Project description
Exploring broader Neoplatonic discourse to understand late antique Christological debates
Neoplatonists reinterpreted Pythagoras and Socrates as pure souls sent to save humanity. These saviours resemble Christ as a divine mediator, resulting from an inter-religious exchange. The soul’s intermediate nature, positioned between humanity and divinity, is a converging point for Neoplatonic and Christian world views. It fuels discussions on the intricate relationships between humanity and divinity. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the TRANEX project will take a unique approach, examining sub-ordinationist Christologies alongside the Neoplatonic doctrine of pure souls. It aims to demonstrate that understanding late antique Christological debates requires exploring broader Neoplatonic discourse. The project will focus on mediation towards humanity, similarity to God (or gods) rather than identity, and subordination to divine power(s).
Objective
TRANEX contends that in Late Antiquity (c. 300-500 AD) both the figure of Christ and those of Pythagoras and Socrates underwent a parallel process of metamorphosis facilitated not least through an intellectual exchange between Christian theologians and Neoplatonists, that is, pagan philosophers who drew on Plato’s thought to build a new philosophical and religious system. Rather than perceiving pagan Neoplatonism and Christianity as separate and detached entities, TRANEX emphasizes the need to understand them as dynamically intertwined and mutually influential realms.
From Iamblichus onwards (c. 245-325 AD), Neoplatonists reinterpreted figures like Pythagoras and Socrates as ‘pure souls’ sent to earth to save humankind. These saviour figures bear striking resemblances to Christologies that portray Christ as a subordinate divine mediator. I understand these parallels as the outcome of an interreligious exchange, which I intend to explore by focusing on the concept of the ‘soul’. The intermediate nature of the soul, positioned between humanity and divinity, holds a paramount significance as a converging point for Neoplatonic and Christian worldviews, fueling profound discussion on the intricate relationships between humanity and divinity. Within this conceptual framework, I will study the most influential thinkers of the late third to the first half of the fifth century. By juxtaposing subordinationist Christologies with the Neoplatonic doctrine of pure souls, I aim to demonstrate that a comprehensive understanding of late antique Christological debates requires an appreciation of the broader Neoplatonic discourse surrounding figures like Pythagoras and Socrates, and vice versa. I will specifically examine three key aspects that are equally central to both subordinationist Christologies and Neoplatonic conceptions of ‘pure souls’: (1) ‘mediation’ towards humanity, (2) ‘similarity’, rather than ‘identity’, to God(s), and, consequently, (3) ‘subordination’ to God(s).
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
2311 EZ Leiden
Netherlands