Table of Contents

Preface: discursive strategies and Neoplatonic texts; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction. Representing a tradition: exegesis, symbol and self-reflection; Part I. Language in the Enneads: 2. Plotinus' critique of discursive thinking; 3. Non-discursive thinking in the Enneads; 4. Introspection in the dialectic of the Enneads; 5. The symbolism of the Enneads; Part II. Text and Tradition in Neoplatonism: 6. History of an enigma: mathematical symbolism in the Neoplatonic tradition; 7. Transmigrations of a myth: Orphic texts and Platonic contexts; 8. Language and theurgy in Proclus' Platonic Theology; 9. Damascius' ineffable discourse; 10. Conclusion: reading Neoplatonism; References; General index; Index locorum.

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Analyses Neoplatonic texts themselves using contemporary philosophy of language.

Reviews

'The application of a modern literary approach to the rather esoteric field of neoplatonism is exciting and fruitful. The book is filled with sharp insights and comparisons that I have never seen before in the literature.' Lloyd Gerson, University of Toronto '... a stimulating and provocative book.' Classics Ireland