George Gemistos Plethon on God: Aristotle vs Plato
In this paper I examine George Gemistos Plethon's defense in his De Differentiis of Plato's conception of God as superior to that of Aristotle's. (2) Plethon asserts that the Platonic conception of God is more consistent with Orthodox Christian theology than the Aristotelian conception. This claim is all the more interesting in light of the fact that Plethon is, as it turns out, a pagan. I argue that Plethon takes the position he does because his interpretation of the Platonic God better fits his own neo-pagan theological conceptions. Part of the evidence for this is supplied by the first English translation of Plethon's Summary of the Doctrines of Zoroaster and Plato.
I. Background (3)
George Gemistos, who called himself Plethon, (1355?-1452) lived during the last years of the Byzantine empire. Constantinople fell to the Turks less than one year after his death. Yet he had a significant, direct influence on the study of Plato in the Latin West. This resulted from his membership in the Byzantine delegation to the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438-39. The purpose of this council was to effect the union of the two churches and thus, hopefully, to preserve the Byzantine Empire with the help of the West.
The Emperor, John VIII Palaeologos, knew they were going to face some of the finest minds in the Roman Church on their own soil; he therefore wanted the best minds available in support of the Byzantine cause to accompany him. Consequently, the Emperor appointed George Gemistos as part of the delegation. Despite the fact that he was a secular philosopher — a rare creature at this time in the West — Gemistos was renowned both for his wisdom and his moral rectitude. Among ...
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...rci, codex Venetus 406, qui Plethonis autographus creditur, in quo istud additamentum, scholii instar, initio Zoroastreorum ad marginem ascriptum est. Clearly, Alexandre was aware of Jacopo Morelli's identification of this manuscript at San Marco as an autograph of Plethon (in Morelli's Bibliotheca Manuscripta Graeca et Latina I (1802). Other indications that the passage is an interpolation into the text are the abrupt change from oratio recta in the foregoing passage to oratio obliqua in this one and the fact that this passage contains none of the twelve doctrines.
(28) Plethon is clearly a Neoplatonic, however, he thought that he was a good Platonist. The distinction between Platonism and Neoplatonism had not yet been made by historians of philosophy.
(29) The reader should note, however, that Plethon does not use these two terms synonymously in every context.
...troduction to Christ, indeed for his salvation. Thus, the bishop’s claims to authority are underscored by the very presence of Theoderic, whose witness to Peter’s authority undermines his own. The emphasis placed on the primacy of Peter in the writings of Felix IV and his predecessors in the pontificate, as well as their efforts to seek autonomy from the Ostrogoths and the Roman senate, further suggests that the particular composition of this apse mosaic is intended to reaffirm the power of the Roman bishops as spiritual descendants of Saint Peter and Christ’s representatives on earth. Thus, while Ann Marie Yasin may emphasize the symmetrical relationship between Felix IV and the personification of King Theoderic in the guise of Saint Theodore, a more nuanced interpretation suggests that the office Felix currently occupies is in fact elevated over that of Theoderic.
In today's global economy, energy is one of the most crucial and sought after commodities. Who supplies it and how much they supply determines how much influence they have over other countries as well as the global economy. This is why hydraulic fracturing is currently such an important and controversial topic in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking" or hydrofracturing, is the process of using pressurized liquids to fracture rocks and release hydrocarbons such as shale gas, which burns more efficiently than coal. This booming process of energy production provides a much needed economic boost, creating jobs and providing gas energy for Americans. The efficiently burning shale gas reduces carbon emission from electricity production plants, reducing carbon footprints on the environment. However, the process of hydraulic fracturing uses millions of gallons of pressurized liquid, which contains toxic chemicals, and some of this water is left over undealt with. The air near fracking sites is often also polluted and unsafe for nearby community residents. Injecting millions of gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals into the rock thousands of feet deep can cause earthquakes, causing a safety hazards for all nearby areas. Hydraulic Fracturing makes rare natural gases easily attainable, boosting the economy and reducing carbon emissions. However, the negative side effects such as contaminated water and air, make hydraulic fracturing a process that may not be worth the benefits.
Flavius Belisarius (505-565 CE), a Byzantine general under Justinian I, succeeded in winning countless victories and notably expanded the Byzantine Empire. Despite the fact that he was a successful, advanced leader, Belisarius ended his life shunned from the public.
...t decades but recently the government has been more involved trying to regulate fracturing processes so that they are safe to the environment and to the people. Although fracking is not very well accepted, many believe that fracking is the only way to extract natural gas and oil efficiently. While others believe that it is harmful to the drinking supply of water and to the environment as all other extractions of natural resources are. Today states, the House of Representatives, and the Senate are all working to help minimize the effects that hydraulic fracturing has within communities and the environment by enforcing stronger laws and regulations within fracturing wells and fracturing companies. Hydraulic fracturing provides sufficient and clean energy that will help minimize the impact on other natural resources that are used for energy as well.
The year after Sachs published his analysis of Plato’s arguments, Plato expert and Harvard Professor of Philosophy, Raphael Demos, published a response to Sachs’ article. This response has since formed one of the core arguments against Sachs’ determination and his views have been echoed by numerous scholars. What makes Demos’ argument palatable is his emphasis on the uniqueness of Platonic justice and on figuring out Plato’s logic in connecting it with vulgar justice.
The immune system, which is composed of cells, proteins, tissues, and organs, is the body’s innate defense against foreign particles that may show to be harmful or infectious to us. Through a series of steps called the immune response, the immune system attacks potentially dangerous organisms and substances that invade our systems. (Durani, Y., 2012) The immune system’s key players include leukocytes, the lymphoid organs, and the lymphatic vessels. Leukocytes are white blood cells that recognize and destroy the harmful invaders. Lymphoid organs (lymph nodes, bone marrow, thymus, and spleen) make and/or store the leukocytes, and lymphatic vessels are a network of tissues that allow for the leukocytes to circulate through blood or the various lymphoid organs. (Durani, Y., 2012)
Plato was born in Athens, Greece around 427 B.C. He was always interested in politics, until he witnessed his mentor and teacher, Socrates, death. After learning of the callousness of politics, Plato changed his mind and eventually opened up The Academy, which is considered if not the first, one of the first Universities. Students at the Academy studied many different fields of science, including biological and astronomical. The students also studied many other fields, such as math. Plato developed many views that were mathematical in nature. He expressed these views through his writings. According to Dr. Calkins of Andrew University, "Timaeus is probably the most renowned of Plato's thirty-five dialogues. [In it] Plato expresses that he believes that the heavenly bodies are arranged in perfect geometric form. He said that because the heavens are perfect, the various heavenly bodies move in exact circles." (Calkins 1). Of course that is a much summarized view of what Plato discusses in Timaeus, but still a solid view on Plato's beliefs about cosmology. Cosmology can be loosely defined as everything being explained and in its place or beautiful. The cosmos is beautiful because everything is perfect. Plato understood that when he defined the most perfect geometric design as the circle. In a circle one line is always equidistance from one point. In Plato's universe there are two realms, eternity and time. The factor that creates "time" out of the chaos of "eternity" is the Demiurge. Plato's Demiurge can be defined as an architect creator theological entity. The importance of the Demiurge in this paper is to compare and contrast him with Boethius's God in The Consolation of Philosophy.
Before one can see the devastating effects of fracking, one must first understand how fracking works. As previously stated, the main intent of hydro-fracking is to access and harvest natural gas that lies below the surface of the Earth. Having formed over 400 million years ago by the collision of tectonic plates (Marsa 3), the Marcellus Shale plays host to a gold mine of natural gas, which is currently at the center of the fracking debate in the Northeastern region of the United States. Unfortunately, access...
Lehmann, H.E., & Ban, T.A. (1997). The history of the psychopharmacology of schizophrenia. Can J Psychiatry: 42:152–62. [PubMed]
Confucianism and Daoism are two influential schools of thoughts that have existed in ancient China around the 6th century BCE. The former, led by the politician and philosopher Confucius, proposed that humans live in society according to a set of predefined rules and that they transform society through political action. Whereas the latter, led by the philosopher Lao-Tzu, promoted the idea of inaction; people should go with the flow instead of taking action to control their lives and dominate their surroundings. Although, at first glance Daoism and Confucianism seem to be two opposing philosophies, a more in depth analysis of two of their key ideas –filial piety and education—reveals that they do share some similarities.
4)Rosenstein, Nathan Stewart., and Robert Morstein-Marx. A Companion to the Roman Republic. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2006. Print.
Fracking has become a highly controversial and publicized topic due to rising concerns and growing analysis into the mutual benefits of hydraulic fracturing to retrieve natural gas and oil reserves. With concerns of water pollution, mismanagement of toxic waste and irreversible
I invite you to consider the life of an interesting human being with me in this paper. Let us investigate together the man known as Irenaeus of Lyons. We will endeavor to gain an overall verbal portrait of the man who is considered the most significant ecclesiastical witness before Eusebius and the leading theologian in the second century A. D. The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church both consider Irenaeus to be one of their “holy saints“. The name Irenaeus means a “‘man of peace,’ and the early Christian historian Eusebius honored Irenaeus as a peacemaker in keeping with his name.”
Plato vs. Aristotle How do we explain the world around us? How can we get to the truth? Plato and Aristotle began the quest to find the answers thousands of years ago. Amazingly, all of philosophy since that time can be described as only a rehashing of the original argument between Plato and Aristotle. Plato and Aristotle's doctrines contrast in the concepts of reality, knowledge at birth, and the mechanism to find the truth.
Aristotle and Plato were both great thinkers but their views on realty were different. Plato viewed realty as taking place in the mind but Aristotle viewed realty is tangible. Even though Aristotle termed reality as concrete, he stated that reality does not make sense or exist until the mind process it. Therefore truth is dependent upon a person’s mind and external factors.