "The work of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite stands at a cusp in the history of thought: it is at once Hellenic and Christian, classical and medieval, philosophical thought and theological. Unlike the predominantly theological or text-historical studies which constitute much of the scholarly literature on Dionysius within the tradition of ancient Greek philosophy in nature, placing Dionysius within the tradition of ancient Greek philosophy and emphasizing, in a positive light, his continuity with the non-Christian Neoplatonism of Plotinus and Proclus. Eric D. Perl offers clear expositions of the reasoning that underlies Neoplatonic doctrines. He includes extensive accounts of fundamental ideas in Plotinus and Proclus, as well as Dionysius himself, and provides an excellent philosophical defense of Neoplatonism in general."--Provided by publisher THEOPHANY 4 CONTENTS 6 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 8 NOTE ON TRANSLATIONS 10 ABBREVIATIONS 12 INTRODUCTION 14 1. BEYOND BEING AND INTELLIGIBILITY 18 2. BEING AS THEOPHANY 30 3. GOODNESS, BEAUTY, AND LOVE 48 4. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL 66 5. THE HIERARCHY OF BEING 78 6. THE CONTINUUM OF COGNITION 96 7. SYMBOLISM 114 CONCLUSION 124 NOTES 128 BIBLIOGRAPHY 152 INDEX 166 A 166 B 166 C 167 D 168 E 168 F 168 G 169 H 170 I 170 J 171 K 171 L 171 M 172 N 172 O 173 P 173 S 175 R 174 T 175 U 176 V 176 W 176

Situates Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite as a Neoplatonic philosopher in the tradition of Plotinus and Proclus.