Book contents
- Music and Philosophy in the Roman Empire
- Music and Philosophy in the Roman Empire
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Scala Naturae and Music
- Chapter 2 Music and Plutarch’s Platonic Cosmos
- Chapter 3 The Harmoniser God
- Chapter 4 Alexander of Aphrodisias and Musical Models for Ontological Enquiries
- Chapter 5 How to Resist Musical Dogmatism
- Chapter 6 Shifting Epistemological Perspectives in Ptolemy’s Harmonics
- Chapter 7 Musical Imagery in Clement of Alexandria and Origen
- Chapter 8 Plotinus on Music, Rhythm, and Harmony
- Chapter 9 Porphyry’s Commentary on Ptolemy’s Harmonics
- Chapter 10 The Music of the Virtues in Late Ancient Platonism
- Chapter 11 Harmonics as Theological Paradigm in Proclus
- Chapter 12 Calcidius on Cosmic Harmony
- Chapter 13 Harmonia in Philoponus’ Commentary on Nicomachus’ Introduction to Arithmetic
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Chapter 11 - Harmonics as Theological Paradigm in Proclus
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 November 2020
- Music and Philosophy in the Roman Empire
- Music and Philosophy in the Roman Empire
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Scala Naturae and Music
- Chapter 2 Music and Plutarch’s Platonic Cosmos
- Chapter 3 The Harmoniser God
- Chapter 4 Alexander of Aphrodisias and Musical Models for Ontological Enquiries
- Chapter 5 How to Resist Musical Dogmatism
- Chapter 6 Shifting Epistemological Perspectives in Ptolemy’s Harmonics
- Chapter 7 Musical Imagery in Clement of Alexandria and Origen
- Chapter 8 Plotinus on Music, Rhythm, and Harmony
- Chapter 9 Porphyry’s Commentary on Ptolemy’s Harmonics
- Chapter 10 The Music of the Virtues in Late Ancient Platonism
- Chapter 11 Harmonics as Theological Paradigm in Proclus
- Chapter 12 Calcidius on Cosmic Harmony
- Chapter 13 Harmonia in Philoponus’ Commentary on Nicomachus’ Introduction to Arithmetic
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Summary
This chapter focuses on Proclus’ use of a theological notion of harmony, which is designed to reveal the essence, intelligible relations, and causality of the soul by taking its harmonic structure as a starting point. The fact that the soul is made of specific means and proportions paves the way to the claim that the soul’s essence consists of a logos. This represents neither just an exegetical remark related to Plato’s divisio animae nor the mere use of an image: Proclus regards Plato’s account of the soul’s harmonic structure as a specific key to access theology. By analysing the harmonic component within Proclus’ iconic theology, a clear analysis of both the “theological” implications of Proclus’ study of the harmonic structure of the Platonic world-soul and of the metaphysical-theological function of the ambivalent notion of logos emerges.
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- Music and Philosophy in the Roman Empire , pp. 242 - 261Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020