Three Instances of the Good in Proclus

Apeiron 56 (2):371-393 (2023)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Plato’sPhilebusfamously combines a deliberation on the virtuous life as a balancing act between prudence and pleasure with a theory of the composition of mixtures from limit and limitedness. The latter aspect of the dialogue is used by the Neoplatonic philosopher Proclus as a basis for his own metaphysical analysis of the ultimate first principle, the One, and the manner in which it produces all things which exist. Multiple scholarly analyses have been provided of Proclus’ use of the Phileban theory of limit and the unlimited for his description of the first principle’s creation process. However, this paper shows that Proclus reads thePhilebusnot merely for its discussion of limit and unlimited, but also for its description of the good life. After all, the Neoplatonic One is also the Good from Plato’sRepublic. InPhil. 20d1–11, Socrates suggest that the good is perfect, sufficient, and desirable. Proclus’Commentary on the RepublicandPlatonic Theologyreveal that these three aspects of the good provide Proclus with a framework to describe the Neoplatonic first principlequaGood. In Proclus’ view, the three Phileban concepts constitute the base elements of the good which reappear in all of its manifestations, and thus link the good in us to the transcendent and unqualified Good: the desirable element represents the good’s singularity and its position as the centre around which all beings circle; the sufficient element represents the non-reciprocal bestowal of existence and generative power by any form of the good upon its participants; lastly, the perfect element reverts all creatures to the good in which they participate, even when not all genera of beings in the Neoplatonic universe are equally capable of such participation. Furthermore, Proclus uses the description of the good life as not merely intellectual from thePhilebusto fortify his arguments in disagreements with other Neoplatonic commentators regarding the transcendence of the Good over the intelligible principles, and conversely employs the Neoplatonic definition of the first principle to affirm the ethics of the Platonic dialogue. Thus, although Proclus’ primary goal in reading thePhilebusis to obtain knowledge of the ultimate first principle, Socrates’ analysis of the virtuous life in the dialogue is just as important for his purposes as the theory of mixtures.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,593

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

On the existence of evils. Proclus, Jan Opsomer & Carlos G. Steel - 2003 - Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. Edited by Jan Opsomer & Carlos G. Steel.
Colloquium 4 Proclus on Evil.Dmitri Nikulin - 2016 - In Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy. pp. 119-146.
All From One: A Guide to Proclus.Pieter D'Hoine & Marije Martijn (eds.) - 2016 - Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Creative Discovery.John V. Garner - 2020 - Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy 24 (2):299-321.
Proclus’ Place in the Platonic Tradition.Harold Tarrant - 2016 - In Pieter D'Hoine & Marije Martijn (eds.), All From One: A Guide to Proclus. Oxford University Press UK.
Involuntary Evil and the Socratic Problem of Double Ignorance in Proclus.Danielle A. Layne - 2015 - International Journal of the Platonic Tradition 9 (1):27-53.
Mathematics and the Sciences.Dominic O’Meara - 2016 - In Pieter D'Hoine & Marije Martijn (eds.), All From One: A Guide to Proclus. Oxford University Press UK.

Analytics

Added to PP
2023-01-05

Downloads
12 (#929,405)

6 months
7 (#175,814)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations