Proclus on the Theology of Plato - electronic edition

Abstract

This is the only translation of Proclus masterwork Platonic Theology, consisting of six books plus one added by Thomas Taylor. It is the main work of Proclus and should be studied together with his commentaries on the Timaeus and Parmenides. Its depth can be hardly overrated and you may need to study some textbooks on Proclus such as Lucas Siorvanes "Neo-Platonic Philosophy and science". Proclus has influenced Western society through his writings, especially by his pupil, the Christian Neoplatonist, called the Pseudo-Dionysius, who incorporated Proclus' names of the celestial hierarchies into his own work. Johannes Kepler and, possibly, Isaac Newton seem to have studied Proclus' work as well. Newton was deeply versed and interested in alchemy, and wrote more about that than on the integral calculus he developed! Today, interest in the Neo-Platonic philosophers is on the rise again. Perhaps they can teach us a lesson on ontology, a deeply neglected area of philosophy, which also has a bearing on science. The latter has got stuck in its rudimentary ontology, witness the Alain Aspect experiment and biology's wrestling with complexity (as e.g. seen in the complexity of the information-rich DNA molecule and organization of the cell). This is the only translation of Proclus masterwork Platonic Theology, consisting of six books plus one added by Thomas Taylor. It is the main work of Proclus and should be studied together with his commentaries on the Timaeus and Parmenides. Its depth can be hardly overrated and you may need to study some textbooks on Proclus such as Lucas Siorvanes "Neo-Platonic Philosophy and science". Proclus has influenced Western society through his writings, especially by his pupil, the Christian Neoplatonist, called the Pseudo-Dionysius, who incorporated Proclus' names of the celestial hierarchies into his own work. Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton seem to have studied Proclus' work as well. Newton was deeply versed and interested in alchemy, and wrote more about that than on the integral calculus he developed! Today, interest in the Neo-Platonic philosophers is on the rise again. Perhaps they can teach us a lesson on ontology, a deeply neglected area of philosophy, which also has a bearing on science. The latter has got stuck in its rudimentary ontology, witness the Alain Aspect experiment and biology's wrestling with complexity (as e.g. seen in the complexity of the information-rich DNA molecule and organization of the cell).