The Theories of Language in Late Ancient Philosophy: The Case of Neoplatonism

Abstract

In addition to many other starting-points, late ancient philosophy took over from its classical predecessor and the Hellenistic schools the basic conception of language. This is a crucial period in the history of language theories, since all mystical traditions in the philosophy of language may be traced back to it. The mentality of the age is reflected in one of its most productive schools, in Neoplatonism.

Given the specific structure of the texts at our disposal, the Neoplatonic conception of language can be reconstructed mainly by drawing comparisons and parallels with the texts belonging to other pagan schools and to the Greek, Egyptian, Jewish, and (emerging) Christian traditions.

A key concept in the Neoplatonic understanding of language is logos, contrasted by the Neoplatonists with glotta/dialektos – an “external” language. Language in the sense of logos moves away from its manifestations (the external language), thus giving prominence to "inner" perspectives: to the language of the soul, of dreams, of the gods. Such language, of course, cannot be understood as a system of signs but only as a complex structure of symbols, which reveals yet a third dimension apart from the signifier and signified: the dimension of transcendence. Still, even language as logos is helpless and limited when compared to the unutterability of the divine, which is perfect transcendence. Therefore it must include a concept seemingly at odds with any language – that of silence (sige). Transformed into Christian contemplation, into esoteric silence, the logos of antiquity paradoxically reaches the peak of its development: having joined the opposites of glotta/dialektos and sige, its mission is accomplished. Henceforth, the concept of logos appears in the history of Western thought only as a quotation.