Until recently, the period of Late Antiquity had been largely regarded as a sterile age of irrationality and of decline in science. This pioneering work, supported by first-hand study of primary sources, argues that this opinion is profoundly mistaken. It focuses in particular on Proclus, the head of the Platonic School at Athens in the 5th c. AD, and the chief spokesman for the ideas of the dominant school of thought of that time, Neoplatonism. Part I, divided into two Sections, is an introductory guide to Proclus' philosophical and cosmological system, its general principles and its graded ordering of the states of existence. Part II concentrates on his physical theories on the Elements and the celestial bodies, in Sections A and B respectively, with chapters (or sub-sections) on topics including the structure, properties and motion of the Elements; light; space and matter; the composition and motion of the celestial bodies; and the order of planets. The picture that emerges from the study is that much of the Aristotelian physics, so prevalent in Classical Antiquity, was rejected. The concepts which were developed instead included the geometrization of matter, the four-Element composition of the universe, that of self-generated, free motion in space for the heavenly bodies, and that of immanent force or power. Furthermore, the desire to provide for a systematic unity in explanation, in science and philosophy, capable of comprehending the diversity of entities and phenomena, yielded the Neoplatonic notion that things are essentially modes or states of existence, which can be arranged in terms of a causal gradation and described accordingly. Proclus, above anyone else, applied it as a scientific method systematically. Consequently, that Proclus' physical thought is embedded in his Neoplatonic philosophy is not viewed as something regrettable, but as proof of his consistent adherence to the belief, that there must be unity in explanation, just as there is one in the universe, since only the existence of such unity renders the cosmos rational and makes certainty in science attainable.

The primary aim of this thesis is the reconstruction of a development in the history of the philosophy of language, namely an understanding of hieroglyphic Egyptian as a language uniquely adapted to the purposes and concerns of late Platonist metaphysics. There are three main reasons for this particular focus. First, the primary interest of philological criticism has emphasized the apparent shortcomings of the classical hieroglyphic tradition in light of the success of the modern decipherment endeavour. Though the Greek authors recognize a number of philologically distinctive features, they are primarily interested in contrasting hieroglyphic and Greek semantics. The latter is capable of discursive elaboration of the sapiential content to which the former is non-discursively adapted. Second, the sole surviving, fully extant essay in the exegesis of Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Hieroglyphica of Horapollo can be situated within the broader philosophical project in which the Neoplatonic commentators were engaged. As such, it draws on elements of the distinct traditions of Greek reception of Egyptian wisdom, 4th/5th century pagan revivalism under Christian persecution, and late Platonist logico-metaphysical methodological principles. Third, the rationale for Neoplatonic use of allegorical interpretation as an exegetical tool is founded on the methodological principle of ‘analytic ascent’ from the phenomena depicted, through the concepts under which they fall, to their intelligible causes. These three stages in the ascent correspond to the three modes of expression of which, according to Greek exegetes, hieroglyphic Egyptian, as composites of material images and intelligible content, is capable. Horapollo’s Hieroglyphica, I argue, maintains a tripartite distinction between linguistic expressions, their meanings, and the objects or name-bearers which they depict and further aligns that distinction with three modes of hieroglyphic expression: representative, semantic, and symbolic. I conclude, therefore, that a procedure of analytic explanatory ascent from empirical observation through discursive reason to metaphysical or cosmological insights is employed in the exegesis of the sapiential content of the hieroglyphs of which it treats.

This thesis examines the major thoughts on anthropology and selfhood from Plotinus in the third century and the Cappadocians in the fourth, situating the anthropology of the Cappadocians in the much broader context of their culture and their major works. It argues that: i) The inherent unity of all things, intelligible and material, provides the basis for radically intuitive categories such as synchronity, telepathy, and even love. ii) The ontological essence of expressed particularity in the divine or the human is an ekstatic relationship, i.e., it involves the transcending of the boundaries of self, a self identified as hypostasis or person. iii)Truth consists in apprehending that true being alone possesses existence in its own nature, participated in by all without being lessened and knowable only as and in relationship. Human being is participation in existence by an experience of communion. iv) The most essential activity of historical self is to use one's inherent capacity to form one's own identity in relation to the other -- both external and within -- as incarnational and dialogic beings. The findings of this thesis are that the relational notion of authentic human being grounded in open-ended divinity provides both a useful framework and the distinctive characteristics of human beingness for rethinking what it means to be a human being in the twenty-first century.

This thesis examines the major thoughts on anthropology and selfhood from Plotinus in the third century and the Cappadocians in the fourth, situating the anthropology of the Cappadocians in the much broader context of their culture and their major works. It argues that: i) The inherent unity of all things, intelligible and material, provides the basis for radically intuitive categories such as synchronity, telepathy, and even love. ii) The ontological essence of expressed particularity in the divine or the human is an ekstatic relationship, i.e., it involves the transcending of the boundaries of self, a self identified as hypostasis or person. iii)Truth consists in apprehending that true being alone possesses existence in its own nature, participated in by all without being lessened and knowable only as and in relationship. Human being is participation in existence by an experience of communion. iv) The most essential activity of historical self is to use one's inherent capacity to form one's own identity in relation to the other -- both external and within -- as incarnational and dialogic beings. The findings of this thesis are that the relational notion of authentic human being grounded in open-ended divinity provides both a useful framework and the distinctive characteristics of human beingness for rethinking what it means to be a human being in the twenty-first century.

The following document is a meta-commentary on the article "Decanting the Rabelaisian Casks: Democratizing Neoplatonic Poetic Fury in Baudelaire's 'L’âme du vin'," co-authored by Dr. Robert J. Hudson and myself, which will soon be submitted for publication. It contains an annotated bibliography of all our primary and secondary sources and an account of the genesis of the argument and the writing of the article. Our article is based upon an analysis of "‘L’âme du vin," the threshold poem of "Le Vin," the central section of Charles Baudelaire's celebrated volume Les Fleurs du Mal. As we demonstrate, previous scholarship on this section is sparse and while certain poems within in have received attention from distinguished scholars, the integral part that it plays in the larger work has been downplayed, if not entirely neglected. Our reading of the poem allows for an explanation of the structure of the entire collection, illuminates Baudelaire's intended internal architecture, and elucidates his theory of poetic creation and aesthetic ideals more generally. As we demonstrate, the transition from the Parisian commoner in "Tableaux parisiens" to the transcendent poet in "Fleurs du mal" requires the transformation provided by the intoxication in "Le Vin" which lends itself to divine fury and attainment of transcendence in and ascension to the sonnets of the "Fleurs du mal." Our development of this conclusion comes through a study of Baudelaire's employment of Neoplatonic theories and images and adoption of Rabelais' Gallic codification of these Neoplatonic tropes. "‘L’âme du vin" illustrates the essence of Baudelaire's progressive populist thought previous to the Revolution of 1848, by rendering permanent the inversion of social order found in the Rabelaisian/Bakhtinian carnavalesque. The Neoplatonic ladder to transcendence, based on Plato's four stages of divine fury, and systemized by Renaissance thinkers Marsilio Ficino and Pontus de Tyard, is tipped, or thrown, on its side in Baudelaire's work, demonstrating not only the overthrow of the hierarchy of the Old Regime, but the solidification of the humanization of the common, working man, the premier venu or homme de la rue, and the ability of the least of society, rather than the members of the nobility or leisured class of centuries past, to access divine fury and poetic transcendence by imbibing, integrating, and appreciating the soul of wine.

This thesis examines the life and thought of the influential Melbourne organist, teacher and music critic, Arthur Ernest Howard Nickson (1876-1964). Born in Melbourne, Nickson studied in England on the Clarke Scholarship at the Royal College of Music (1895-1899). During his studies in England, Nickson experienced the Catholic revival in the Church of England at its height. On his return to Australia in 1901 Nickson’s activities as a church musician, and later, as a teacher provided the platform for him to articulate views that were formed as a result of these influences. Beginning in 1904, Nickson’s 56-year career as a lecturer at the University Of Melbourne Conservatorium Of Music is important, as every student had to pass through his lectures at some point in their course. As music critic at the Age from 1927, Nickson played a decisive role in shaping public taste at the time of the establishment of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under Bernard Heinze, who was also Ormond Professor of Music at the University of Melbourne (1926-57). Nickson’s essays form a distinct group of writings that are probably unique in Australia. The main published essays cover a forty-year period beginning in 1905, and show the development of Nickson’s thinking about the moral basis and spiritual nature of music, his views on the nature of the Church, and his worldview, based on Neoplatonic philosophy, which shaped his thinking about the process of creation. While Nickson’s view of the created order was shaped by Neoplatonic influences, his view of the redemptive function of art was expressed in terms of sacramental theology, and was related very closely to his Anglo-Catholicism. In his essays and lectures Nickson frequently worked with an abstracted concept of ‘Art’, rather than specific art objects. While reference was made to art objects, it is not clear how Nickson defined the term ‘artist’. Nickson’s attention in his discussions of ‘Art’ tended to focus on the artist, rather than the object. This was a result of his world view, which saw art objects as an emanation from the personality of the artist; this necessitated the cultivation of a disposition of mind, which was enabled by the acquisition of mystical intuition. While his description of the fine arts as consisting of architecture, sculpture, painting, poetry and music was in line with older views of art, his views on the artist are difficult to discern, which raises the question of whether Nickson saw himself as an artist. Clearly his vocation was not as a composer, as the discussion of his mass settings in Chapter 3 will demonstrate, while as an organ teacher he was more interested in interpretation than in the mechanics of playing the instrument. This thesis falls into two broad sections. The first three chapters seek to provide an adequate biography of Nickson, which has never previously been done. The fourth chapter examines Nickson’s worldview and the implications this had for his thinking about music, and falls into two parts. The first part follows Nickson’s worldview as it was expressed in his essays, and focuses attention on the concept of art as a process of sign making. The manner in which this sign making is understood is essential to its function, and in Nickson’s writings three understandings emerge: symbol, metaphor and sacrament. The second part of the discussion examines Nickson’s articulation of his worldview in relation to music, which he considered to be the most divine of the arts, drawing on lecture notes, student reminiscences and Nickson’s own. Nickson’s central claim was that art is a sacrament. This can be seen in relation to his faith, where the regular use of the Church’s sacraments was central. This claim is challenged by statements Nickson made about the faith of composers such as Beethoven and Bach. This raises questions about sacramental efficacy when applied to art, and some limitations implicit in viewing art as a sacrament. It will be argued that Nickson conceived of artistic creation as fundamentally a process of sign making. The sign may be regarded as a symbol, metaphor or sacrament, and the process of creating the sign reflects God’s own creative activity in human creative acts. Nickson conceived of human creative action as having a redemptive character, bringing the artist into closer unity with the godhead. This union was the ultimate aim of art, being the act of redemption that paralleled the union brought about by such sacraments as the Eucharist. This term also points to some tensions in Nickson’s worldview, where he expressed a view of the creation of the material world as being both a dynamic, continuing activity of emanation from God, and a single action of the will of God, such as the creation account of Genesis.

Considering that during the Baroque there was arguably nothing more enigmatic than the emblematic tradition, this thesis discusses how emblems played a role in the configuration of subjectivities in New Spain and, more precisely, in their production of symbolic imagery. Through the analysis of the poetic, political, and philosophical functions of the 1680 Neptuno alegórico (Allegorical Neptune), this this study discusses the concepts of "emblem,"ekphrasis"," "syncretism," and "neoplatonic tradition" in one of the most rethorical and multifaceted texts of the humanist writer and Hieronymite nun sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695). / Graduate / mplundin@gmail.com