BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:16@prometheustrust.co.uk DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20240820T194500 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20240820T211500 DTSTAMP:20240816T162513Z URL:https://prometheustrust.co.uk/events/god-and-ideas/ SUMMARY:Gods and Ideas – where’s the difference? DESCRIPTION:The standard modern view of Plato is that his philosophy is cen tred on Forms (or Ideas) – and from one point of view\, that is unarguab ly true. In the Republic (476a) Socrates makes the distinction between gen uine philosophers and “lovers of sights and sounds” – the former pur suing the real being of Ideas\, such as Beauty\, while the latter do not r ecognize Ideas as having their own independent reality – considering bea uty\, in our example\, as merely a quality appearing in material things. I deas\, then\, as the primary entities of the intelligible world constantly draw the eye of the Platonist to themselves\, and this separates Platonis m from the scientific naturalism of the modern. Lloyd Gerson puts it stark ly\; “. . .insofar as we recognize Platonism as committed to an articula tion of the intelligible world and to its causal role in explaining all re ality\, Platonism itself can hardly be expected to survive the banishment of the subject matter of philosophy as he conceives of it.”\n\nBut perha ps this is not the full story. Transcending even the beauties and creative power of ideas lie\, at least according to the Platonists of antiquity\, Gods – Gods who “ride on beings” and who are themselves the half-hid den producers of the Ideas we call real beings. Again\, going back to the standard view of Plato\, we can make no distinction between ideas and Gods – they are one and the same thing\, and very often one reads modern com mentators on Plato making an explicit identification of the two. This is\, I think\, understandable because the nature of the Gods in the Platonic t radition is largely revealed by their offspring – ideas – while they i n themselves are unrevealed. As Proclus says (Elements\, proposition 115)\ , “Every God is superessential\, supervital\, and superintellectual” – and since the superessential is not being\, we cannot properly call th at which is being (i.e an idea) a God.\n\nThis session is an opportunity t o give time and attention to this somewhat neglected but important doctrin e of the ancient Platonists. I hope that we can not only explore how ideas and Gods can be more clearly understood in themselves\, and in relation t o each other\, but also how their difference works out in the subsequent m etaphysics of the tradition. There are difficulties that will need some co llective thought and discussion – not the least is the question of diffe rence itself which in the Sophist (at 252b) is identified as a real being\ , and which has its place especially in the order of intellect. If the dif ferent and the same are two of the Sophist’s five great genera of being\ , how can difference be active in an order of things which transcend being ?\n\nWe will be drawing on this paper ideas and gods texts to inspire our discussions\n\nThese open sessions usually run twice on the same day to ac commodate different time zones (see below for details about how to registe r). They take particular topics or passages from Plato and other writers i n the tradition - these are open to anyone interested\, and they attract a wide range of participants. We usually begin with a short 5 or 10 minute introduction to the subject in hand and (when appropriate) a reading of a short text: this leaves a good hour or so to discuss the ideas which arise .\n\nThere are no fees payable. The Trust sees the Platonic tradition as a spiritual one: not only a guide for the outer life\, but especially to be treasured for its assistance in the cultivation of the inner self - the s oul - for\, says Plato in the Timeaus\, “we are not terrestrial plants\ , but blossoms of heaven.” We understand the tradition to be profound a nd cohesive\, and one that repays the long-term effort required to truly e mbed oneself in it. Our approach is not exclusive - we value other tradit ions for their insights - nor is it dogmatic or an attempt to proselytise: however we are serious in our attempts to fathom the depths of the tradit ion\, to identify its foundations\, and where its teachings seem to run co unter to accepted thinking to investigate them thoroughly rather than reje cting them prematurely. Thus our point of focus is on the teachings of the tradition and most especially our own inner response to them.\n\nBy joini ng our studies you are making no commitment beyond that of co-operating wi th us in our exploration of those truths which have inspired a company of men and women most luminous in their understanding\, and unsparingly gener ous in their teaching.\n\nYou must register separately for the two session s- links below:\n\nTo register for the Americas time zone session (7.30pm EDT)\, please click here.\n\nTo register for the UK time zone (7.45pm BST) please click here. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://prometheustrust.co.uk/wp-content/uploads /2024/04/PT_Symposium_TestaAlcibiades_640px.jpg CATEGORIES:Open session LOCATION:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAtd-uvpzorE9XTl04sH3rEm rc58fcRldTT END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20240331T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR