The Sociology of Philosophies

schools founded by Plato and Isocrates, and before that to the struggle of Socrates (or the image of Socrates projected by Plato ...

pro-Aristotle and anti-Stoic (Dillon, 1977: 265; CHLG, 1967: 73–83). Some of these syncretisms provoked opposition and led to re ...

God. Again, creativity was connected to the shift to a new organizational base. The organization of Christianity made it victori ...

confident social movement expanding into widely available niches. This de- scribes the various Gnostic sects and the secret soci ...

tations of doctrine. Whereas the Gnostics and their pagan equivalents were ad hoc networks of part-time participants, the church ...

The Showdown of Christianity versus the Pagan United Front Consider the successive stances taken by Christianity and the pagan p ...

FIGURE 3.7. SHOWDOWN OF NEOPLATONISTS AND CHRISTIANS, 200–400 124 •^ The Skeleton of Theory ...

a death-grip struggle over power. When the persecutions were called off soon after Constantine’s victory ending civil war in 311 ...

Plotinus was vastly more famous and influential than these predecessors, in part because he was more systematic in his expositio ...

tion, borrowing Stoic logic of propositions and terms, and augmenting Aris- totelean categories to structure the metaphysical sy ...

than merely by asserting the precedence of one’s particularistic symbols over others’ (such as the names of gods and demons, cha ...

Ambrose should appear at this time.^35 The most talented and ambitious intel- lectuals, heretofore pursuing careers as rhetors a ...

FIGURE 3.8. NEOPLATONISTS UNDER CHRISTIAN TRIUMPH, 400–600 130 •^ The Skeleton of Theory ...

(CHLG, 1967: 478–483; DSB, 1981: 7:134). From Philoponus and his re- sponse against Proclus’ last round of pagan critique, too, ...

in India, and again between weakening and expanding Buddhist lineages in China. But it is not necessary that there should always ...

ment of organizational transition. Since there is more analytical work to be done in reorganizing intellectual alliances, the cr ...

...

COMPARATIVE HISTORY OF INTELLECTUAL COMMUNITIES Part I: Asian Paths £ ...

...

CHAPTER 4 £ Innovation by Opposition: Ancient China As we turn from Greece to China, it is tempting to indulge in visual insight ...