{"product_id":"the-philosophy-of-the-few-against-the-christians-9789004680067","title":"The Philosophy of the Few against the Christians","description":"This book gives us a new perspective on the \u003ci\u003ePhilosophy according to the Chaldean Oracles\u003c\/i\u003e by Porphyry of Tyre (ca. 232\/305 CE), demonstrating that much of what we thought we knew about this work and its fragments is mistaken. Here, for the first time, the attempt is made at reconstructing the original text by following the vicissitudes of its reception and transmission from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance up to modern scholarship. \u003cbr\u003e\nThe extensive and painstaking study of the surviving fragments leads to the radically innovative conclusion that this encyclopedic treatise, written by Porphyry in the last decades of the 3rd century CE, consisted of fifteen books organized in various sections. After an initial discussion of the nature of theurgy and of its subordinate role with respect to philosophy, Porphyry describes the entire history of Greek philosophy from Homer up to his own teacher Plotinus, to then go on to present “introductions” to the seven encyclical disciplines whose study is required for the comprehension of theosophy, that is, the esoteric speculation on the three parts of philosophy: anthropology-ethics, physics, and metaphysics-theology.\u003cbr\u003e\nBy harmonizing the teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, and the \u003ci\u003eChaldean Oracles\u003c\/i\u003e, Porphyry intends to present the complete and definitive philosophic system, with the aim of showing the universal way for the liberation of the souls of initiates and of contextually fighting the final battle of the Greco-Roman civilization against Christianity.","brand":"Pier Franco Beatrice","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48270006223099,"sku":"9789004680067","price":290.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0779\/3917\/9771\/files\/CoreSourceHub_f97280c6-982f-470d-bf93-7b29f6fd4569.jpg?v=1779318141","url":"https:\/\/indiepubs.com\/products\/the-philosophy-of-the-few-against-the-christians-9789004680067","provider":"IndiePubs","version":"1.0","type":"link"}