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WHAT IS PLATONISM? John Uebersax Draft: 1 Jan 2017 1. Two prefacing remarks are in order. These concern what Platonism is not, and aim to redress two modern errors. The first is that Plato is not the ancient equivalent of a modern analytical philosopher. of the term. He is, rather, a rational mystic. One can't begin to understand Plato without allowing for this mystical, religious dimension of his thought. 2. The second consideration is that we should accept that there is a limit on how well the thought of Plato can be expressed in any systematic terms. Plato was not merely a philosopher, but a great literary artist. As great art, his works affect, inspire and improve us by imparting not only rational, but extra-rational knowledge and wisdom. These caveats noted, I here propose to address the question, What is Platonism? by subdividing it into the traditional branches of philosophy, which we consider in turn below. Metaphysics Perhaps the most emblematic feature of Plato's philosophy is his Theory of Forms. This has many implications, but perhaps most significantly a view of reality as integrated dualism. That is, Plato contrasts an Eternal realm of pure, unchanging Being, beyond time and space, with the Temporal, always changing realm of existence (Becoming). In the Eternal realm reside the Forms — eternal Archetypes or Ideals, of which things in the Temporal realm are imperfect copies or images. Forms are of two varieties: general Forms, corresponding to things like horses and tables; and a special class we might call moral or transcendent Forms. This latter class includes the Forms for individual moral virtues (and for Virtue generally), and three Forms to which Plato attaches great significance: those of Beauty, Truth and Moral Goodness. Superordinate to these three great Forms is the Form of the Good, which, for Plato, is God. Human beings have an 'amphibious nature', inasmuch as we have both Eternal and Temporal natures, but the Eternal should predominate. The material world is a mixture of Form — which supplies order, beauty and goodness — and Chaos, which strenuously resists form and order. Because our souls also contain this mixture, a chief feature of human life is the need to govern a frequently unruly lower nature with our Formoriented higher nature. The lower human nature, nevertheless, has a value and dignity all its own. Unlike asceticism, Platonism does not seek to suppress or deny human lower nature, but only to harmoniously govern it. Our role in cultivation of our own souls is analogous to a gardener: using our own moral and aesthetic Ideals, we take what Nature supplies and improve it. Ethics The primary emphasis of Plato's dialogues is the presentation and development of a complex, but extremely coherent, virtue ethics. Humanity mostly exists in a fallen moral condition, and with this moral fall comes unhappiness. Happiness is a result of growth in transcendent virtues, which pattern our life and thought more to accord with the Eternal. Plato present five 'core' transcendent virtues. These include the traditional four cardinal virtues of Courage, Wisdom, Moderation, and Justice. In some places he suggests a fifth: Holiness. In any case, Plato is insistent on the unity of virtues. It is important to note that by Justice Plato does not mean retributive or distributive justice, but, rather, the quality of acting and thinking in ways that are perfectly suited for the situation; we might call this rightness, 'just rightness,' balance, or harmony. Plato's ethics follow the traditional ancient Greek view, which we also find in the Delphic religion, Homer and Hesiod, and the tragic poets. In sum, this sees the human moral fall as occurring in three steps: hubris (pride), ate (moral blindness), and nemesis (purificatory punishment). We are designed to participate harmoniously in a cosmos which is governed by a superintending Providence. To the extent that we live humbly and justly, and piously (i.e., 'giving due honor to the gods'), aligning our personal will with Eternity , then we will enjoy happiness and the many blessings of the material world. But when, contrarily, we are governed by egoism, we lose our happiness and blessings. Epistemology A second hallmark feature of Platonism is its emphasis on a higher form of human intelligence than ordinary ratiocination. That is, Plato believes human beings possess a special intellective faculty, power or organ called Nous. The operation of this faculty is noesis, and involves an instantaneous intellectual apprehension of a Form. Thus, while discursive ratiocination may construct a logical syllogism to prove some point, it is the Nous which, in an instant, actually recognizes the truth of the conclusion. Nous, a term which Plato borrowed from earlier Greek philosophers, has some definite connections with Conscience in the Christian tradition , and perhaps the pure consciousness of Vedanta. It is by means of noesis that we recognize the true meaning and deep significance of the transcendent Forms of Truth, Beauty, Moral Goodness, Virtue, etc. In Platonism, we are interested in Virtue not as a duty or social convention, but because we apprehend its splendor and are attracted to it; we see that Virtue is our nature, and our destiny. But as both a consequence, and to some extent also a cause, of our moral fall, our Nous becomes, as it were, clouded, and our thoughts are dominated by lower concerns. The inevitable result is confusion, since it is the higher Forms that give all meaning and purpose to human life. Plato urges us to rectify our fallen condition, and to seek return to a condition of moral grace by various means of psychological ascent. Three specific means of ascent are described in his dialogues: Ascent by Dialectic. By dialectic Plato means the disciplined logical attempt to arrive at first principles concerning a topic. Yet logical analysis is not pursued because it deductively arrives at answers (ratiocination), but because the effort itself focuses the will and intelligence to permit spontaneous insights and intuitions of the noetic faculty. A chief source of Plato's discussion of dialectic is Book 7 of the Republic. Ascent by Contemplation of Beauty. By contemplating the beauty of material objects, we are led to consider what Beauty in itself is — of which all individual beautiful things partake — and hence to contemplate the Form of Beauty. As Beauty itself is more lovable than any beautiful thing, from contemplation we may be led to surpassing love of Beauty, and from thence to love of God (or, for Plato, the Form of the Good), which is the source of Beauty. This is described in the famous Diotima section of the Symposium. Ascent by Moral Practice. By moral practice we mean the struggle to harmonize the various elements of the soul. When the soul is properly harmonized, it 'rises' more or less spontaneously to nobler states. But conflicting and disordered passions and appetites disturb this, causing the soul to reverse this upward movement and fall precipitously. This is describe in the chariot myth of the Phaedrus. To add: That Plato's is a rational mysticism is very important. Plato explains and justifies religion and spirituality to the rational mind, promoting greater psychic integration. Platonism inherits from Socrates an emphasis the Delphic maxim, Know Thyself Plato similarly emphasizes Socratic intellectual humility — an acute awareness of the limits of one's knowledge and propensity for wrong opinion — and proper skepticism as a precondition of moral and intellectual progress. Theology To add: Immortality, mystery Astral religion Providence Natural Law