Debate
LCHP workshop Iamblichus on the Cosmos, the Human Soul and Theurgy
- Date
- Thursday 11 September 2025
- Time
- Location
-
Johan Huizinga
Doelensteeg 16
2311 VL Leiden - Room
- 0.06
The Centre for the History of Philosophy is pleased to present a workhop on Iamblichus.
Program
| 15:15-15:30 | Arrival & Welcome | |
| 15:30-16:00 | Christoph Helmig | What is the meaning of ousia in late ancient psychology? |
| 16:00-16:30 | Benedetto Neola | Iamblichus and the doctrine of pure souls |
| Tea/coffee break | ||
| 16:30-17:00 | Marije Martijn | Nature and soul in Philoponus |
| 17:00-17:30 | Pieter d'Hoine | How to speak about first principles? 'Causal predication' in Proclus |
Christoph Helmig (Köln), What is the meaning of ousia in late ancient psychology?
Abstract
Already in Plato and Aristotle it is difficult to translate the term ousia. Does the word mean ‘essence’ or ‘substance’? Does it refer to a universal term (e.g., the essence of human being as rational animal) or to an individual substance (‘tode ti’)? In late ancient psychology, we talk about the soul changing essentially or substantially. In her dissertation, Selma Tummers writes (p. 165): “[The soul] does not change substantially, but it is essentially this dual way of being.” (p. 165). Proclus is prepared to distinguish different ousiai in the soul. Does this point to a ‘substantial diversity’ in the soul, as has been claimed, or are the different ousiai different forms of being (or forms of life)? In my presentation, I want to ask what exactly ousia means in these contexts.
About
Christoph Helmig is Professor at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Cologne. Christoph studied in Münster and Dublin and received his doctorate from KU Leuven in 2006 with a thesis on ancient and late antique epistemology. From 2008 to 2012, he was junior professor of classical philology with a focus on late Antiquity at HU Berlin. Since 2012, he has been professor of ancient and late ancient philosophy at the University of Cologne. His research interests include the philosophy of late antiquity and the history of Platonism and Aristotelianism, with a particular focus on epistemological debates (concepts, concept formation), the theory of the cosmic soul (anima mundi) and the reception of Aristotle's Categories.
Benedetto Neola (GLTC Leiden): Iamblichus and the doctrine of pure souls
Abstract
In this presentation, I will offer an overview of the main themes of my forthcoming book, Drunk the Potion, Not Whit Charmed: The Neoplatonic Doctrine of Pure and Perfect Souls from Iamblichus to Damascius. Special attention will be given to the ontological status of pure souls within the cosmic order, and thus their relationship to the so-called superior orders, i.e., angels, demons, and heroes, as well as to the ways in which their salvific activity unfolds within the sensible realm. I aim to show how the wise figures of the Hellenic tradition were understood, beginning with Iamblichus, as souls sent down by the gods to act as instruments of divine providence, and thus endowed with a superior essence in comparison to other human souls in need of salvation.
About
Benedetto Neola is a researcher at the Centre for the Arts in Society. Dr. Neola earned his BA in Classics and his MA in Classical Philology from the University of Naples Federico II.
Pieter d'Hoine (Leuven), How to speak about first principles? 'Causal predication' in Proclus
Abstract
In this paper, I will argue that Proclus’ doctrine of the three distinct modes of subsistence in proposition 65 of the Elements of Theology (subsistence in the cause, substantial subsistence, and subsistence by participation) could be taken as a promising theory of predication that allows us to understand how precisely we can—according to Proclus—speak of objects existing at ontological levels higher or lower than the soul. After a brief look at Proclus' ‘standard' theory of predication, in which the soul predicates concepts of particulars that are ontologically inferior to it (which I will call 'ordinary predication'), we will review a few passages where concepts are applied to higher causes, such as the One and the Forms (a phenomenon I will call 'causal predication'). I will argue that the distinction between these types of predication can help us resolve some apparent inconsistencies in Proclus' discourse on transcendent causes.
About
Pieter d’Hoine is Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy at KU Leuven, Coordinator of the De Wulf-Mansion Centre and Director of Lectio, the Leuven Institute for the Study of the Transmission of Texts, Ideas and Images in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. His research concerns the epistemology and metaphysics of ancient Platonism, with a particular focus on the reception of Plato’s theory of Forms by the Platonic commentators of late Antiquity (especially Syrianus, Proclus, Damascius and Asclepius/Ammonius), as well as the hermeneutic strategies of the Neoplatonic commentators.
Marije Martijn (VU Amsterdam), Nature and soul in Philoponus
Abstract
In this paper, Philoponus' concept of nature is shown to foreground Aristotle's metaphysical sense of phusis, i.e. nature as essence of form. This has led scholars to claim that in Philoponus the Neoplatonic project of merging nature and soul reaches its completion. I will argue, however, that Philoponus’ views are far more nuanced than claimed, resulting in a refined partial overlap between nature and soul.
About
Marije Martijn is Full Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ancient, Patristic and Medieval Philosophy. She has published on a variety of topics in Neoplatonic philosophy and is currently working on an NWO project about logic and mathematics in the philosophical schools of late ancient Alexandria.