Neoplatonic Pedagogy and the Alcibiades I

Crafting the Contemplative

James M. Ambury (King's College, Pennsylvania)

$163.95

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Cambridge University Press
23 May 2024

Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500; Western philosophy: Enlightenment; Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology

Many philosophers in the ancient world shared a unitary vision of philosophy – meaning 'love of wisdom' – not just as a theoretical discipline, but as a way of life. Specifically, for the late Neoplatonic thinkers, philosophy began with self-knowledge, which led to a person's inner conversion or transformation into a lover, a human being erotically striving toward the totality of the real. This metamorphosis amounted to a complete existential conversion. It was initiated by learned guides who cultivated higher and higher levels of virtue in their students, leading, in the end, to their vision of the Good, or the One. In this book, James M. Ambury closely analyses two central texts in this tradition: the commentaries by Proclus (412–485 AD) and Olympiodorus (495–560 AD) on the Platonic Alcibiades I. Ambury's powerful study illuminates the way philosophy was conceived during a crucial period of its history, in the lecture halls of late antiquity.

By: James M. Ambury (King's College Pennsylvania)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781009100212
ISBN 10: 1009100211
Pages: 254
Publication Date: 23 May 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Introduction: Curriculum and Contemplative; 1. The Self-Knowledge Necessity: Opening Remarks; 2. Exalting Eros: Proem (103a1–106c2); 3. How Should I Live?: The Elenctic Section (106c3–119a7); 4. What Do I Want?: The Protreptic Section (119a8–124a8); 5. Who Am I?: The Maieutic Section (124a8–135e8).

James M. Ambury is Associate Professor of Philosophy at King's College, Pennsylvania. He is the author of numerous articles on the Platonic tradition, and the co-editor (with Andy German) of Knowledge and Ignorance of Self in Platonic Philosophy (Cambridge 2019).

Reviews for Neoplatonic Pedagogy and the Alcibiades I: Crafting the Contemplative

'An inspiring and rich analysis of Plato's pedagogical mission, where education is less about providing useful knowledge and more about a conversion of the soul, Ambury's book keenly shows how Platonism begins with love and what Ambury calls 'a vision of the real' that intends to ignite, in prospective students, a passion for the philosophical way of life.' Danielle Layne, Professor of Philosophy, Gonzaga University