The Neoplatonists believed they were reviving Plato's original ideas; however, they were now influenced themselves by a wide variety of ideas, indicating that there philosophy was not just one central theme. Common beliefs of this new philosophy were that the soul or person was a microcosm of the universe and that this microcosm should strive to making the divine and natural world work better.
There are a series of rituals that one goes through that help create a core dedicated to a pure and ethical life that then brings us closer to the divine nature of our existence. The One is seen as the divine source where we must strive to achieve understanding and unity with this source. Many of these ideas were influenced by Eastern mysticism, which blended with emerging concepts of a unified and single universe. This philosophy later becomes very influential in the Medieval period as it gets merged with Christian thinkers and philosophers.
Others within this school, however, did not ascribe to all of this or even much of this philosophy, so it is somewhat doubtful that the Neoplatonists were actually one unified school of thought. Nevertheless, the Neoplatonists' presence revived the academy until the reign of Justinian I, who closed all philosophical schools in CE.
The philosophies of Platonism, however, did survive in the East, as the Eastern Christians adopted many of the philosopher refugees that left the Byzantine Empire during the closure of the philosophical schools. This eventually led these schools to influence the West through the later Medieval period, when some of the philosophies began to merge with Christian thought through a reexamination of the old Classical works.
The legacy of the Academy was through the fact it was the first known place where scholars could gather, debate, discuss, and teach about the universe and its understanding. This is why, ultimately, the word academy is adopted in our own vocabulary. During the Renaissance, a revival of interest in Greek philosophies, in general, led many to reexamine the old texts and teachings of the Greek philosophers and the academy.
Some of the philosophies, such as Neoplatonism, also influenced Christian and later thought. The academy's concepts began to influence the developing notion of science and philosophy in the West in the late Medieval period. This led to the eventual establishment of new or modern academies and influenced universities' development in later periods.
Although the Academy itself went through different philosophical leanings, the concept of gathering scholars to debate, teach, and learn became a profound influence on Western ideas of creating institutions of higher learning and knowledge. Admin , Maltaweel and EricLambrecht.
Redirected from What was Plato's academy and why did it influence Western thought? Plato: A Guide for the Perplexed. Guides for the Perplexed. Catan, and Giovanni Reale. Plato and Aristotle. The third phase of the Academy slightly refined Plato ideas which stated that there was a reliable and universal truth Logos.
This group of people were described as skeptical philosophers that did not necessarily pursue the concept of an absolute truth. However, unlike Socrates who spent more time asking questions than giving speeches, the Academy included lectures and instructions, and seminars. The principal of the school was given the title- Scholarch. The post was a life-long position. The principal was not appointed but elected by the members of the school.
The first principal of the Academy was none other than the founder himself, Plato. He went on to set up his own academy called the Lyceum. The friction started when the members of the school picked Speusippus as the head of the school instead of Aristotle. Feeling aggrieved, Aristotle brought to an end his year long stay at the Academy.
Philo of Larissa ended up being the last principal Scholarch of the school. This was after the school was razed to the ground by the Roman army led by General Lucius Cornelius Sulla. The early set of intellectuals and philosophers of the Academy included people like Archytas of Tarentum, Theaetetus of Sunium , and Neoclides at the helm of affairs.
The Academy was also famed to have nurtured and tutored great philosophers such as Aristotle, Parmenides and Eudoxus of Cnidos. Those who enrolled in the school were simply referred to as junior members of the Academy. Not much is known about how people got to enroll at the Academy.
During its formative years, it is believed that Plato operated an open-door policy where all one needed to have was complete passion for philosophy and logical reasoning. Give or take, the Academy lasted for several centuries, even long after its founder Plato died. However, the Neoplatonist philosophers of Rome re-booted the school in the early 5th century CE. Studies and learning continued for about three decades until the school was shut down.
In CE, the Byzantine emperor Justinian I — CE closed down the place because he considered the Academy a place of pagan worship and practices. The Suda is a tenth-century C. Byzantine Greek encyclopedia. The Private Orations of Themistius. Robert J. Berkeley: University of California Press, Themistius was a philosopher and senator in the fourth century C.
Thucydides c. The Peloponnesian War. Robert B. Richard Crawley. New York: Touchstone, Secondary Sources Athanassiadi, Polymnia. The Philosophical History.
Athens: Apamea Cultural Association, Baltes, Matthias. Zalta ed. Brunt, P. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Cherniss, Harold. The Riddle of the Early Academy. Chroust, Anton-Herman. Dancy, R. Two Studies in the Early Academy. Dillon, John. The Middle Platonists: 80 B. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, Glucker, John. Antiochus and the Late Academy. Hadot, Pierre. What is Ancient Philosophy?
Michael Chase. Hornblower, Simon and Anthony Spawforth. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Klein, Jacob. Lectures and Essays. Annapolis: St. Lynch, John Patrick. This work is essential to anyone investigating classical educational institutions. Mintz, Avi.
Plato: Images, Aims, and Practices of Education. Cham: Switzerland: Springer, Nails, Debra. Agora, Academy, and the Conduct of Philosophy. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, This work provides historical context for all of the individuals mentioned in the Platonic dialogues.
Natali, Carlo. Aristotle: His Life and School. Edited by D. Press, Gerald A. The Bloomsbury Companion to Plato. London: Bloomsbury Academic, A very valuable reference work on Plato. Preus, Anthony. Historical Dictionary of Ancient Greek Philosophy. This clear and reliable historical dictionary is useful for students of ancient Greek philosophy.
Rihill, T. Saunders, Trevor J. Webster, vol. I, eds. Betts et al.
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