Abstract
The problem of being an autonomous person in one’s own right is as old as Greek philosophy. In a text by Anaximander, given as a literal quotation by Simplicius (DK 12 B 1), being an individual is described as a rebellion against the Infinite. All things are generated from the Infinite, and, when they are dissolved, are taken up again into the Infinite. It is cosmic law which has ordered this. The generated beings pay penalty to each other for their injustice. The separate existence, maintained by individuals in the face of their divine origin, is seen as a transgression of cosmic laws.
This chapter is a slightly revised reprint of the fifth chapter in: Th.G. Sinnige, Neoplatonisme en Spaanse Mystiek, 1994 (in Dutch), with kind permission of the publisher Van Gorcum, Assen.
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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Sinnige, T.G. (1999). The Human Person. In: Six Lectures on Plotinus and Gnosticism. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3006-8_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3006-8_7
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