Knowing the Ineffable One: The Mystical Philosophy of Proclus

Proclus insists on the fact that the One cannot be named and that it cannot be talked about. Proclus does not emphasize the poverty of language, but rather the transcendence of the One. The human discourse concerning the One can be generally validated as a reflection “of the natural striving of the soul towards the One”. The goal of the soul is thus not to obtain “scientific knowledge” (ἐπιστήμη) but to achieve resemblance to the One, for only thus can the soul know the One. Unification is what brings us closer to the One, and this unity is another type of knowledge: it is knowledge inspired by divinity, higher than the “scientific knowledge”.

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