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Philosophy as a religious experience in Plato
Plato is a philosophical theologian in whom philosophy and theology are
synonymous, and the way of philosophy a religious endeavour. However, contemporary
scholarship overlooks the importance of the religious dimension of Plato's philosophy,
and in particular, neglects an examination of the theological ideas that are involved in this
understanding. In answer to this, the thesis argues that, in Plato, philosophy is a religious
human experience, that it is within such a perspective that Plato's philosophical theology
can be properly understood, and that such a perspective provides both theological and
philosophical insights. The thesis offers a unique contribution to scholarship in that it
examines the issues of Plato's philosophical theology from the perspective of Plato's
philosophy as a religious experience. Secondly, it relates the question of the religious
nature of Plato's philosophy to the issue of humanity by seeing Plato's philosophy as a
means of human transformation and as a religious way of life and existence. And thirdly,
by interacting with recent scholarly interpretation and commentary, seeks ways in which
such a perspective provides insights for contemporary theological and philosophical
thought. To examine these issues, the thesis employs two overarching themes:
philosophy as a religious experience as involved directly with the question of the human
situation and life, and the human experience of the divine in Plato. Chapters One and
Two consider, respectively, Plato's philosophy as a way of salvation and transformation
in the individual and society, and the idea of the philosophical life. Chapters Three
through Five examine the religious experience of the Forms as divine reality and the
meaning to human existence, the idea of the personal relationship between the
philosopher and the divine, and the philosophical experience of divine inexpressibility.
Lastly, in the Conclusion, I seek to apply the idea of Plato's philosophy as a religious
experience to a contemporary context by raising several ofthe important issues that are
involved when Plato's philosophy is realised as a religious way of life today. The thesis
concludes that what is manifested in Plato is a deep interrelation between philosophical
and religious thought which gives rise to a vibrant and insightful philosophical theology
of Plato's philosophy as a religious human experience