Difference between revisions of "Emanationism" - New World Encyclopedia
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| − | '''Emanationism''' is the doctrine that emanation (Lat. emanare, "to flow from") is the mode by which all things are derived from the First Reality, First Absolute, or Principle. ''Emanationism'' is a component in the [[cosmology]] or [[cosmogony]] of certain [[religion|religious]] or [[philosophy|philosophical]] systems that argue that a sentient, self-aware Supreme Being, born from an unmanifested | + | '''Emanationism''' is the doctrine that emanation (Lat. emanare, "to flow from") is the mode by which all things are derived from the First Reality, First Absolute, or Principle. ''Emanationism'' is a component in the [[cosmology]] or [[cosmogony]] of certain [[religion|religious]] or [[philosophy|philosophical]] systems that argue that a sentient, self-aware Supreme Being, born from an unmanifested Absolute ("Root of Existence") beyond comprehension, ''emanated'' lower and lower [[Spirituality|spiritual]] modalities and finally matter (the physical universe) as the resultant efflux of the Absolute. Thus Creation is seen as an unwilled, necessary and spontaneous outflow of contingent beings from an infinite, unchanging primary substance. |
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| + | Emanation is characteristic of [[Neoplatonism]] and of [[Gnosticism]], and is frequently encountered in Hindu metaphysics. Aspects of emanationism can be found in the doctrines of [[Philo Judaeus]] (c. 20 B.C.E. – c. 50 C.E.), a Hellenistic [[Judaism|Jewish]] philosopher whose synthesis of [[Neo-Platonism|Platonic]], [[Stoicism|Stoic]] and Jewish values became a foundation for Christian, and later Jewish and Islamic, rational theology. Early Christian writers modified the concept of emanation to explain the Trinity and the divine status of [[Jesus]]. The writings of [[Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite|Dionysius the Areopagite]], which were translated into [[Latin]] around 858 by [[Johannes Scottus Eriugena|Scottus Eriugena]] and widely studied by the medieval [[scholasticism|scholastics]]. | ||
=== Basic Term: Emanation === | === Basic Term: Emanation === | ||
| − | + | The term "emanation" (Lat. emanare, "to flow from") is used in many contexts which are not religious or philosophical. There are also religions and philosophical systems which adhere to a doctrine of emanation without using the term at all. In religion and philosophy, the concept of emanation is always interwoven with theories on other subjects, and it is difficult to separate the fundamental aspects of emanation from these contingent doctrines. In modern usage, emanationism refers more to a system of [[cosmogony]] than to [[theology]], concerning the way in which things originate from [[God]] rather than the nature of God. Basically, emanationism holds that all things proceed from one divine substance in a progression or series, where each reality arises from the previous one and the ultimate source is God. Every derived being is regarded as being less perfect than its source, but the source itself loses none of its perfection and is not diminished. God, the First Source, is the ultimate, sublime perfection and remains undiminished and unchanged. | |
| + | |||
==Origins== | ==Origins== | ||
| − | The primary classical exponent of Emanationism was Plotinus, whose Enneads elaborated a system in which all phenomena and all beings were an emanation from the One ( | + | The primary classical exponent of Emanationism was [[Plotinus]], whose ''Enneads'' elaborated a system in which all phenomena and all beings were an emanation from the One (''hen''). In ''Ennead'' 5.1.6, emanation is compared to a diffusion from the One, in three primary stages: the One (''hen''), the Intellect/will (''nous''), and the Soul (''psyche tou pantos''). For Plotinus, emanation, or the "soul's descent", is a result of the Indefinite Dyad, or ''tolma'', the primordial agnosis inherent to and within the Absolute, the Godhead. |
| − | Plotinus in particular argued that there is no knowledge or sentience in the Absolute, and that all things noetic (spiritual, intellectual) and corporeal were a logos, or proportional [[phenomenon|phenomena]], of the emanation of and by the One. In Plotinian | + | Plotinus in particular argued that there is no knowledge or sentience in the Absolute, and that all things ''noetic'' (spiritual, intellectual) and corporeal were a logos, or proportional [[phenomenon|phenomena]], of the emanation of and by the One. In Plotinian emanationism, there are lesser and lesser potencies of [[will (philosophy)|will]] as procession occurs beginning from the One, through the noetic, or the [[soul]], finally ending in base [[matter]], which is generally seen as utter privation (total absence of conscious will). |
| − | + | == Emanation, Pantheism and Creation ex nihilo== | |
| − | Some scholars classify emanationism with pantheism, but there are considerable differences between the two concepts. Pantheism is a system of reality, identifying all things as manifestations or modes of the one substance; emanation is primarily concerned with the process by which all things derive. Emanation does not necessarily imply that God is immanent in the finite world, nor that all things are substantially one. Some conceive of emanation in a pantheistic sense, as an expansion of the Divine substance within itself. However, many emanationists regard the derived beings as being separate from their source. | + | Some scholars classify emanationism with [[pantheism]], but there are considerable differences between the two concepts. Pantheism is a system of reality, identifying all things as manifestations or modes of the one substance; emanation is primarily concerned with the process by which all things derive. Emanation does not necessarily imply that God is immanent in the finite world, nor that all things are substantially one. Some conceive of emanation in a pantheistic sense, as an expansion of the Divine substance within itself. However, many emanationists regard the derived beings as being separate from their source. |
Pure emanationism regards God as the first origin of all things, from the highest spiritual realms to the most basic matter, with matter being the last and most imperfect emanation. Some emanationist views, however, combine the idea of eternal, pre-existent matter with the theory of emanation, making God’s role one of organizing matter rather than originating it. | Pure emanationism regards God as the first origin of all things, from the highest spiritual realms to the most basic matter, with matter being the last and most imperfect emanation. Some emanationist views, however, combine the idea of eternal, pre-existent matter with the theory of emanation, making God’s role one of organizing matter rather than originating it. | ||
| − | The doctrine of creation teaches that all things are distinct from God, but that God is their efficient cause, producing things by an act of His will, not out of His own substance or from pre-existing matter, but out of nothing (ex nihilo). Emanationism teaches that Divine substance is the reality from which all things derive, not by any divine act of will, but out of necessity. It is the essential nature of Divine substance to originate emanation. Emanationism also teaches that all things are not produced instantaneously, but through gradual stages, and that the lower realms of existence are separated from God by intermediaries. | + | The doctrine of creation teaches that all things are distinct from God, but that God is their efficient cause, producing things by an act of His will, not out of His own substance or from pre-existing matter, but out of nothing (''ex nihilo''). Emanationism teaches that Divine substance is the reality from which all things derive, not by any divine act of will, but out of necessity. It is the essential nature of Divine substance to originate emanation. Emanationism also teaches that all things are not produced instantaneously, but through gradual stages, and that the lower realms of existence are separated from God by intermediaries. |
| − | + | == Emanation and Evolution == | |
| − | The term | + | The term “[[evolution]]” implies the development of one thing into something else. When a new being is derived from a previous being by emanation, the previous being remains as it was and exists concurrently with the new being. The process of evolution is usually regarded as progress, a movement upwards towards a more perfect existence. Emanation, on the other hand, is a movement downwards from the infinitely perfect towards the less perfect, less pure and less divine. Perfection is the starting point rather than the end result, and those who wish to reach a higher degree of perfection must do so by regressing upwards through the stages of emanation. Ancient metaphors for emanation included water flowing from a spring or an overflowing water jar; the stem, branches and leaves a plant emerging from the roots; light or heat emanating from the sun; ripples generated by a stone dropped in a lake; and wisdom emanating from a teacher. |
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| − | Aspects of emanationism can be found in the doctrines of Philo (c. 20 B.C.E. – c. 50 C.E.), a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher whose synthesis of Platonic, Stoic and Jewish values became a foundation for Christian, and later Jewish and Islamic, rational theology. It was also elaborated in the writings of Basilides (c.120-140 C.E.) and Valentinus (died c. 161 C.E.), both of whom were founders of Gnostic schools. It occupied a place of importance in esoteric teachings, including Gnostic religions and the Jewish | + | == Emanationism in Judaism, Islam and Christianity == |
| − | + | Aspects of emanationism can be found in the doctrines of [[Philo Judaeus]] (c. 20 B.C.E. – c. 50 C.E.), a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher whose synthesis of [[Platonism|Platonic]], [[Stoicism|Stoic]] and Jewish values became a foundation for [[Christianity|Christian]], and later Jewish and [[Islam|Islamic]], rational theology. It was also elaborated in the writings of Basilides (c.120-140 C.E.) and Valentinus (died c. 161 C.E.), both of whom were founders of Gnostic schools. It occupied a place of importance in esoteric teachings, including [[gnosticism|Gnostic religions]] and the [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[Kabbalah]]. The Islamic scholar [[Al-Farabi]] (870-950 C.E.) replaced the Q’uranic notion of ''ex nihilo'' with emanation, introducing the idea of salvation through rising through the stages of emanation to become one with the “Active Intellect.” | |
| + | Early Christian writers modified the concept of emanation to explain the Trinity and the divine status of [[Jesus]]. [[Origen]] (c.185 - c. 254) developed the idea of [[Logos]], eternally generated out of the divine substance; the universal principle of everything particular, inner word and self-manifestation of God, one substance with God and yet lesser than God. The Logos, manifested in Jesus, originated in the divinity of God and yet was less than God. The system of emanation developed by [[Proclus]], [[Plotinus]] and other [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonists]] was modified in the writings of [[Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite|Dionysius the Areopagite]], which were translated into Latin around 858 by [[Johannes Scottus Eriugena|Scottus Eriugena]] and widely studied by the [[scholasticism|medieval scholastics]]. God was portrayed as the essence of goodness and love, and other beings as emanations from His goodness. | ||
| − | == | + | == Emanationism and [[Hinduism]]== |
| − | + | Most of the Hindu religions portray a [[monism|monistic]], pantheistic view of created existence, which emanates and is inseparable from the Godhead. The following commentary on a Shakta Tantric text cites several earlier writings concerning the relationship between the Godhead and the world: | |
| + | <blockquote''>"...(Brahman, the Godhead, said) `May I be many and born as many', and thus He made Himself into the world as it exists within Himself. So it has been (also) said `By His mere wish He throws out and withdraws the universe in its enturety.' Also it is elsewhere said - `The Great Lord having drawn on Himself the picture of the world by the brush of His own Will is pleased when looking thereon.' S'ruti also says `As the spider throws out and takes back its thread, so Ishvara (God) projects and withdraws the universe.' Thus the one great Lord becomes the material cause from which the world is made, as says the Text, `May I be many.'''..." | ||
| + | [''Kama-Kala-Vilasa'', Translated by Sir John Woodroffe, Ganesh ∓ Co. Madras, 1971, p.142] </blockquote> | ||
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Some Hindu teachings portray emanation as a cyclical process which repeats endlessly. | Some Hindu teachings portray emanation as a cyclical process which repeats endlessly. | ||
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*[[Sufism]] | *[[Sufism]] | ||
*[[Druze]] | *[[Druze]] | ||
| − | *[[Rosicrucian|Rosicrucianism]] | + | *[[Rosicrucian|Rosicrucianism]] |
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And arguably some variants of [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]] and the [[ancient Egyptian religion]]. | And arguably some variants of [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]] and the [[ancient Egyptian religion]]. | ||
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[[Category:Shabd paths]] | [[Category:Shabd paths]] | ||
[[Category:Singular God]] | [[Category:Singular God]] | ||
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Revision as of 03:19, 9 February 2007
Template:Planes of existence
Emanationism is the doctrine that emanation (Lat. emanare, "to flow from") is the mode by which all things are derived from the First Reality, First Absolute, or Principle. Emanationism is a component in the cosmology or cosmogony of certain religious or philosophical systems that argue that a sentient, self-aware Supreme Being, born from an unmanifested Absolute ("Root of Existence") beyond comprehension, emanated lower and lower spiritual modalities and finally matter (the physical universe) as the resultant efflux of the Absolute. Thus Creation is seen as an unwilled, necessary and spontaneous outflow of contingent beings from an infinite, unchanging primary substance.
Emanation is characteristic of Neoplatonism and of Gnosticism, and is frequently encountered in Hindu metaphysics. Aspects of emanationism can be found in the doctrines of Philo Judaeus (c. 20 B.C.E. – c. 50 C.E.), a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher whose synthesis of Platonic, Stoic and Jewish values became a foundation for Christian, and later Jewish and Islamic, rational theology. Early Christian writers modified the concept of emanation to explain the Trinity and the divine status of Jesus. The writings of Dionysius the Areopagite, which were translated into Latin around 858 by Scottus Eriugena and widely studied by the medieval scholastics.
Basic Term: Emanation
The term "emanation" (Lat. emanare, "to flow from") is used in many contexts which are not religious or philosophical. There are also religions and philosophical systems which adhere to a doctrine of emanation without using the term at all. In religion and philosophy, the concept of emanation is always interwoven with theories on other subjects, and it is difficult to separate the fundamental aspects of emanation from these contingent doctrines. In modern usage, emanationism refers more to a system of cosmogony than to theology, concerning the way in which things originate from God rather than the nature of God. Basically, emanationism holds that all things proceed from one divine substance in a progression or series, where each reality arises from the previous one and the ultimate source is God. Every derived being is regarded as being less perfect than its source, but the source itself loses none of its perfection and is not diminished. God, the First Source, is the ultimate, sublime perfection and remains undiminished and unchanged.
Origins
The primary classical exponent of Emanationism was Plotinus, whose Enneads elaborated a system in which all phenomena and all beings were an emanation from the One (hen). In Ennead 5.1.6, emanation is compared to a diffusion from the One, in three primary stages: the One (hen), the Intellect/will (nous), and the Soul (psyche tou pantos). For Plotinus, emanation, or the "soul's descent", is a result of the Indefinite Dyad, or tolma, the primordial agnosis inherent to and within the Absolute, the Godhead.
Plotinus in particular argued that there is no knowledge or sentience in the Absolute, and that all things noetic (spiritual, intellectual) and corporeal were a logos, or proportional phenomena, of the emanation of and by the One. In Plotinian emanationism, there are lesser and lesser potencies of will as procession occurs beginning from the One, through the noetic, or the soul, finally ending in base matter, which is generally seen as utter privation (total absence of conscious will).
Emanation, Pantheism and Creation ex nihilo
Some scholars classify emanationism with pantheism, but there are considerable differences between the two concepts. Pantheism is a system of reality, identifying all things as manifestations or modes of the one substance; emanation is primarily concerned with the process by which all things derive. Emanation does not necessarily imply that God is immanent in the finite world, nor that all things are substantially one. Some conceive of emanation in a pantheistic sense, as an expansion of the Divine substance within itself. However, many emanationists regard the derived beings as being separate from their source.
Pure emanationism regards God as the first origin of all things, from the highest spiritual realms to the most basic matter, with matter being the last and most imperfect emanation. Some emanationist views, however, combine the idea of eternal, pre-existent matter with the theory of emanation, making God’s role one of organizing matter rather than originating it.
The doctrine of creation teaches that all things are distinct from God, but that God is their efficient cause, producing things by an act of His will, not out of His own substance or from pre-existing matter, but out of nothing (ex nihilo). Emanationism teaches that Divine substance is the reality from which all things derive, not by any divine act of will, but out of necessity. It is the essential nature of Divine substance to originate emanation. Emanationism also teaches that all things are not produced instantaneously, but through gradual stages, and that the lower realms of existence are separated from God by intermediaries.
Emanation and Evolution
The term “evolution” implies the development of one thing into something else. When a new being is derived from a previous being by emanation, the previous being remains as it was and exists concurrently with the new being. The process of evolution is usually regarded as progress, a movement upwards towards a more perfect existence. Emanation, on the other hand, is a movement downwards from the infinitely perfect towards the less perfect, less pure and less divine. Perfection is the starting point rather than the end result, and those who wish to reach a higher degree of perfection must do so by regressing upwards through the stages of emanation. Ancient metaphors for emanation included water flowing from a spring or an overflowing water jar; the stem, branches and leaves a plant emerging from the roots; light or heat emanating from the sun; ripples generated by a stone dropped in a lake; and wisdom emanating from a teacher.
Emanationism in Judaism, Islam and Christianity
Aspects of emanationism can be found in the doctrines of Philo Judaeus (c. 20 B.C.E. – c. 50 C.E.), a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher whose synthesis of Platonic, Stoic and Jewish values became a foundation for Christian, and later Jewish and Islamic, rational theology. It was also elaborated in the writings of Basilides (c.120-140 C.E.) and Valentinus (died c. 161 C.E.), both of whom were founders of Gnostic schools. It occupied a place of importance in esoteric teachings, including Gnostic religions and the Jewish Kabbalah. The Islamic scholar Al-Farabi (870-950 C.E.) replaced the Q’uranic notion of ex nihilo with emanation, introducing the idea of salvation through rising through the stages of emanation to become one with the “Active Intellect.”
Early Christian writers modified the concept of emanation to explain the Trinity and the divine status of Jesus. Origen (c.185 - c. 254) developed the idea of Logos, eternally generated out of the divine substance; the universal principle of everything particular, inner word and self-manifestation of God, one substance with God and yet lesser than God. The Logos, manifested in Jesus, originated in the divinity of God and yet was less than God. The system of emanation developed by Proclus, Plotinus and other Neoplatonists was modified in the writings of Dionysius the Areopagite, which were translated into Latin around 858 by Scottus Eriugena and widely studied by the medieval scholastics. God was portrayed as the essence of goodness and love, and other beings as emanations from His goodness.
Emanationism and Hinduism
Most of the Hindu religions portray a monistic, pantheistic view of created existence, which emanates and is inseparable from the Godhead. The following commentary on a Shakta Tantric text cites several earlier writings concerning the relationship between the Godhead and the world:
<blockquote>"...(Brahman, the Godhead, said) `May I be many and born as many', and thus He made Himself into the world as it exists within Himself. So it has been (also) said `By His mere wish He throws out and withdraws the universe in its enturety.' Also it is elsewhere said - `The Great Lord having drawn on Himself the picture of the world by the brush of His own Will is pleased when looking thereon.' S'ruti also says `As the spider throws out and takes back its thread, so Ishvara (God) projects and withdraws the universe.' Thus the one great Lord becomes the material cause from which the world is made, as says the Text, `May I be many.'..."
[Kama-Kala-Vilasa, Translated by Sir John Woodroffe, Ganesh ∓ Co. Madras, 1971, p.142]
Some Hindu teachings portray emanation as a cyclical process which repeats endlessly.
Emanationist views are found in:
- Platonism and Neoplatonism
- Gnosticism
- Mandaeanism
- Manicheanism
- Catharism
- Kabbalah
- Surat Shabda Yoga
- Sufism
- Druze
- Rosicrucianism
And arguably some variants of Hinduism and Buddhism and the ancient Egyptian religion.
Emanations are sometimes featured in fiction as well, especially in fantasy fiction. Some examples include:
- J. R. R. Tolkien's Ainur of the world of Middle-earth.
- Clive Barker's Imajica
- Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials
- The Elder Scrolls series by Bethesda Softworks, in which Order and Chaos and the unity thereof are used to create a type dual Emanationism.
External links
- Emanation and Ascent in Hermetic Kabbalah 1.4 Mbyte PDF - Colin Low 2004. Presentation and notes on emanation and the roots of Hermetic Kabbalah
- Emanationism
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