Platonic Asceticism in Philo of Alexandria’s Contemplative Practice

Bibliographic Data

ID22830302
AuthorsScott D Mackie (0000-0002-9686-8466, Chapman University https://dx.doi.org/6226 Venice, CA United States, corresponding author)
Year2024
Pages1-26
Publication date2024-12-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal for the Study of Judaism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2212 • E-ISSN: 1570-0631
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/15700631-0000010096
OpenAlexW4405761260
LanguageEN
References cited22

Though Philo of Alexandria’s ascetic beliefs and practices often have been noted, a focused assessment of the Platonic influences on his contemplative asceticism has yet to be offered. While addressing that shortcoming, this essay identifies a number of key Platonic themes. Like Plato’s Socrates, Philo is capable of expressing a range of opinions concerning embodied existence and the roles of body and soul in noetic contemplation. Though generally pursuing a path of moderation, the rigorous demands of noetic contemplation necessarily call for extreme and austere praxes, as well as vigorous effort. Philo’s belief that the suppression of the bodily senses affords the expression of the spiritual senses also is Platonic in origin, as is his oft-stated conviction that the contemplative’s diminished desire for bodily pleasure is a natural consequence of a more powerful, innate attraction to the Forms and the noetic realm. A final and perhaps most important Socratic influence is detected in the esoteric meditative techniques Philo uses to effect the out-of-body experiences that afford mystical contemplation.

Aesthetics · Asceticism · Contemplation · Epistemology · Mysticism · Pleasure · Psychotherapist · Realm · SOCRATES · Soul · Theology · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy · Psychology

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