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Neoplatonism (also '''Neo-Platonism''') is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical and Proclus , which embraced magical practices or Theurgy as part of the soul's development and the return to the Source . This could also be due to one possible motive of Plotinus , being to clarify some of the traditions in the teachings of Plato that had been misrepresented before Iamblichus (see Neoplatonism And Gnosticism ). Neoplatonism took definitive shape with the philosopher and Numenius Of Apamea . Plotinus's student Porphyry assembled his teachings into the six '' Enneads ''. Subsequent Neoplatonic philosophers included Hypatia Of Alexandria , Iamblichus , Proclus , Hierocles Of Alexandria , Simplicius Of Cilicia , and Damascius , who wrote ''On First Principles''. Born in Damascus , he was the last teacher of Neoplatonism at Athens . Neoplatonism strongly influenced Christian thinkers (such as Augustine , Boethius , Pseudo-Dionysius , John Scotus Eriugena , and Bonaventura ). Neoplatonism was also present in medieval Islamic and Jewish thinkers such as Al-Farabi and Maimonides , and experienced a revival in the Renaissance with the acquisition and translation of Greek and Arabic Neoplatonic texts. PLATONISM AND NEOPLATONISM The philosophers called Neoplatonists did not found a school as much as attempt to preserve the teachings of Plato. They regarded themselves as Platonists, pure and simple. The concept of the One was not as clearly defined in Plato's Timaeus as it later was by Plotinus' Enneads . The afterlife as defined by Socrates in Phaedo is also different than the afterlife of the person or soul in the Enneads . The soul returns to the Monad or One in the Plotinus' works, whereas in Phaedo there are different afterlifes: one could be re-incarnated, one could receive punishment, or one could go to Hades to be with the heroes of old (Socrates' ideal afterlife for philosophers). TEACHINGS Neoplatonism is generally a religious philosophy. Neoplatonism is a form of Idealistic Monism (also called Theistic Monism ) and combines elements of Polytheism (see Monistic-polytheism ). Plotinus taught the existence of an ineffable and Transcendent One , from which Emanated the rest of the universe as a sequence of lesser beings. Later Neoplatonic philosophers, especially Iamblichus , added hundreds of intermediate beings such as Gods, angels and demons, and other beings as mediators between the One and humanity. The Neoplatonist Gods are omni-perfect beings and do not display the usual amoral behaviour associated with their representations in the myths. The Celestial Hierarchy The One - God, The Good. Transcendent and ineffable. The Hypercosmic Gods - Those which make Essence, Life and Soul The Demiurge - The creator. The Cosmic Gods - Those who make Being, Nature, and Matter. These include the Gods known to us from classical mythology. Salvation Neoplatonists believed human perfection and happiness were attainable in this world, without awaiting an Afterlife . Perfection and happiness— seen as synonymous— could be achieved through philosophical Contemplation . They did not believe in an independent existence of Evil . They compared it to darkness, which does not exist in itself but only as the absence of light. So too, evil is simply the absence of good. Things are good insofar as they exist; they are evil only insofar as they are imperfect, lacking some good that they should have. It is also a cornerstone of Neoplatonism to teach that all people return to the Source. The Source, Absolute, or One is what all things spring from and, as a superconsciousness, is where all things return. It can be said that all consciousness is wiped clean and returned to a Blank Slate when returning to the Source. All things have energy as their essence. When people return to the Source, their energy returns to the One, Monad, or Source and is then recycled into the cosmos, where it can be broken up and then amalgamated into other things. THE PHILOSOPHERS Ammonius Saccas Ammonius Saccas (birth unknown death ca. 265 AD) is a founder of Neoplatonism and the teacher of Plotinus. Little is known of the teacher other than both Christians (see Eusebius , Jerome , and Origen ) and pagans (see Porphyry and Plotinus ) claim him a teacher and founder of the Neoplatonic system. Porphyry stated in On the One School of Plato and Aristotle, that Ammonius' view was that the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle were in harmony. Eusebius and Jerome claimed him as a Christian until his death, whereas Porphyry claimed he had renounced Christianity and embrace pagan philosophy. Plotinus George Sarton (1936). "The Unity and Diversity of the Mediterranean World", ''Osiris'' 2, p. 406-463 {Link without Title} . philosopher of the ancient world who is widely considered the father of Neoplatonism. Much of our biographical information about him comes from Porphyry's preface to his edition of Plotinus' Enneads. While he was himself influenced by the teachings of classical Greek Philosophy , Persian Philosophy , and Indian Philosophy ,Porphyry, ''On the Life of Plotinus and the Order of His Books'', Ch. 3 (Armstrong's Loeb translation).
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