Neoplatonist

A Neoplatonist is an adherent of Neoplatonism, a philosophical and religious system that developed in the 3rd century CE as an interpretation and expansion of Platonic philosophy. The movement began with Plotinus, whose teachings were gathered by his student Porphyry in the Enneads. Neoplatonism presents a hierarchical cosmos led by the One, the ultimate source of all reality; from the One emanates the Nous (Intellect), containing perfect Forms, and from the Nous emanates the World Soul, which animates the material universe. Creation is understood as emanation rather than creation ex nihilo. The spiritual aim is a return to the One through contemplation and, in some branches, theurgical practices.

Within Neoplatonism there were important developments and differences. Iamblichus emphasized theurgy and ritual acts as means of ascent, while Proclus offered a systematic metaphysics that integrated philosophical and liturgical elements. The school thrived in late antique centers such as Alexandria and Athens and influenced Christian, Jewish, and Islamic thought, contributing to mysticism, metaphysics, and religious practice rather than a single doctrinal formula.

Historically, the term Neoplatonist covers a broad spectrum of thinkers who identified with or were influenced by these ideas—from the late antique philosophers to medieval scholars who incorporated Neoplatonist concepts into Christian theology, and later Renaissance figures who revived Platonic philosophy through a Neoplatonic lens.

Today the label is primarily used in the study of Plotinus and his successors and of scholars who engage with Neoplatonist metaphysics and mysticism.