The philosophy of Neoplatonism originated with Plotinus (205-270AD). It was a synthesis of earlier philosophical though and religious beliefs, combining alchemy and magic to provide not only an image of the universe and the human place within it, but also a method of spiritual salvation.
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| Plotinus (205-270AD) |
The 'One' as a deity is the source of all goodness and reality. The One is the source from from which everything flows, and the gradual dispersion of the original unity results in multiplicity and matter (which is sometimes equated with evil).
Human imperfection, which is due to a flaw or the Fall, stems from the soul's remoteness from the One. The soul is longing to return to completeness, but as the One is beyond description and cannot be reached through rational thinking, it has to be approached through ecstatic contemplative absorption. The soul has many levels: The highest is intellectual thought, and the lowest is the animating principle of the material universe. All humans have all aspects of soul within them and have to choose whether to wake the higher elements or remain immersed in the concerns of the material body.
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