Plotinus & Iamblichus on Magic and Theurgy

00:16:07
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNqnNjsGExM

概要

TLDRThe video explores the relationship between Neoplatonism and magic, focusing on the contrasting views of philosophers Platinus and Iamblicus. Platinus sees magic as a distraction from the primary philosophical endeavor of contemplation, which he believes enables the soul to ascend toward the divine source. He acknowledges the reality of magic but frames it within a cosmology of universal sympathy, asserting that true ascent is achieved through self-knowledge and philosophical practice. In contrast, Iamblicus encourages theurgical practices that involve engaging with divine entities, viewing human souls as distinct and capable of interacting with higher spiritual realms. This dialogue reveals a turning point in Neoplatonism regarding the role and significance of magic and theology in spiritual development.

収穫

  • 🌀 Neoplatonism emphasizes the concept of emanation, where all things originate from the One.
  • 📜 Platinus dismisses practical magic as a distraction from philosophical contemplation.
  • 🔮 Iamblicus supports theurgy, viewing it as a genuine interaction with the divine.
  • 🌌 The soul's ascent is viewed differently by Platinus and Iamblicus; one through contemplation, the other through ritual.
  • 🌠 Universal sympathy connects all elements of the universe according to Platinus.
  • ✨ Iamblicus believes that engaging with divine entities can aid spiritual ascent.
  • 📚 The study of magic is deeper than mere tricks; it has profound philosophical implications.
  • 🌿 Astrology is accepted by Platinus but framed in the context of enhancing contemplation.
  • 🌟 The roles of theology and magic are central to understanding Neoplatonic thought.
  • 🧠 Understanding one's true nature is essential in Platinus' philosophy for spiritual growth.

タイムライン

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The relationship between Neoplatonism and magic varies among its philosophers, with significant contrasts between the views of Platinus and Iamblicus. Platinus emphasizes the contemplative nature of philosophy, dismissing magical practices; he views nature itself as filled with divine energies, suggesting that magic, while real, distracts from true philosophical pursuits. Porphyry, a follower of Platinus, shares similar reservations about magic, underscoring its reality but maintaining a focus on philosophy as the primary means of ascension to the divine.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    The shift in Neoplatonic views on magic is marked by Iamblicus, who advocates for Theurgy, a practice of invoking divine beings to ascend towards the divine realm. Iamblicus sees the human soul as fundamentally separate and inferior to higher souls, emphasizing that magical practices establish a connection with divine entities. Contrasting with Platinus, who believes in the soul's inherent connection to the divine, Iamblicus argues that through rituals, humans can engage with higher divine powers, thus highlighting the importance of Theurgy as opposed to mere philosophical contemplation.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:16:07

    In summary, Platinus and Iamblicus represent contrasting perspectives on magic within Neoplatonism. Platinus considers magical practices as distractions from the ultimate goal of contemplative ascension, while Iamblicus affirms the validity of magic and Theurgy as essential for connecting with the divine. This divergence in thought reflects a broader philosophical debate on the relationship between the divine and human realms, influencing later interpretations of magic in various spiritual traditions.

マインドマップ

ビデオQ&A

  • What is Neoplatonism?

    Neoplatonism is a philosophical system founded in the third century by Platinus, centered on the emanation theory where everything comes from a single divine source.

  • What is the main difference between Platinus and Iamblicus regarding magic?

    Platinus dismisses practical magic in favor of contemplation, while Iamblicus sees theurgical practices as a means to connect with divine entities.

  • What is the theory of emanation in Neoplatonism?

    Emanation is the theory that everything originates from a single source or 'the One,' progressively manifesting into the physical realm.

  • How do Platinus and Iamblicus view the soul?

    Platinus views the soul as connected to the higher self, while Iamblicus sees it as separate and inferior to divine and higher souls.

  • What role does contemplation play in Platinus' philosophy?

    Contemplation is crucial in Platinus' thought as it allows the soul to ascend to a higher state and connect with the divine.

  • What is the significance of theurgia in Iamblicus' philosophy?

    Theurgia refers to the ritual practice that enables the soul to be elevated and interact with higher realms and divine beings.

  • How does astrology fit into Platinus' view of the universe?

    Platinus accepts astrology within his philosophical system but maintains it serves contemplation rather than practical magic.

  • What is the relationship between magic and universal sympathy according to Platinus?

    Platinus suggests that magic operates through the universal principle of sympathy, affecting the lower aspects of the soul.

  • How do magic and philosophy relate in Neoplatonism?

    For Platinus, magic distracts from philosophical contemplation, which he sees as essential for spiritual ascent.

  • What are the implications of Iamblicus' views for the practice of magic?

    Iamblicus' views support the idea that magic, through theurgy, is a legitimate means of ascent and interaction with the divine.

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  • 00:00:00
    the relationship between neoplatonism
  • 00:00:02
    and Magic varies depending on the
  • 00:00:04
    philosophers who follow under this
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    philosophical umbrella yet we have a
  • 00:00:09
    turning point in the neoplatonic's view
  • 00:00:12
    of magic with I am because
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    using the ancient Greek pronunciation
  • 00:00:19
    where the contemplative Primacy of
  • 00:00:22
    platinus and porphyry is contrasted by
  • 00:00:27
    the importance given to theology meaning
  • 00:00:30
    working with the gods and symbola Magic
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    tokens and words let's learn more
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    together about the two main and
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    contrasting new platonic takes on Magic
  • 00:00:42
    exploring the philosophy of platinus and
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    iamblicus
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    [Music]
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    foreign
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    [Music]
  • 00:00:59
    hello everyone I'm Dr Angela puka and
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    welcome to my Symposium I'm a PhD in a
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    religious studies scholar and this is
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    your online resource for the academic
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    study of magic paganism Shamanism and
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    all things occult including neoplatonism
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    this video is part of a big
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    collaboration on new platonism with
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    friends and fellow Scholars here on
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    YouTube make sure to stick around until
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    the end to learn more about it on to our
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    topic now neoplatonism is a
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    philosophical system founded in the
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    third Century by platinus or plutines
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    using the ancient Greek pronunciation a
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    central theory of this philosophy is the
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    emanation Theory the idea that
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    everything is one and comes from the one
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    a Divine source that creates the
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    manifested word because of its over
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    abundance of being and becomes
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    increasingly material and further away a
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    little bit still connected to the Divine
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    Source through a series of progressive
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    emanations that eventually lead to the
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    Physical Realm of manifestation I have
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    another video on your platonism where I
  • 00:02:14
    explain the theory of emanation that I'd
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    recommend you watch before this one
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    especially if you are unfamiliar with
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    this concept an interesting tenet in the
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    emanationist cosmology that is pertinent
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    to today's episode is that every
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    activity in the world is somewhat double
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    insofar as it possesses both an inner
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    and another aspect for example the inner
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    activity of the Sun or nuclear fusion
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    has the outer effect of heat and light
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    or the inner activities of a tree that
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    depend on the kind of tree it is and the
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    new platonists would have talked about
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    an inherent formative principle the
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    logos will determine the kind of fruits
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    the specific tree will be bearing or
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    again thoughts and feelings internal to
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    human beings Express themselves in
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    speech and actions in each case the
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    outer effect is not the purpose or the
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    end of the inner activity the first
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    principle of reality in neoplatonism is
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    conceived as an entity Beyond being
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    transcending all physical reality or
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    which very little can actually be said
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    except that it is absolute Unity however
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    we know empirically of its effect the
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    entire universe and we must therefore
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    suppose that one is the carrier of or
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    identical with a boundless sort of
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    singular activity or energy with these
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    premises in mind let's briefly overview
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    the leading players in neoplatonism and
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    that views on Magic to then dive deeper
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    into the contrasting perspectives on the
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    matter held by plutonus and iamblicas
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    let's start with the founder of
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    neoplatonism platinus even though
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    platinus was once attacked by a magic
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    spell which he promptly returned back to
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    the center he showed no interest in
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    magical techniques as he dismissed them
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    in favor of and as a destruction from
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    philosophy however he thought that
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    nature itself was magical filled with
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    Divine powers and sympathies that are
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    always present ready to be activated by
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    the megas who knows how to switch them
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    on porphyrie a student of plutonus has
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    similar reservations about practicing
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    magic though he never doubts its reality
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    the turning point in the neoplatonic
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    attitude towards magic occurs with
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    ayamblicus who turns his full attention
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    to Theory literally God working to
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    ascend to the Divine by first bringing a
  • 00:05:08
    god down into the material receptacle
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    proclus the last of the great
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    neoplatonists who wrote in Greek left a
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    summary of His ancient theory of Magic
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    on the Priestly art which survives only
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    in a digest proclose follows in the
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    footsteps of iamblicus in the importance
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    given to Theology and is the first
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    neoplatonist to show an acquaintance
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    with the Chaldean oracles the ratings
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    upon which theory is based as a
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    religious Endeavor let's now analyze in
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    more details plutonus and ayamblicus as
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    they present the two core and opposing
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    views on Magic in neoplatonism in both
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    cases their perception of magic is
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    founded upon a specific philosophical
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    framework foreign platinus argues that
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    the human soul is directly connected
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    with its higher self and that the higher
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    Soul doesn't quite descend into the body
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    but rather illuminates it or sees Its
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    Reflection into matter so in a way the
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    soul is confined in this lower word
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    while also being Beyond this word the
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    highest aspect of the soul participates
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    in the same nature as the intellect and
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    the forms yet human beings are in a
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    state of unawareness of their true
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    nature and need to study philosophy and
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    contemplation to re-ascend to that
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    higher state such Endeavor is the
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    product of personal contemplative and
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    philosophical efforts ayamblicus has a
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    very different view of the Soul compared
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    to platinus and he expresses that in his
  • 00:07:00
    the anima in this book he argues that
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    the human soul is completely separate
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    and inferior to other kinds of souls
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    above it for instance Divine Souls
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    Angelic Souls heroic souls and demonic
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    Souls this inferiority also implies that
  • 00:07:19
    the soul is detached from the intellect
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    the contrasting viewpoints between
  • 00:07:24
    platinus and ayamblicus represented the
  • 00:07:27
    turning point in neoplatonism and opened
  • 00:07:30
    the gates to the practice of magic and
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    more specifically theology theory is the
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    ritual act whereby the human soul is
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    freed from its body and carried higher
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    up to the gods eye amplicas uses
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    theorgia in opposition to Theory theory
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    in opposition to Theory or contemplation
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    the latter indicating the most important
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    way of ascending to Divine for platinum
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    after all if the human soul is always
  • 00:08:03
    participating in the same nature of the
  • 00:08:06
    intellect as platinus thought then
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    Ascension to a higher state is the most
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    desirable outcome for a human being
  • 00:08:13
    seeking a connection with the one or the
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    Divine Source conversely if human souls
  • 00:08:20
    and higher Souls entities are separate
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    and the former has an inferior nature
  • 00:08:27
    then working with entities that
  • 00:08:29
    participate in a higher nature can allow
  • 00:08:32
    human beings to participate in their
  • 00:08:34
    Divinity too both in being and in agency
  • 00:08:37
    now platinus does talk about magic and
  • 00:08:40
    he elaborates on that in any ad4 for 30
  • 00:08:44
    to 45. he starts by talking about
  • 00:08:46
    astrology which he accepts into his
  • 00:08:49
    system yet still framing it in service
  • 00:08:52
    of contemplation plutinus adopts and
  • 00:08:55
    adapts the stoic conception of universal
  • 00:08:58
    sympathy and PSY nice Play-Doh stimulus
  • 00:09:02
    by explaining that the universe is a
  • 00:09:05
    single living being that contains all
  • 00:09:09
    living beings within it and as a living
  • 00:09:12
    being it is attuned to its parts in such
  • 00:09:16
    a way that any activity in one of its
  • 00:09:20
    parts can affect another even at a
  • 00:09:22
    distance since everything is ruled by
  • 00:09:26
    this Universal sympathy we cannot say
  • 00:09:29
    that the celestial Gods hear our prayers
  • 00:09:33
    but rather they respond through sympathy
  • 00:09:36
    as other parts of a whole do almost as a
  • 00:09:40
    mechanical response to a triggering
  • 00:09:42
    action platinus also adds that while the
  • 00:09:46
    influence of celestial bodies in
  • 00:09:47
    astrology occurs spontaneously from the
  • 00:09:50
    universe magical cares through the
  • 00:09:53
    agency of the magician yet still
  • 00:09:56
    according to the same Cosmic principle
  • 00:09:58
    of sympathy however there magic is only
  • 00:10:02
    effective against the lower aspect of
  • 00:10:06
    the soul and cannot affect the Soul's
  • 00:10:10
    rational higher aspect hence why
  • 00:10:12
    contemplation is still of primary
  • 00:10:15
    importance as it allows human beings to
  • 00:10:18
    ascend to a higher state that remains
  • 00:10:21
    unaffected by Magic I am because as we
  • 00:10:24
    know now has a very different take on
  • 00:10:27
    the matter he discusses the working of
  • 00:10:30
    theorgic rituals in the demisteris a
  • 00:10:34
    response to porphery's arguments against
  • 00:10:37
    the different tenets of those who
  • 00:10:40
    believe in the power of sacred rights in
  • 00:10:43
    this text iamblicus agrees with platinus
  • 00:10:45
    in his views that the celestial gods
  • 00:10:48
    have bodies yet they are unaffected by
  • 00:10:52
    them as their connection to the
  • 00:10:54
    intellect and divine origin is unlimited
  • 00:10:57
    he disagrees with plutonus when it comes
  • 00:10:59
    to the interaction between human beings
  • 00:11:03
    and gods as he sees the two as different
  • 00:11:06
    classes of entities and believes that
  • 00:11:09
    the gods do care for us respond to our
  • 00:11:12
    prayers and become involved with us
  • 00:11:15
    through theological rituals also behind
  • 00:11:19
    this magical technology are metaphysical
  • 00:11:21
    principles and cosmological structures
  • 00:11:24
    the cosmic and Hyper Cosmic is arranged
  • 00:11:28
    in series or taxes so that for example a
  • 00:11:33
    scorpion carved on an amulet belongs to
  • 00:11:36
    a series that includes the Earthly
  • 00:11:39
    arachnids both natural and artificial
  • 00:11:42
    but Rises Beyond them to a super
  • 00:11:45
    Celestial Divine Scorpion and many
  • 00:11:47
    others in the grades of being in between
  • 00:11:49
    one of them being the Scorpio seen among
  • 00:11:53
    the constellations knowing where the
  • 00:11:55
    celestial and super Celestial scorpions
  • 00:11:58
    live the magos will also also know which
  • 00:12:01
    things within reach are like them and
  • 00:12:04
    which are not the things to cool the
  • 00:12:06
    gods down or fan them off Stones plants
  • 00:12:10
    colors odors Tasties sounds and
  • 00:12:14
    everything that resonates
  • 00:12:15
    sympathetically with the Divine or drive
  • 00:12:18
    it away by antipathy so to sum it up the
  • 00:12:22
    two main views on Magic in new platonism
  • 00:12:25
    are endorsed by platinus and iamblicus
  • 00:12:29
    platinus thought that since everything
  • 00:12:31
    is one and our role in our material
  • 00:12:34
    manifestation is to ascend to that
  • 00:12:37
    Oneness that is the Divine Source we are
  • 00:12:39
    part of magic is a destruction from the
  • 00:12:42
    primary contemplative Endeavor that will
  • 00:12:45
    lead to that desired goal he still
  • 00:12:47
    believes that magic is real and works
  • 00:12:50
    through the universal mechanism of
  • 00:12:52
    sympathy and antipathy however magic can
  • 00:12:55
    only affect the soul in its lower aspect
  • 00:12:58
    and not in its higher one that we can
  • 00:13:01
    Ascend to through contemplation I am
  • 00:13:04
    because doesn't agree that we are of the
  • 00:13:06
    same nature of the Gods and higher souls
  • 00:13:09
    he thinks that we are different entities
  • 00:13:11
    that can interact with each other to
  • 00:13:14
    affect change and Ascend through richly
  • 00:13:18
    induced involvement with higher
  • 00:13:20
    participants in the manifested universe
  • 00:13:23
    so this is it for today's video please
  • 00:13:25
    don't forget to check out the other
  • 00:13:27
    videos part of this collaboration on new
  • 00:13:30
    platonism Philip Holm from let's talk
  • 00:13:33
    religion has made a video on
  • 00:13:34
    neoplatonism Islam and Sufism Dr Justine
  • 00:13:38
    Sledge from estarica tackled
  • 00:13:40
    neoplatonism and gnosticism platinus
  • 00:13:44
    against agnostics Savvy from Seekers of
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    unity will address neoplatonism and
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    Kabbalah Dr danatrelle from the modern
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    aromaticist is covering the platonic
  • 00:13:55
    philosopher's Creed by Thomas Taylor and
  • 00:13:59
    finally John verbakke made a video on
  • 00:14:02
    neoplatonism and 4E cognitive science
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    again
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タグ
  • Neoplatonism
  • Platinus
  • Iamblicus
  • Magic
  • Philosophy
  • Theurgy
  • Divine
  • Emanation
  • Astrology
  • Spirituality