Katelis Viglas

Publications

• Plotinus' Mystical Empiricism in Relation to the One

  Katelis Viglas

  Philosophy Pathways electronic journal. 04/2012;

  On close reading of the Enneads, the work written by Plotinus, we can see that the One, the ultimate factor in his system of hypostases, can be examined on the base of many concepts that are interwoven, creating many paths for approaching the divine level. Of course, since all the hypostases, Matter... [more] On close reading of the Enneads, the work written by Plotinus, we can see that the One, the ultimate factor in his system of hypostases, can be examined on the base of many concepts that are interwoven, creating many paths for approaching the divine level. Of course, since all the hypostases, Matter – Nature – Soul - Intelligence, are dependent on the infinite power of the One, theoretically and practically everything can be related to the One or the God or the Good. But there are some modes of existence most related to the One, thus illuminating the Plotinian mystical empiricism. The One, on the one hand, is related to empiricism as It presupposes the immediate approach of It, being immanent and transcendent at the same time, and on the other hand, It is related to mysticism as It cannot be perfectly conceived and experienced otherwise than through the mystical union.

• Deux approches interprétatives de l'oeuvre de Plotin par Émile Bréhier

  Katelis Viglas

  PHILOSOPHICAL PUBLICATIONS. 01/2012;

  L'interprétation de l’oeuvre de Plotin par Émile Bréhier est caractérisé par deux axes fondamentaux: en premier, par l’effort de prouver l’influence de la philosophie Indienne sur cette oeuvre, et seconde, par l'adoption de la position hégélienne de l’interprétation, basée sur un intellectua... [more] L'interprétation de l’oeuvre de Plotin par Émile Bréhier est caractérisé par deux axes fondamentaux: en premier, par l’effort de prouver l’influence de la philosophie Indienne sur cette oeuvre, et seconde, par l'adoption de la position hégélienne de l’interprétation, basée sur un intellectualisme absolu. Ces deux axes convergent dans la mesure où, d’un part, la forme de l’intellectualisme hégélien de Bréhier ne se poussé à bout, car l'union de soi avec l’Un présuppose le transcendence de l'être et de l’intelligence; d'autre part, dans la mesure où l'extase mystique selon Plotin est basée sur la préparation à travers les catégories logiques, qui n'implique pas nécessairement la dissolution de soi à l'infinie du divin au-delà, comme c'est le cas de la philosophie orientale.

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• METAPHYSICS OF SYMBOLISM

  Katelis Viglas

  PHILOSOPHEIN. 01/2012; 5:9-25.

  The metaphysics of symbolism is the creation of theories for the expression, reflection and ascent to the intelligible reality of being, by revealing the meaningful structure and the free will that are involved in its comprehension and the empirical relation developed with it. We claim that most of ... [more] The metaphysics of symbolism is the creation of theories for the expression, reflection and ascent to the intelligible reality of being, by revealing the meaningful structure and the free will that are involved in its comprehension and the empirical relation developed with it. We claim that most of the theories of the metaphysics of symbolism stand on three metaphysical principles: a) the necessity of human ascent, b) the division between the sensible and the intelligible, and c) the transcendence of reason in the symbolic formatting, through an irrational or superrational meaning. In the twentieth century, those three principles of the metaphysics of symbolism were narrow connected with mysticism and existentialism, religious unification and the theory of subconscious, idealism and esotericism, eschatology and apophaticism. But a coherent and complete theory of interpretation could not be established due to the lack of substantial identity and stability. Symbolism can serve to metaphysics as giving to it as much a closer to sensible world way of approaching the truth, without diminishing at the same time the pure and abstract content of the ideas and notions, but supplementing them.

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• ‘Otredad interior en la obra de Plotino’

  Katelis Viglas

  Eidos Philosophy Journal of the Universidad del Norte. 01/2012;

  Con el descubrimiento de la interioridad, la otredad de la materia está auto-proyectada, causando constantes intentos de su propia negación. El primer intento importante que se tiene que considerar, a favor de la otredad, es la vuelta hacia la hipóstasis del alma donde la otredad se discierne de la ... [more] Con el descubrimiento de la interioridad, la otredad de la materia está auto-proyectada, causando constantes intentos de su propia negación. El primer intento importante que se tiene que considerar, a favor de la otredad, es la vuelta hacia la hipóstasis del alma donde la otredad se discierne de la identidad unificadora. Durante la auto-reflexión en el mundo intelligibile, las múltiples separaciones de otras formas se mezclan con la unidad, con la tendencia de borrar cualquier diferencia. Sin embargo, cualquier tipo de otredad se borrará por completo sólo por el encuentro de la otredad que produce el Uno hacia todos los seres.

• Alexandre Joseph Hidulphe Vincent on George Gemistos Plethon

  Katelis Viglas

  The Anistoriton Journal. History, Archaeology, Art History. 01/2012;

  George Gemistos Plethon’s work in all its dimensions has attracted many scholars across the ages. One of those scholars was Alexandre Joseph Hidulphe Vincent, a French mathematician and erudite, who in the first and the only critical edition of Plethon’s Book of Laws by C. Alexandre in the nineteent... [more] George Gemistos Plethon’s work in all its dimensions has attracted many scholars across the ages. One of those scholars was Alexandre Joseph Hidulphe Vincent, a French mathematician and erudite, who in the first and the only critical edition of Plethon’s Book of Laws by C. Alexandre in the nineteenth century, added three notes on his calendar, metrics and music, as he could reconstruct them from the ancient text. Vincent’s calculations were dictated by the main scientific thought of his time, which was Positivism, and through this he thus contributed to the elucidation of some practical aspects of Plethon’s metaphysics. The results of meticulous calculations of the Plethonian calendar, metrics and musical modes show that the scientific spirit, which started appearing in the last days of Byzantium and during the Renaissance, was not only a revival of Antiquity, but an innovative attempt at explaining and being in accordance with the social demands and the physical reality of the time, both being understood as an extension of the metaphysical order. Vincent’s positivistic approach allows considering the impact of Plethon’s system in a postmodern perspective.

• Early Christian Symbolism in Phthiotic Thebes in Thessaly

  Katelis Viglas

  Othrys. Society for Antiquities of Almyros. 12/2011; 15:99-124.

• Early Christian Symbolism in Phthiotic Thebes in Thessaly

  Katelis Viglas

  THEOLOGIA. Quarterly publication of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece. 03/2011; 82(1):19-46.

  After the historical and philosophical definition of the concept of symbol, follows a presentation of the representative Patristic theories for symbols and symbolism. Next the most significant early Christian symbols found in Phthiotidai Thebai in Thessaly are interpreted. For their interpretation t... [more] After the historical and philosophical definition of the concept of symbol, follows a presentation of the representative Patristic theories for symbols and symbolism. Next the most significant early Christian symbols found in Phthiotidai Thebai in Thessaly are interpreted. For their interpretation their signification from the Bible and the Patristic Texts was taken into consideration, as those were the closest sources to the era when these symbols were used. Symbols’ interpretation was based neither on their typological presentation, nor in terms of Art History, but the interest was focused on their theological and spiritual dimension, as it was formed and prevailed in the historical period of their appearance. Nevertheless, the fact that these symbols are not limited to what they represent, their created (ktiston) aspect, presupposes a form of anagoge not only to the intelligible, but also beyond it, to the unifying principle which gives the possibility for their verification.

• George Gemistos Plethon. His life and work

  Katelis Viglas

  HISTORICA THEMATA. 01/2011;

  George Gemistos Plethon was a Byzantine Philosopher, who lived during the 14th and 15th centuries before the fall of the Byzantine Empire. He took part in the Council of Florence and the Council of Ferrara (1438-1439), where he gave a course of lectures on Platonic Philosophy, which was the cause fo... [more] George Gemistos Plethon was a Byzantine Philosopher, who lived during the 14th and 15th centuries before the fall of the Byzantine Empire. He took part in the Council of Florence and the Council of Ferrara (1438-1439), where he gave a course of lectures on Platonic Philosophy, which was the cause for the founding of Academia Platonica by Cozimo de Medici (1459). His philosophy is characterized by a social and political ideal, derived from a metaphysical determinism, according to which the freedom of soul is possible through its rational part. His Neoplatonic Philosophy had a very large influence not only on Byzantium but also on the whole culture of Renaissance.

• The Vertical Dynamics of the Ideas of Particulars and the Theory of Truth according to Plotinus

  Katelis Viglas

  SIGNUM. National Technical University of Athens. School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Science. Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law. 01/2011;

  The philosopher Plotinus, developing his Platonism and unifying it with the Stoic view (that every particular being is different essentially from every other), sustained that every particular object or individual presupposes the existence of an Idea or Form. This theory takes into consideration the ... [more] The philosopher Plotinus, developing his Platonism and unifying it with the Stoic view (that every particular being is different essentially from every other), sustained that every particular object or individual presupposes the existence of an Idea or Form. This theory takes into consideration the dynamic characteristics of reality not restricted itself to any unequivocal relation between ideas and beings or to a stable structuralism of ideas, but projects the dynamics of representation of beings to a vertical climax of catholicity, unity and abstraction, including every sensible being on the base of the psychic sympathy of the All. The particularity of objects and individuals consists a reality not of itself, but is dependent on the emanation of the hypostasis of the Soul and the constant ascend to it, before entering the level of Intelligence, the threshold to the apotheotic perfection of Good or One. The doctrine on the lack of limits in the relations between the hypostases Soul – Intelligence – One, allows the representation of the particular beings, not only to a closed and circular frame of reference inside the rational structure of ascend and emanation, but opens for them the possibility of the infinite transcendence beyond Being. The intelligible and psychic movement of beings is placed on this climax, based mainly on two axes: a) the ontological upgrade which the upward course from the species to genus achieves, in contrast to the degradation in essence which the descent from the more catholicized and unified to the more particular and dispersed, presupposes; b) the activation of an alive self-intellection on the level of Intelligence, which leads not only to the acceptance of the correspondence of being’s diversity to the progressive increase of the unity of hypostases, but also to the establishment of an interpretative model of the real, as a means of access to the “place of truth” par excellence, that is the intelligible world; the criterion of validity for that truth is based on the fact that the ideas and the intelligible beings are internal to the hypostasis of Intelligence, reaching the point to become alive minds and allow the empirical knowledge of them. Therefore the idealistic realism meets a kind of empiricism without the latter negating the former, but are combined for the sake of their final transcendence.

• Utopian "States" of the First Christian Centuries

  Katelis Viglas

  HISTORICA THEMATA. 01/2011;

  In the period from the 1st century to the 3rd century A.D., the utopian and dystopian ideal of cosmopolis appeared in Greek Literature. Marcus Aurelius, Longinus, Plotinus and St. Paul were its most important exponents, whose the cosmopolitanism derived from the Roman Zeitgeist. In reality, it was a... [more] In the period from the 1st century to the 3rd century A.D., the utopian and dystopian ideal of cosmopolis appeared in Greek Literature. Marcus Aurelius, Longinus, Plotinus and St. Paul were its most important exponents, whose the cosmopolitanism derived from the Roman Zeitgeist. In reality, it was a philosophical and religious elaboration of the terrestrial cities’ characteristics, and mainly of the city of Rome. The bearers and creators of the ideal of cosmopolis were those who believed and considered that the essence of such a utopia leads to the perfection of humanity.

• Four Cosmopolitical Utopias: Marcus Aurelius, Longinus, Plotinus, Ap. Paul

  Katelis Viglas

  Utopia and Utopianism (UTP), The Journal of Utopian Studies. 01/2011;

• The letter M. in Karagatsis' pen name as a symbol of poeticalness and alterity

  Katelis Viglas

  Diapolitismos. Electronic Journal for Literature. 11/2010;

  Although very often the mystery and the oracularity connected with the choice of letter M. in Karagatsis’ pen name were mentioned, every attempt to interpret and decipher its hiding meaning only led to speculation. An explicit statement about authors’ real intentions, a confession which would solve ... [more] Although very often the mystery and the oracularity connected with the choice of letter M. in Karagatsis’ pen name were mentioned, every attempt to interpret and decipher its hiding meaning only led to speculation. An explicit statement about authors’ real intentions, a confession which would solve the issue was missing. So, the mystery of the letter M. will never disappear, because Karagatsis did not publicly say what its meaning was. Often an author does not only hide the intentions of his choices, but he disguises them, or he masks them. It is the interpreter of the literary work who will uncover the latent meanings of thought and language, even of this seemingly facetious and enigmatic choice of the initial letter M. before the pen name “Karagatsis”. In order to approach interpretatively the letter M., we will try to integrate the unconscious forces concealed by the letter M., in the world of Magic and Mystery, mainly in relation to a “primordial semantic Matrix”; the aim is not to emphasize them, but to connect them and to place them in the climax of beings, as a kind of “imaginative matter”. Based on this position, the use of imagination by Karagatsis’ fictional work it is considered as a social and individual replenishment, which, although it is lost in a series of false reflections, without meaning and purpose, it is inspired both by a love tension and a yearning for regeneration and production, in order to encounter the lack of presence and the eclipse of authenticity in every effort of speech articulation which does not reveal its intentions.

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• Comparaison de concepts fondamentaux pour le monde de Plotin avec l’esprit magique – religieux

  Katelis Viglas

  Ethnologhia On Line. Peer-reviewed e-journal of the Greek Society for Ethnology. 01/2010; 1:1-18.

  Il va être soutenu ici qu'il existe au moins trois concepts clés pour le monde de Plotin, liés avec la pensée magico religieuse, explorée par l'anthropologie des peuples sans écriture et / ou de religion dans les sociétés archaïques. Le premier d'entre eux, c’est le panpsychisme philosop... [more] Il va être soutenu ici qu'il existe au moins trois concepts clés pour le monde de Plotin, liés avec la pensée magico religieuse, explorée par l'anthropologie des peuples sans écriture et / ou de religion dans les sociétés archaïques. Le premier d'entre eux, c’est le panpsychisme philosophique par rapport à l'animisme des peuples sans écriture. La théorie néoplatonicienne d’une structure psychique du monde et d’univers qui se divise en âmes individuelles, correspond, pas rationnellement, mais mentalement à la structure qui se trouve derrière l’animisme magico- religieux. Une autre position pour démontrer c’est la vision dualiste du monde entre sensible et intelligible, propre au platonisme, qui ne se contente pas de maintenir ce caractère dualiste, et qui tend constamment à consolider de façon réductrice le premier niveau à la seconde. D'une manière similaire il faut soutenir qu’à travers la « théophanie », l’esprit magico religieux établit une dialectique avec le divin dans ses manifestations variées. De cette façon, l'univers sensible ne se dégrade pas, mais récupère sa véritable dimension. Même la théorie dualiste et la structure triadique des relations et des proportions du néoplatonisme peuvent être comparée à la magie homéopathique. Les deux dernières ont la tendance à être établis sur un monde ahistorique : les réflexions entre les hypostases rappellent de la classification sociale de l'univers naturel des peuples sans écriture. «Sauver les apparences » alors, c'est-à-dire la position sur le niveau caché du sens derrière les réalités naturelles et sociales, peu être vu comme un mode commun à fonctionner pour la pensée magique religieuse et la pensée Néoplatonicienne

• Translation of G. Kapriev’s article, “The Modern Study of Byzantine Philosophy”

  Katelis Viglas

  Synaxis. Orthodox Theological Quarterly. 01/2010; 115:50-60.

• Zarys historyczny filozofii bizantyńskieji jej podstawowe zagadnienia

  Katelis Viglas

  PEITHO / EXAMINA ANTIQUA. 01/2010; 1:119-142.

  W niniejszym artykule przedstawimy panoramę filozofii bizantyjskiej. Za punkt wyjścia przyjąć należy myśl patrystyczną, która poprzedziła filozofię bizantyjską i w pierwszych wiekach naszej ery zakorzeniła się w świecie grecko-rzymskim. Myśl ta opierała się na Starym i Nowym Testamencie, nauczaniu a... [more] W niniejszym artykule przedstawimy panoramę filozofii bizantyjskiej. Za punkt wyjścia przyjąć należy myśl patrystyczną, która poprzedziła filozofię bizantyjską i w pierwszych wiekach naszej ery zakorzeniła się w świecie grecko-rzymskim. Myśl ta opierała się na Starym i Nowym Testamencie, nauczaniu apostołów, a także na judaizmie i filozofii greckiej. Znaczny wpływ wywarły na nią także antyczne religie Wschodu, zwłaszcza te z okresu grecko‑rzymskiego (takie jak gnostycyzm). Myśl patrystyczna oraz antyczna filozofia grecka stanowią najważniejsze podstawy filozofii bizantyjskiej. Jednakże nie wolno ca kowicie oddzielać myśli patrystycznej od filozofii bizantyjskiej, jako że — po pierwsze — filozofia bizantyjska czerpała z całego zbioru pism Ojców Kościoła, a — po drugie — myśl ta rozwijała się w interakcji z filozofią bizantyjską aż do końca istnienia Konstantynopola. Kiedy posługujemy się terminem „filozofia bizantyjska”, mamy na myśli prądy ideowe, które rozwinęły się między IX a XV wiekiem na terenach greckiego Wschodu. Podstawowym ich celem było poszukiwanie prawdy w ujęciu metafizycznym. W okresie tym nie tylko powstawały komentarze czy prace egzegetów, ale także miała miejsce asymilacja filozoficznych i naukowych osiągnięć poprzednich lat, mająca na celu wewnętrzną ewolucję. Opozycja wobec zachodniej scholastyki współistnieąjca ze zjawiskiem korzystania z jej osiągnięć to specyficzne cechy myśli bizantyjskiej. Czerpanie z pism logicznych Arystotelesa, jak również z platońskiej metafizyki (zawsze w nawiązaniu do dogmatów chrześcijańskich), zadecydowało o stworzeniu teoretycznych zrębów filozofii bizantyjskiej. Zagadnienia logiczne, metafizyczne, kosmologiczne, etyczne, estetyczne i antropologiczne były silnie związane z chrześcijańską wizją świata, Boga i człowieka. Jednak pomimo wpływu zarówno religii chrześcijańskiej, jak i nauk arystotelesowskich, platoñskich, stoickich, neoplatońskich itd., obecnie możemy dojść do wniosku, ż e od IX do XV wieku wyłoniła się względnie autonomiczna filozofia w Bizancjum, która oferowała pewne nowe rozwiązania dla starych problemów, sprzyjając zarazem postępowi nowych racjonalnych, mistycznych czy nawet empirycznych opracowań oryginalnych kwestii filozoficznych.

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• The Occult Knowledge of Michael Psellus

  Katelis Viglas

  Ta Historica. Journal of Historical Studies. 06/2009; 26(50):157-184.

  By examining Michael Psellos’ occult texts it becomes obvious that this Byzantine scholar possessed a comprehensive knowledge of most aspects of the occultism: divination, astrology, numerology, alchemy, magic, demonology, ancient religion, and mythology. Psellos’s occultism goes back to the Ancient... [more] By examining Michael Psellos’ occult texts it becomes obvious that this Byzantine scholar possessed a comprehensive knowledge of most aspects of the occultism: divination, astrology, numerology, alchemy, magic, demonology, ancient religion, and mythology. Psellos’s occultism goes back to the Ancient Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Babylon. But mainly it is included in the Neo-platonic tradition of thought and its practical aspect of Theurgy. Nevertheless, Psellos’ main purpose was to unravel questions about the physical reality, the man and the God, by using the ancient Greek reason and the Christian faith. However, as he was very inquisitive, he dealt with various fields of knowledge such as the occult sciences, in order to create an overall composition that would lead to the miraculous. His work is characterized by a desire for the divine, which binds together all the manifestations of reality. Thus, even the material world in its mysterious and apocryphal nature, is not considered anymore to be a real hypostasis: matter is the cause of evil, but it is subjected to a monistic theism, which covers its deficiency and its deprivation of goodness.

• Principles and Characteristics of George Gemistos Plethon's Philosophy

  Katelis Viglas

  PHILOTHEOS, International Journal for Philosophy and Theology. 01/2009; 9:183-190.

• (Book review of:) George Lekkas: Plotinus. Toward an ontology of mode

  Katelis Viglas

  Critica – A Greek Online Journal for Philosophical Reviews 2009-20. 01/2009; 1:193-202.

• The Hegelianism of Vasilis Tatakis

  Katelis Viglas

  Third Symposium for Vasilis Tatakis, Andros Island; 09/2008

• Rational Spirituality and the possibility of a common participation in the mystical experience of Plotinus

  Katelis Viglas

  Social Science Tribune. University of Thessaly. 01/2008; ΙΓ':207-227.

  The philosopher Plotinus in the 3rd century A.D. connected a personal experience which he had (four times) during his life, with his analytic philosophical system. His system is composed of a hierarchy with three hypostases, One-Intellect-Soul, and the possibility of the soul to go back to her sourc... [more] The philosopher Plotinus in the 3rd century A.D. connected a personal experience which he had (four times) during his life, with his analytic philosophical system. His system is composed of a hierarchy with three hypostases, One-Intellect-Soul, and the possibility of the soul to go back to her source, which is the One. The question which is raised is about the communicability or non-communicability of mystical experience: it is subjective and interior or it concerns a bigger number of people? Outside the formal religious frame and inside the philosophical system of Plotinus, the spiritual ascent is possible as through the preoperative value of his work, the Enneads, as through the specific intermediary function of Logos. Logos doesn’t exist inside the One, but it derives from the Intellect and it stands especially at the level of Soul, forming matter. So the ecstasy and the spiritual experience through Logos are depended on the proper usage of the spiritual content of the Enneads, as a cultural monument and also on the dynamic element of Logos in the writings of Plotinus. Finally of course, mystical experience is going beyond human reason and it depends on one’s will to see the beauty of ideal state of being and to come in union with the One.