Conflict and Violence in Neoplatonism: From Cosmic Justice to Cognitive Step

Abstract

While Neoplatonists have little to say on the topic of conflict and violence in their ethics or political philosophy, they use these concepts in order to discuss other issues. Plotinus considers violence as a way of testing one’s alignment with the cosmic order set by Providence. Porphyry and Iamblichus shift the emphasis to withdrawal from the body and universal cosmodicy, neutralizing the special role of violence. Proclus walks in their footsteps, but also gives a new epistemological meaning to conflict: civil war within the soul is a necessary condition for learning and doing philosophy.