Education

Introduction

The Prometheus Trust’s educational activities are aimed at encouraging contemporary seekers of wisdom to explore the deep roots of the Platonic tradition— a tradition which in ancient times was explicitly regarded by its best proponents as the most direct means to the recovery of our own divine nature. Although Plato is widely read and studied today it is rare that he and his tradition are seen as offering a serious and transformative path of wisdom to modern men and women, as outlined in Plato’s Seventh Letter:

“It is requisite to show that philosophy is a thing of the greatest consequence, and that it is only to be obtained by great study and mighty labour. For he who hears that this is the case, if he is truly a lover of wisdom, and is adapted to and worthy of its acquisition, being a divine person, will think that he hears of an admirable way, that he ought immediately to betake himself to this path, and make it the great business of his life.”

For more than a thousand years, men and women were drawn to the Platonic centres in order to cultivate the life of philosophy within a continuous tradition and it is this tradition that the Prometheus Trust seeks to bring to the fore, insofar as our resources and our understanding allows.

All our Education activities are designed to allow for a progressively deeper (and we hope responsive) exploration of this tradition. We hope that they will be welcoming to both those who are completely new to philosophy or Plato or group study, as well as for those who have a background in any of them. Our in-person activities mainly take place in the UK (with the occasional week in Italy) but we also run online activities for those who can’t be with us in the UK.

We’ve also provided some suggestions for exploration of the Tradition.

Our Methods

Over recent times our culture’s understanding of philosophy, its purposes and potentialities, has become increasingly distorted: generally it is no longer seen as the primary guide to life, nor as a perfective path.  Further, its acceptable methods have been reduced to a narrow exercise of logical reason, based on a very limited view of reality and human abilities.  This is a betrayal of the vision of the founders of philosophy.

The Prometheus Trust’s education programme is offered to students who are genuinely seeking to follow the path of philosophy as a way of inner enlightenment and as a guide to all aspects of life.  The programme is primarily centred upon the affirmation that truth is to be found in the soul, and that all education is properly a reminiscence of immutable and eternal ideas which are more or less forgotten as the soul descends from her pristine and heavenly condition and becomes immersed in the material world. 

The Trust regards the Platonic tradition as the most comprehensive, stable and reliable upon which to base its exploration of philosophy: this profound tradition has been long neglected by the West, and is more akin to the great Eastern philosophies than those developed in recent centuries in the West.  Philosophy in these terms is an essential element of religion, art, science, and civic life – indeed in any area of human endeavour where wisdom is required to raise the soul to the highest levels.  Above all else, it addresses the deep human aspiration to live a divine and happy life.

There have been many attempts at re-introducing the Platonic teachings to thoughtful students over the last few centuries, but very often these have been defeated by the failure to uphold or even consider the most important concepts of the tradition in the face of antagonistic attitudes stemming from contrary religious, philosophical or metaphysical schools of thought.  The Prometheus Trust is determined that its programme will give proper attention to these basic Platonic concepts, as unfamiliar as some of these may be, so that its students will be enabled to see them in their best light: only in this way can such doctrines be intelligently accepted, rejected or modified according to each individual’s inner light. 

Plato’s writings are framed within the ancient Greek mystery-religion, using the language of myth, initiation, and Pythagorean teaching.  His deepest truths are often to be found in the drama as much as the words of his dialogues.  Our approach to these truths is through the mystic conceptions of the late Platonists – Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, Proclus, Damascius and many others – because their writings, in part, are a response to the passing of the age-long tradition which rested upon an individual’s exploration of truth, rather than an imposed creed.  When these writings inform a philosopher’s own studies and meditations there arises, like the sun rising from the ocean, a most beautiful light which quickens the soul to the highest life.

Activities

We run a number of courses and open sessions to encourage engagement with this philosophy and for those who can’t make it, we have suggestions and resources for individual study. Please take a more in-depth look at our different activities and courses by clicking the links below, or explore upcoming events in our calendar to the right or via our Events page. If you have any further questions, please contact us using the email contacts in the footer.

Approaching Platonic philosophy

Our Slack forum online community

Residential weekend modules in UK

Online courses and events via zoom

Essentials of the philosophy of Plato and his tradition course

Residential weeks in Italy

For more information on all these upcoming events and courses, plus open monthly sessions in London, as well as public lectures and workshops, please take a look at our Events page