Source : Hermagnos : hermétistes, manichéens, gnostiques et textes apocryphes à la fin de l'Antiquité.
À l’occasion de la
prochaine rencontre de l’ISNS auprès de l’Université de Cardiff (12-15 juin
2013), il y aura une section consacrée à la polémique païenne d’inspiration
platonicienne contre les chrétiens, dont Angela Longo (Università dell’Aquila,
Italie) est la coordinatrice.
Toute personne
intéressée à proposer une contribution sur ce sujet est priée de bien vouloir
lui envoyer un résumé d’ici le 25 février prochain : angela.longo@univaq.it
CALL FOR PANELS: THE ELEVENTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL
SOCIETY FOR NEOPLATONIC STUDIES CONFERENCE, JUNE 12 – 15, 2013, CARDIFF
UNIVERSITY, UK
A. Longo (angela.longo@univaq.it), “Pagan-Platonic
Anti-Christian Polemic”
In Ennead II 9 [33], which Porphyry entitled “Against
the Gnostics” or “Against those who say that the Demiurge of the world is evil
and that the world is evil,” Plotinus mentions various polemical themes against
his opponents, who appear to be Christian and Gnostic, although he never calls
them such.
Plotinus presents four main areas of criticism against
his polemical target, not so much to attack them as to defend their influence
on his students:
1) their theology and physics;
2) their ethics;
3) their attitude towards society;
4) their attitude towards culture, science, and
philosophy (especially with regard to the doctrine of Plato).
In light of these, the principal theme of the panel
would be to consider the precedents and effects of these Plotinian themes in
Platonically-inspired authors before and after Plotinus.
Moreover, attention can usefully be paid also to the
forms and styles of this controversy, as well as to its purpose. These sorts of
argument can be multiplied and used to convince Christians to desist from their
positions so that they will be reabsorbed into the customary beliefs of the
Roman Empire, or without aspiring to dislodge them from their positions–at
least to try to defend other pagans so they do not fall into the Christian
“trap” or so that they will simply survive as pagans in a world subject to
profound cultural, political, and religious change.
All abstracts, whether individual or for inclusion in
panels, are due by 25 February, 2013. Papers may be presented in English,
French, German, Spanish, or Italian. It is recommended that those delivering
papers in languages other than English provide printed copies to their audience
at the conference.
Please note that anyone giving a paper at the
conference must be a member of the ISNS. You may sign up and pay dues on the
web site of the Philosophy Documentation Center:
http://secure.pdcnet.org/isns/International-Society-for-Neoplatonic-Studies-(ISNS)
Dues are $60.00 per year ($20.00 for students and
retirees).