The Philosophy of Gemistos Plethon: Platonism in Late Byzantium, between Hellenism and Orthodoxy

Description

George Gemistos Plethon (c. 1360-1454) was a remarkable and influential thinker, active at the time of transition between the Byzantine Middle Ages and the Italian Renaissance. His works cover literary, historical, scientific, but most notably philosophical issues. Plethon is arguably the most important of the Byzantine Platonists and the earliest representative of Platonism in the Renaissance, the movement which generally exercised a huge influence on the development of early modern thought. Thus his treatise on the differences between Plato and Aristotle triggered the Plato-Aristotle controversy of the 15th century, and his ideas impacted on Italian Renaissance thinkers such as Ficino. This book provides a new study of Gemistos’ philosophy. The first part is dedicated to the discussion of his 'public philosophy'. As an important public figure, Gemistos wrote several public speeches concerning the political situation in the Peloponnese as well as funeral orations on deceased members of the ruling Palaiologos family. They contain remarkable Platonic ideas, adjusted to the contemporary late Byzantine situation. In the second, most extensive, part of the book the Platonism of Plethon is presented in a systematic way. It is identical with the so-called philosophia perennis, that is, the rational view of the world common to various places and ages. Throughout Plethon’s writings, it is remarkably coherent in its framework, possesses quite original features, and displays the influence of ancient Middle and Neo-Platonic discussions. Plethon thus turns out to be not just a commentator on an ancient tradition, but an original Platonic thinker in his own right. In the third part the notorious question of the paganism of Gemistos is reconsidered. He is usually taken for a Platonizing polytheist who gathered around himself a kind of heterodox circle. The whole issue is examined in depth again and all the major evidence discussed, with the result that Gemistos seems rat Contents List of Tables Acknowledgements Introduction The Man and his Work Gemistos and Scholarship PART I: PUBLIC PHILOSOPHY 1 Platonic Reforms 2 Fate of the Soul 3 Conclusion to Part I: Platonism in Practice PART II: PHILOSOPHIA PERENNIS 4 Writings about the Perennial Philosophy 5 Introduction to the Perennial Philosophy 6 Division of Reality 7 Zeus, the First Principle 8 Supracelestial Gods, the Forms Defence of Platonic Forms The Forms in Plethons Laws 9 The Forms as the Gods Olympians Titans (Tartarus) Table of the Gods of the First and Second Order Sources of Plethon s Mythology 10 Sensible Cosmos Gods of the Third Order Stars and Daemons 11 Nature Mortal and Human The Soul and the Human Situation Fate and Freedom Ethics, Cult and Politics 12 Conclusion to Part II: Plethon s Platonism PART III: QUESTION OF RELIGION 13 Becoming Pagan 14 Gemistos' Mysterious Teacher 15 Witnesses Pupils and Friends Admirers Adversaries 16 Change of Name 17 Fight for Orthodoxy 18 The Book 19 Conclusion to Part III: Pagan or Christian? Appendix Manuscript Supplement Abbreviations Primary Sources Gemistos Plethon and His Contemporaries Other Ancient, Byzantine and Renaissance Authors Secondary Literature Systematic Bibliographies of Secondary Texts on Gemistos Plethon Secondary Texts Index of Passages Quoted General Index