Levinas and the Greek Heritage followed by One Hundred Years of Neoplatonism in France
A Brief Philosophical History
by J.-M. Narbonne and W.J. Hankey
Levinas and the Greek Heritage shows that throughout his career, Emmanuel Levinas always admired and recognized his profound debt to Plato and to the philosophical tradition he initiated, which have been largely transmitted to us by the Neoplatonists, most notably Plotinus and Proclus. How can we read Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence in any other way than as some sort of Neoplatonic programme, prolonging Plato’s Good “beyond being” of the Republic VI, 509b, in the direction of the “other man,” the one which in his “nudity” and “fragility,” opens for us the horizon of a new humanism? There are many ways by which one can attempt to go over and above Being, not only a Greek way (primordially metaphysical), but also a Biblical way (mainly ethical). One of the interests of Levinas’ philosophy is to show us the hidden community – and perhaps unavoidable interdependency – of these two approaches.One Hundred Years of Neoplatonism in France shows that during the Twentieth century a retrieval of Neoplatonism is a powerful hidden feature of French philosophy and theology, of spiritual and institutional life. Beginning with Henri Bergson, it passes by way of figures like Maurice Blondel, A.J. Festugiere, Henri de Lubac, Jean Trouillard, Henry Dumery, and culminates with Michel Henry, Pierre Hadot, and Jean-Luc Marion. The book examines the particular character Neoplatonism takes in this retrieval, and traces connections between leading figures within the French and Anglophone worlds.
- By (author) WJ Hankey
- By (author) J-M Narbonne
Other Titles in this Series
On the Meaning of ‘Miracle’ in Christianity
A Philosophical Evaluation of the Current Miracle Debate and a Proposal of a Balanced Hermeneutical Approach
Volume 68
John Henry Newman’s Theology of History
Historical Consciousness, Theological 'Imaginaries', and the Development of Tradition
Volume 60
The Limits and Possibilities of Postmetaphysical God-Talk
A Conversation between Heidegger, Levinas and Derrida
Volume 52
Christian Theology and the Transformation of Natural Religion: From Incarnation to Sacramentality
Essays in Honour of David Brown
Volume 64
The Hammer of the Cartesians
Henry More's Philosophy of Spirit and the Origins of Modern Atheism
Volume 53
The Mind of God and the Works of Nature
Laws and Powers in Naturalism, Platonism, and Classical Theism
Volume 65
Divinising Experience
Essays in the History of Religious Experience from Origen to Ricoeur
Volume 23
Finitude and Theological Anthropology
An Interdisciplinary Exploration into Theological Dimensions of Finitude
Volume 47
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