Parts of the soul
Nov. 30th, 2024 01:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
boccaderlupoThe Philokalia is a treasure trove of spiritual writings from the Desert Fathers of early Christianity, long prized in the Eastern Orthodox church but only of late readily available in English. It is highly informed by mysticism and the contemplative tradition, and I have found it extremely valuable.
What struck me most about the writings is that, rather that being more speculative (say, in a "magical" sense) or full of philosophical conjecture, the writings are grounded in a practical mysticism that is navigable by your everyday person—fair warning, however, that they are ascetic and daunting to anyone predisposed to a certain type of Christian self-interrogation. (Also on a pragmatic note, these writings, along with the Jesus prayer, represent some of the most effective "anti-magic" I have encountered.
The writers have a potent grasp of the workings of the soul that, although not 1:1 with Platonism or Neoplatonism, share some of the vocabulary, if not the same exact understanding (although I'd be surprised if there's not some spillover, given the shared cultural milieu—I'm not Plotinus or Proclus scholar, but I'd suspect these writers would be conversant with some of the same set of ideas).
All that throat-clearing aside, I thought I would share some of the glossary of terms from the English edition, on the theory that these terms may bear fruit when getting one's bearings on the path, whether Christian or other.
Appetitive Aspect of the Soul: the soul's desiring power, one of the three aspects or powers of the soul according to the tripartite division posited by Plato in the Republic (Republic iV, 441). As I reckon it, desire.
Intelligent Aspect of the Soul (to logistikon): A faculty that seems to refer to the functioning of the Intellect (Nous), referring to the perception of spiritual realities. Not to be confused with Reason (dianoia), which is "the discursive, conceptualizing and logical faculty," whose function is "to draw conclusions or formulate concepts deriving from data provided either by revelation or spiritual knowledge" or sense data.
Incensive Aspect of the Soul: Often manifests itself as wrath or anger...per the glossary, that which provokes "vehement feelings." (The "spirited" part, per Plato.) I think of it as the Ares to the Aphrodite that is the soul's appetitive power. Both of these are generally considered parts of the soul's passable aspect and vulnerable to exploitation by the passions.
Dispassion: For some of these writers, "a state in which the passions are exercised in accordance with their original purity," "a state of reintegration and spiritual freedom" which according to Cassian is equivalent to purity of heart.
Intellect/Nous: The highest faculty, which, when purified, knows God or the inner essences or principles (Logos) of created things by means of direct apprehension or spiritual perception. Regarded as dwelling in the "depths of the soul," it also functions as the "eye of the heart." By my understanding, as the eyes are among the organs used to perceive sensible realities, so the intellect is used to perceive spiritual (noetic) realities (see "intelligent aspect of the soul.") For the Desert Fathers, it requires watchfulness, insofar as it operates as the door whereby bad actors can get into the soul.
Heart: In this case, not the physical organ, but the spiritual center of a person, the "inner shrine." I'm unclear on this, but I suspect this is the seat of volitional activity, such that the things we admit into our hearts—such as disordered passions—linger there and fester, ultimately occluding the Intellect/Nous and it's ability to perceive the Divine. Papa Francesco recently wrote a letter on the heart, for what it's worth, with a shoutout to Homer, to boot.
Flesh (sarx): Both the sensible, physical body of a human (incarnation/embodiment), and the complete soul-body apparatus, which, for the Desert Fathers has fallen into disarray. For my part, it's also analogous to "the World," that is, the overall fallen state in which we find ourselves mired, despite a yearning for return.
Fantasy: Per the glossary, the image-making faculty of the soul, which I reckon is, in short, imagination. Like the other aspects of the soul aforementioned (desire and anger), it can be exploited by bad actors, be them human (CF advertisers, sorcerers) or non-human (spirits). For the Desert Fathers, generally not something to play around with, as this is another means of entry to the soul, so perhaps an extension of the intellect/Nous.
Perhaps some may find value, as I have, in these definitions...any misunderstandings in transcribing and commenting on them are entirely mine.
What struck me most about the writings is that, rather that being more speculative (say, in a "magical" sense) or full of philosophical conjecture, the writings are grounded in a practical mysticism that is navigable by your everyday person—fair warning, however, that they are ascetic and daunting to anyone predisposed to a certain type of Christian self-interrogation. (Also on a pragmatic note, these writings, along with the Jesus prayer, represent some of the most effective "anti-magic" I have encountered.
The writers have a potent grasp of the workings of the soul that, although not 1:1 with Platonism or Neoplatonism, share some of the vocabulary, if not the same exact understanding (although I'd be surprised if there's not some spillover, given the shared cultural milieu—I'm not Plotinus or Proclus scholar, but I'd suspect these writers would be conversant with some of the same set of ideas).
All that throat-clearing aside, I thought I would share some of the glossary of terms from the English edition, on the theory that these terms may bear fruit when getting one's bearings on the path, whether Christian or other.
Appetitive Aspect of the Soul: the soul's desiring power, one of the three aspects or powers of the soul according to the tripartite division posited by Plato in the Republic (Republic iV, 441). As I reckon it, desire.
Intelligent Aspect of the Soul (to logistikon): A faculty that seems to refer to the functioning of the Intellect (Nous), referring to the perception of spiritual realities. Not to be confused with Reason (dianoia), which is "the discursive, conceptualizing and logical faculty," whose function is "to draw conclusions or formulate concepts deriving from data provided either by revelation or spiritual knowledge" or sense data.
Incensive Aspect of the Soul: Often manifests itself as wrath or anger...per the glossary, that which provokes "vehement feelings." (The "spirited" part, per Plato.) I think of it as the Ares to the Aphrodite that is the soul's appetitive power. Both of these are generally considered parts of the soul's passable aspect and vulnerable to exploitation by the passions.
Dispassion: For some of these writers, "a state in which the passions are exercised in accordance with their original purity," "a state of reintegration and spiritual freedom" which according to Cassian is equivalent to purity of heart.
Intellect/Nous: The highest faculty, which, when purified, knows God or the inner essences or principles (Logos) of created things by means of direct apprehension or spiritual perception. Regarded as dwelling in the "depths of the soul," it also functions as the "eye of the heart." By my understanding, as the eyes are among the organs used to perceive sensible realities, so the intellect is used to perceive spiritual (noetic) realities (see "intelligent aspect of the soul.") For the Desert Fathers, it requires watchfulness, insofar as it operates as the door whereby bad actors can get into the soul.
Heart: In this case, not the physical organ, but the spiritual center of a person, the "inner shrine." I'm unclear on this, but I suspect this is the seat of volitional activity, such that the things we admit into our hearts—such as disordered passions—linger there and fester, ultimately occluding the Intellect/Nous and it's ability to perceive the Divine. Papa Francesco recently wrote a letter on the heart, for what it's worth, with a shoutout to Homer, to boot.
Flesh (sarx): Both the sensible, physical body of a human (incarnation/embodiment), and the complete soul-body apparatus, which, for the Desert Fathers has fallen into disarray. For my part, it's also analogous to "the World," that is, the overall fallen state in which we find ourselves mired, despite a yearning for return.
Fantasy: Per the glossary, the image-making faculty of the soul, which I reckon is, in short, imagination. Like the other aspects of the soul aforementioned (desire and anger), it can be exploited by bad actors, be them human (CF advertisers, sorcerers) or non-human (spirits). For the Desert Fathers, generally not something to play around with, as this is another means of entry to the soul, so perhaps an extension of the intellect/Nous.
Perhaps some may find value, as I have, in these definitions...any misunderstandings in transcribing and commenting on them are entirely mine.
