Reflections on Christian Neoplatonism and Future Collaboration

What if the deepest truth of reality lies not in substances or isolated things, but in the pure relationality that connects everything?

John Vervaeke is joined by renowned scholar Douglas Hedley to explore James Filler's groundbreaking work "Heidegger, Neoplatonism, and the History of Being." John and Douglas examine the profound implications of viewing ultimate reality as fundamentally relational rather than substantial, uncovering significant convergences between Heidegger's later thought and the ancient Neoplatonic tradition. The dialogue goes into how Neoplatonic metaphysics offers potent solutions to the philosophical dilemmas posed by modernity and postmodernity, and why the notion of strong transcendence is essential yet challenging in contemporary thought. Douglas enriches the discourse with reflections on imagination, symbolism, and theological significance within the Neoplatonic heritage.

Douglas Hedley is Professor of the Philosophy of Religion at Cambridge University. He was educated at Keble College, Oxford and at the University of Munich, and has previously taught at Nottingham University. He is the Director of the Cambridge Centre for the Study of Platonism and co-chair of the Platonism and Neoplatonism section of the American Academy of Religion. Dr Hedley’s work centers on concepts of imagination, violence, and the sublime, and he has published widely, from early modern philosophy—particularly the Cambridge Platonists—to Coleridge. He is the Principal Investigator for the AHRC grant on The Cambridge Platonists at the Origins of Enlightenment: Texts, Debates, and Reception (1650-1730), and is co-editor of the Series Studies in Philosophical Theology.

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Notes: 

• (0:00) Introduction to the Lectern

• (01:30) Douglas Headley's Background and Interests

• (03:30) Overview of James Filler's Argument

• (05:30) Critique of Substance Ontology

• (9:00) Neoplatonism and the Trinity

• (9:30) Lectern Dialogues: Philosophical Connections: Relational Ontology and the Modern Crisis

• (10:30) Heidegger's Misreading of Plato

• (16:30) Heidegger's Theological Influences

• (26:00) Modernity, Postmodernity, and Transcendence

• (34:30) Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Neoplatonism

• (36:15) Pushback on the Trinity Concept

• (40:00) Greek and Russian Orthodox Traditions

• (43:00) Western Theology and Neoplatonism

• (49:30) Dialogical Model of the Self

• (55:00) Christian Neoplatonism and Love

• (59:30) Embodiment and Transcendence

• (01:04:30) Final Thoughts and Parting Words

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Ideas, People, and Works Mentioned in this Episode

Substance Ontology vs. Relational Ontology

Heidegger’s Relationship to Neoplatonism

James Filler's Philosophical Contribution

The Trinity as Relational Symbolism

Mysticism and Theology

Embodiment and the Contemporary Crisis of Meaning

James Filler

Plotinus

Iamblichus

St. Augustine

Marius Victorinus

Jonathan Pageau

"The Iconic Imagination" by Douglas Hedley

"Participation in the Divine"

"Process and Reality" by Alfred North Whitehead

"Symposium" by Plato