" by Radek Chlup. The book is an extremely valuable addition to the literature on Proclus and is a brilliant introduction to Proclus' philosophy. I have written an extensive review of this text here:
The philosophy of Proclus has been a rather esoteric pursuit
for quite some time. Not so much because
of the sheer magnitude of his body of written work, but more so due to the
complexity of his thinking. Add to this
the relative intractability of previous general studies of Proclus, such as by
Siorvanes and Rosán, and we see why such a great thinker has been neglected by
all but the most dedicated. Radek
Chlup's text fills the void between specialists in late Platonic scholarship
versus general philosophical readership.
We now have an accessible introduction to Proclus, which does a great
service to help establish him as a colossal statue among the Greek masters.
To say that Proclus was a prolific writer is an
understatement to the highest degree. It
boggles the mind how one man could have written as much as he did-- Rosán cites
a total of 47 works, the lost titles gleaned from other writers or from Proclus
himself. His writings abound with
profound depth and clarity, a corpus that touched every area of ancient
learning to the point of constituting a veritable encyclopedia of Greek
thought. Although most of Proclus'
original writings have been lost, the amount that survives could still keep one
busy for a lifetime.
While we do have the most important commentaries, on the
Timaeus and the Parmenides, each of which run hundreds and hundreds of pages,
divided into multiple books, what survives of these is still incomplete. Luckily, enough remains to have a relatively
complete perspective on Proclus' systematic philosophy. We are very fortunate to have these available
in English translation today. The essays
on the Republic are some of the last remaining works that have not been translated
into English. The Platonic Theology is
available in English, but Thomas Taylor's 1816 translation is the only one
available. While it is charming to read,
it is outdated and in need of a new translation. Hopefully we will see the situation improve,
as the appearance of Chlup's introduction should draw more scholarly attention
to this situation.
"Proclus: An Introduction" is divided into ten
chapters, which serve as demarcations not only in Proclus' philosophical system
but also map out the contents of Proclus' various written works. Overall, the text functions marvelously as a
study guide to Proclus. While the whole
of it can only scratch the surface of Proclus' system, it does manage to cover
a lot of ground. And while the reader
will begin to see the overall contours and 'global topology' of his system,
this can only be a coarse filtration; those who want the full details will have
to consult the source works.
One might begin to wonder: why worry about making such fine
distinctions between levels of reality, and go through so much trouble mapping
out the intricate dynamics between these levels? We never get an answer from Proclus, but I
feel he would have explained how more elaborate concepts lead to clearer
perceptions. This way of thinking makes
us see more detail, and understand more of the whole at a deeper level. In that sense, Proclus differs from Plotinus
in that Plotinus just wanted to experience The One as a singularity, but
Proclus also wanted to integrate the full spectrum of total reality into his
core being. And his writing is a legacy
to show us how it can be accomplished.
But is it worth all this difficulty?
Consider these words from Proclus' Commentary on the Parmenides:
"The man who genuinely loves knowledge does not shrink
from the labor involved; the more difficult a matter is to learn, so much the
more eagerly does he pursue it, not trying to evade hardships. But an inferior
and unqualified student, when he hears that a task is difficult, takes his
leave of an inquiry that is not for him."
Following a first chapter on the historical context, the
second chapter on metaphysics draws mainly from the Elements of Theology, and
also some of the Parmenides commentary.
Beginning with The One and The Good, followed by a brilliant treatment
of procession and reversion, we see how these doctrines apply to separate
levels of reality, taking the shape of a four-fold breakdown into The
One, Intellect, Soul and Body. This
vertical hierarchy is then developed with the ideas of participation, leading
to a seven-fold breakdown into The One,
Being, Life, Intellect, Soul, Nature, and Body.
Chapter three looks at Proclus' concept of the henads and what this
implies for a theological system for ranking the Gods, following the contents of the Platonic Theology.
Then we come to how humans can come to know these levels of
reality through a breakdown of how the soul can know. Proclus was fond of using mathematics as a
doorway into the divine realm, and Chlup does a good job explaining how the
study of geometry integrates into Proclus' curriculum, drawing from material in
the Euclid commentary and the Alcibiades commentary. There is a whole
chapter on Proclus' theurgy, emphasizing the role of vertical chains and the concept of sunthemata. Never has
this aspect of Proclus' system been so well treated, it could be worth the
price of the book alone, especially along with the follow-up chapter on
Proclus' views on inspired poetry and symbolic exegesis.
Chapter seven is an extensive treatment of the doctrine
of evil, which comes from Proclus' essay On the Existence of Evils. Chlup demonstrates its practical implications for ethics in the
following chapter. Finally there is a
chapter on the holistic worldview of philosophy and religion in late antiquity,
as well as the epilogue charting out Proclus' legacy.
The author does a good job of placing Proclus in historical
context, and shows in many places where Proclus builds on the Neoplatonic
tradition, namely Plotinus and Iamblichus.
Recent studies have shown where Proclus gives credit to his teacher
Syrianus, but this topic is not dealt with in great detail by Chlup. Some have thought that Proclus owes
everything to Syrianus. Even if one
subscribes to this, Proclus has to be given great credit for unfolding
Syrianus' doctrines with great precision, clarity and depth.
There are still many areas of Proclus' philosophy that do
not get treated in the book, but that is in order to keep the text at an
introductory level. Students and
scholars who want to dig deeper will find many specialist studies of particular
facets of Proclus' thought, such as Proclus' hymns and their use in theurgy, or
Proclus' views on nature and physics from the Timaeus commentary and the many
studies in this area that have recently appeared.
An extremely valuable feature of this text are the visual
aids and diagrams the author has constructed to chart out the metaphysics and
levels of reality. There are 15 of these
that greatly assist in understanding.
These mostly appear in the chapter on metaphysics and come with headings
such as "Multiple layers of procession and reversion", "Grades
of causality", "The One and matter as causally interconnected",
"General intellect in its self-reversion", "The hierarchy of
participation", and "The hierarchy of henads".
This volume is an extremely valuable addition to the
literature and will greatly assist those studying Proclus. Hopefully we will see a more affordable
paperback edition, but for serious students the cost is immaterial. While Plotinus' Enneads have been thoroughly
penetrated, few have had the patience and dedication to dive deep into Proclus'
voluminous writings. This book is a
landmark in the study of Proclus and Neoplatonism in general. It will go a long way in providing students
of Platonic metaphysics with the keys to unlocking the mysteries of Proclus.
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