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SOPHIA (2009) 48:217219
DOI 10.1007/s11841-009-0090-y
Published online: 17 March 2009# Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009
Abstract Theophany is an excellent introduction to Dionysius, and to the principles of Neoplatonic thought as developed by Plotinus and Proclus. Graduate students and even advanced undergraduates might profit from it, and those of us who have been working on Dionysius for years certainly will.
Keywords Dionysius . Neoplatonism . Dionysius the Areopagite . Pseudo-dionysius . Neoplatonic . Philosophy. Mysticism . Mystical theology. Proclus . Plotinus
As his title announces, Perl considers Dionysius as a philosopher, in the context of his philosophical sources, laying out philosophical positions and arguments. Perl therefore sets aside not only an essentially archaeological approach that sees in the Dionysian corpus a kind of museum artifact, but also a theological or "mystical" (the quotation marks are his) approach, where these terms mean anything other than the Dionysian philosophy. Neither is Perl much interested in deciding whether Dionysius is a Christian, and so not a Neoplatonist, or rather a Neoplatonist, and so not really Christian. This way of framing the options betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of Neoplatonism, and often a very narrow understanding of Christianity.
It is hard to escape the feeling, however, that the author considers it a very real question whether (and how) it is possible to be a Christian Neoplatonist. If such an animal exists, surely Dionysius was one, so the case arguably stands or falls on our assessment of him. In Perl's view, the way to do this is to address Dionysius's work specifically philosophically. If certain of Dionysius's positions, which typically are considered the Christian paperings-over...