Editing Apophatic theology (section)

==Greek philosophy==
{{See also|Epoché|Pyrrhonism|Skepticism}}

===Pre-Socratic===
For the ancient Greeks, knowledge of the gods was essential for proper worship.{{sfn|Platt|2011|p=52}} Poets had an important responsibility in this regard, and a central question was how knowledge of the Divine forms can be attained.{{sfn|Platt|2011|p=52}} [[Epiphany (feeling)|Epiphany]] played an essential role in attaining this knowledge.{{sfn|Platt|2011|p=52}} [[Xenophanes]] ({{circa|570|475 BC}}) noted that the knowledge of the Divine forms is restrained by the human imagination, and Greek philosophers realized that this knowledge can only be mediated through myth and visual representations, which are culture-dependent.{{sfn|Platt|2011|p=52}}

According to [[Herodotus]] (484–425 BC), [[Homer]] and [[Hesiod]] (between 750 and 650 BC) taught the Greek the knowledge of the Divine bodies of the Gods.{{sfn|Platt|2011|p=51}} The ancient Greek poet Hesiod (between 750 and 650 BC) describes in his ''[[Theogony]]'' the birth of the gods and creation of the world,{{r|ellopsos|group=web}} which became an "[[urtext (biblical studies)|ur-text]] for programmatic, first-person [[Epiphany (feeling)|epiphanic]] narratives in Greek literature,"{{sfn|Platt|2011|p=52}}{{refn|group=note|Hesiod's ''Theogony'' was highly referred in the time of [[Plato]] (428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BCE), and Plato's ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'' shows a profound familiarity with Hesiod's ''Theogony''.{{sfn|Boys-Stones|Haubold|2009|p=xiviii}} See also Timaeus e39-e41.{{r|ellopsos|group=web}}}} but also "explores the necessary limitations placed on human access to the divine."{{sfn|Platt|2011|p=52}} According to Platt, the statement of the Muses who grant Hesiod knowledge of the Gods "actually accords better with the logic of apophatic religious thought."{{sfn|Platt|2011|p=53}}{{refn|group=note|Richard G. Geldard: "[M]ore than any other pre-Socratic thinker, Heraclitus embodies the apophatic method. He "unsaid" the myths of the Archaic tradition on his way to transforming the ideas of divinity through the divine Logos. It was a transformation affirmed by Plotinus 800 years later."{{sfn|Geldard|2000|p=23}}}}

[[Parmenides]] (fl. late sixth or early fifth century BC), in his poem ''On Nature'', gives an account of a revelation on two ways of inquiry. "The way of conviction" explores Being, true reality ("what-is"), which is "What is ungenerated and deathless,/whole and uniform, and still and perfect."{{sfn|Cook|2013|p=109-111}} "The way of opinion" is the world of appearances, in which one's sensory faculties lead to conceptions which are false and deceitful. His distinction between unchanging Truth and shifting opinion is reflected in Plato's [[allegory of the Cave]]. Together with the Biblical story of Moses's ascent of Mount Sinai, it is used by [[Gregory of Nyssa]] and Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite to give a Christian account of the ascent of the soul toward God.{{sfn|Cook|2013|p=111-112}} Cook notes that Parmenides' poem is a religious account of a mystical journey, akin to the [[mystery cults]],{{sfn|Cook|2013|p=109}} giving a philosophical form to a religious outlook.{{sfn|Cook|2013|p=112}} Cook further notes that the philosopher's task is to "attempt through 'negative' thinking to tear themselves loose from all that frustrates their pursuit of wisdom."{{sfn|Cook|2013|p=112}}

===Plato===
[[File:Plato Silanion Musei Capitolini MC1377.jpg|thumb|Plato Silanion Musei Capitolini MC1377]]
[[Plato]] (428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC), "deciding for Parmenides against [[Heraclitus]]" and his theory of eternal change,{{sfn|Cook|2013|p=113}} had a strong influence on the development of apophatic thought.{{sfn|Cook|2013|p=113}}

Plato further explored Parmenides's idea of timeless truth in his dialogue ''[[Parmenides (dialogue)|Parmenides]]'', which is a treatment of the [[Theory of Forms|eternal forms]], ''Truth, Beauty and Goodness'', which are the real aims for knowledge.{{sfn|Cook|2013|p=113}} The Theory of Forms is Plato's answer to the problem of how one fundamental reality or unchanging essence can admit of many changing phenomena, other than by dismissing them as being mere illusion.{{sfn|Cook|2013|p=113}}

In ''[[Republic (Plato)|The Republic]]'', Plato argues that the "real objects of knowledge are not the changing objects of the senses, but the immutable Forms,"{{r|EoP_Plato(Republic)|group=web}} stating that the ''[[Form of the Good]]''{{refn|group=note|Identified by various commentators with the Form of Unity.{{explain|date=April 2017}}{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}}} is the highest object of knowledge.{{sfn|Kahn|1998|p=61}}{{sfn|Phillips|2008|p=234}}{{r|EoP_Plato(Republic)|group=web}}{{refn|group=note|See ''[[The Republic (Plato)|The Republic]]'' 508d–e, 511b, 516b.}} His argument culminates in the [[Allegory of the Cave]], in which he argues that humans are like prisoners in a cave, who can only see shadows of the Real, the ''Form of the Good''.{{sfn|Phillips|2008|p=234}}{{r|EoP_Plato(Republic)|group=web}} Humans are to be educated to search for knowledge, by turning away from their bodily desires toward higher contemplation, culminating in an intellectual{{refn|group=note|As opposed to mere rationality.}} understanding or apprehension of the Forms, c.q. the "first principles of all knowledge."{{sfn|Phillips|2008|p=234}}

According to Cook, the ''Theory of Forms'' has a theological flavour, and had a strong influence on the ideas of his Neo-Platonist interpreters Proclus and Plotinus.{{sfn|Cook|2013|p=113}} The pursuit of ''Truth, Beauty and Goodness'' became a central element in the apophatic tradition,{{sfn|Cook|2013|p=113}} but nevertheless, according to Carabine "Plato himself cannot be regarded as the founder of the negative way."{{sfn|Carabine|2015|p=21}} Carabine warns not to read later Neo-Platonic and Christian understandings into Plato, and notes that Plato did not identify his Forms with "one transcendent source," an identification which his later interpreters made.{{sfn|Carabine|2015|p=21-22}}

===Middle Platonism===
{{Main|Middle Platonism}}

[[Middle Platonism]] (1st century BC–3rd century AD){{r|IEP_Middle_Platonism|group=web}} further investigated Plato's "Unwritten Doctrines," which drew on [[Pythagoras]]' first principles of the [[Monad (philosophy)|Monad]] and the [[Dyad (Greek philosophy)|Dyad]] (matter).{{r|IEP_Middle_Platonism|group=web}} Middle Platonism proposed a [[hierarchy of being]], with God as its first principle at its top, identifying it with Plato's ''Form of the Good''.{{sfn|Mooney|2009|p=7}} An influential proponent of Middle Platonism was [[Philo of Alexandria|Philo]] (c. 25 BC&nbsp;– c. 50 AD), who employed Middle Platonic philosophy in his interpretation of the Hebrew scriptures, and asserted a strong influence on early Christianity.{{r|IEP_Middle_Platonism|group=web}} According to Craig D. Allert, "Philo made a monumental contribution to the creation of a vocabulary for use in negative statements about God."{{sfn|Allert|2002|p=89}} For Philo, God is undescribable, and he uses terms which emphasize God's transcendence.{{sfn|Allert|2002|p=89}}

===Neo-Platonism===
{{Main|Neo-Platonism}}

Neo-Platonism was a mystical or contemplative form of Platonism, which "developed outside the mainstream of Academic Platonism."{{r|IEP_Neo-Platonism|group=web}} It started with the writings of Plotinus (204/5–270 AD), and ended with the closing of the Platonic Academy by Emperor Justinian in 529&nbsp;AD, when the pagan traditions were ousted.{{r|IEP_Plotinus|group=web}} It is a product of Hellenistic syncretism, which developed due to the crossover between Greek thought and the Jewish scriptures, and also gave birth to [[Gnosticism]].{{r|IEP_Neo-Platonism|group=web}} Proclus of Athens (*412–485 AD) played a crucial role in the transmission of Platonic philosophy from antiquity to the Middle Ages., serving as head or 'successor' (diadochos, sc. of Plato) of the Platonic 'Academy' for over 50 years.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zalta |first1=Edward N. |title=Proclus |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/proclus/ |website=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=The Metaphysics Research Lab |access-date=29 October 2023}}</ref> His student Pseudo-Dionysius had a far-stretching Neo-Platonic influence on Christianity and Christian mysticism.{{r|IEP_Neo-Platonism|group=web}}

====Plotinus====
[[File:Plotinus.jpg|thumb|left|[[Plotinus]], 204/5–270 AD]]
[[Plotinus]] (204/5–270 AD) was the founder of Neo-Platonism.{{sfn|Gerson|2012}} In the [[Neoplatonism|Neo-Platonic philosophy]] of Plotinus and Proclus, the first principle became even more elevated as a radical unity, which was presented as an unknowable Absolute.{{sfn|Mooney|2009|p=7}} For Plotinus, the ''One'' is the first principle, from which everything else emanates.{{sfn|Gerson|2012}} He took it from Plato's writings, identifying the Good of the ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'', as the cause of the other Forms, with the ''One'' of the first hypothesis of the second part of the ''[[Parmenides (dialogue)|Parmenides]]''.{{sfn|Gerson|2012}} For Plotinus, the ''One'' precedes the [[Theory of Forms|Forms]],{{sfn|Gerson|2012}} and "is beyond Mind and indeed beyond Being."{{sfn|Mooney|2009|p=7}} From the ''One'' comes the [[Nous|Intellect]], which contains all the Forms.{{sfn|Gerson|2012}} The ''One'' is the principle of Being, while the Forms are the principle of the essence of beings, and the intelligibility which can recognize them as such.{{sfn|Gerson|2012}} Plotinus's third principle is Soul, the desire for objects external to itself. The highest satisfaction of desire is the contemplation of the ''One'',{{sfn|Gerson|2012}} which unites all existents "as a single, all-pervasive reality."{{r|IEP_Plotinus|group=web}}

The ''One'' is radically simple, and does not even have self-knowledge, since self-knowledge would imply multiplicity.{{sfn|Mooney|2009|p=7}} Nevertheless, Plotinus does urge for a search for the Absolute, turning inward and becoming aware of the "presence of the intellect in the human soul,"{{refn|group=note|Compare Korean Chon (Zen) master [[Jinul]]s "tracing back the radiance":<br /><br />''"Question: What is the mind of void and calm, numinous awareness?<br /><br />Chinul: What has just asked me this question is precisely your mind of void and calm, numinous awareness. Why not trace back its radiance rather than search for it outside? For your benefit I will now point straight to your original mind so that you can awaken to it. Clear your minds and listen to my words."''{{r|Chinul|group=web}}<br /><br />See also {{Citation | last =Buswell | first =Robert E. | year =1991 | title =Tracing Back the Radiance: Chinul's Korean Way of Zen | publisher =University of Hawaii Press}}}} initiating an ascent of the soul by [[Abstraction#In philosophy|abstraction]] or "taking away," culminating in a [[Subitism|sudden appearance]] of the ''One''.{{sfn|Mooney|2009|p=8}} In the ''[[Enneads]]'' Plotinus writes: 
{{blockquote|Our thought cannot grasp the One as long as any other image remains active in the soul [...] To this end, you must set free your soul from all outward things and turn wholly within yourself, with no more leaning to what lies outside, and lay your mind bare of ideal forms, as before of the objects of sense, and forget even yourself, and so come within sight of that One.}}

Carabine notes that Plotinus' apophasis is not just a mental exercise, an acknowledgement of the unknowability of the ''One'', but a means to ''[[Ecstasy (philosophy)|ecstasis]]'' and an ascent to "the unapproachable light that is God."{{r|Carabine_interview|group=web}} Pao-Shen Ho, investigating what are Plotinus' methods for reaching ''[[henosis]]'',{{refn|group=note|The Neoplatonic concept of ''henosis'' has precedents in the Greek [[mystery religions]]{{sfn|Angus|1975|p=52}} as well as parallels in [[Eastern philosophy]].{{sfn|Gregorios|2002}}}} concludes that "Plotinus' mystical teaching is made up of two practices only, namely philosophy and negative theology."{{sfn|Ho|2015|p=20}} According to Moore, Plotinus appeals to the "non-discursive, intuitive faculty of the soul," by "calling for a sort of prayer, an invocation of the deity, that will permit the soul to lift itself up to the unmediated, direct, and intimate contemplation of that which exceeds it (V.1.6)."{{r|IEP_Plotinus|group=web}} Pao-Shen Ho further notes that "for Plotinus, mystical experience is irreducible to philosophical arguments."{{sfn|Ho|2015|p=20}} The argumentation about ''henosis'' is preceded by the actual experience of it, and can only be understood when ''henosis'' has been attained.{{sfn|Ho|2015|p=20}} Ho further notes that Plotinus's writings have a didactic flavour, aiming to "bring his own soul and ''the souls of others'' by way of [[Nous|Intellect]] to union with the One."{{sfn|Ho|2015|p=20}} As such, the ''Enneads'' as a spiritual or ascetic teaching device, akin to ''[[The Cloud of Unknowing]]'',{{sfn|Ho|2015|p=20-21}} demonstrating the methods of philosophical and apophatic inquiry.{{sfn|Ho|2015|p=26}} Ultimately, this leads to silence and the abandonment of all intellectual inquiry, leaving contemplation and unity.{{sfn|Ho|2015|p=25-27}}

====Proclus====
[[Proclus]] (412–485) introduced the terminology used in apophatic and cataphatic theology.{{sfn|Louth|2012|p=139}} He did this in the second book of his ''Platonic Theology'', arguing that Plato states that the ''One'' can be revealed "through analogy," and that "through negations [''dia ton apophaseon''] its transcendence over everything can be shown."{{sfn|Louth|2012|p=139}} For Proclus, apophatic and cataphatic theology form a contemplatory pair, with the apophatic approach corresponding to the manifestation of the world from the ''One'', and cataphatic theology corresponding to the return to the ''One''.{{sfn|Louth|2012|p=140}} The analogies are affirmations which direct us toward the ''One'', while the negations underlie the confirmations, being closer to the ''One''.{{sfn|Louth|2012|p=140}} According to Luz, Proclus also attracted students from other faiths, including the Samaritan Marinus. Luz notes that "Marinus' Samaritan origins with its Abrahamic notion of a single [[Ineffability|ineffable]] [[Tetragrammaton|Name of God]] ({{Script/Hebrew|יהוה}}) should also have been in many ways compatible with the school's ineffable and apophatic divine principle."{{sfn|Luz|2017|p=149}}