Platonism

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Platonism. The philosophical system found in Plato's writings or derived therefrom. Fundamental to Platonism is the conviction that truth cannot be found in everyday life and sensible reality, but in a (more real) ideal realm (of the ‘Forms’). To attain that, purification, both moral and intellectual (through dialectic and becoming accustomed to abstract thought), is necessary. Middle Platonism (1st cent. BCE–2nd cent. CE) developed a religious cosmology from the Timaeus, whereas Plotinus found inspiration for his doctrine of the One in the Parmenides. In addition to the ideal realm (of intellect) and the realm of ordinary life (of soul), Plotinus posited the One from which all else proceeds, which is unknowable except in ecstatic union. Such Neoplatonism was developed in particular by Porphyry, Iamblichus, and Proclus and had a great influence on later thought, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim.

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Platonism

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