A Quick Note on Proclus

[sdi]

I was whining a few weeks ago about how trying to build a metaphysical system is stupid, since any given system cannot be powerful enough to prove itself, let alone more powerful systems: that is, metaphysics, being more powerful than physics by definition, can't be apprehended physically. In particular, I expressed frustration with modern commentators who criticized the Neoplatonists for failing to build a system or indeed assuming that's what they were up to. Since those commentators usually pointed to Proclus' Elements of Theology, I wondered whether Proclus himself considered that the goal.

I dug a little ways into the Elements to see for myself, and it seems obvious to me that Proclus was to teach rather than prove. One who wants to prove works bottom-up, from irrefutable axioms rooted in everyday experience; but the one who wants to teach works top-down, from simple to complex. That Proclus has borrowed the form of Euclid's Elements doesn't mean he has borrowed the means; his references to prior propositions seem to me to be an aid to the student, rather than a mathematical demonstration.

I keep getting frustrated with all the mistakes I make in trying to understand Plotinus—perhaps Proclus will be illuminating, when I get there.