Emanationism
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Emanationism is an idea in the cosmology orcosmogony of certain religious orphilosophical systems. Emanation, from the Latin emanare meaning "to flow from" or "to pour forth or out of", is the mode by which all things are derived from the First Reality, or Principle. All things are derived from the first reality or perfect God by steps of degradation to lesser degrees of the first reality or God, and at every step the emanating beings are less pure, less perfect, less divine. Emanationism is a transcendent principle from which everything is derived, and is opposed to both Creationism (wherein the universe is created by a sentient God who is separate from creation) and materialism(which posits no underlying subjective and/or ontological nature behind phenomena being immanent).
Origins
Emanationism is a cosmological theory which asserts that all things "flow" from an underlying principle or reality, usually called the Absolute or Godhead. Any teachings which involve emanation are usually in opposition to creation ex nihilo as emanation advocates that everything has always existed and has not been "created" from nothing.
(Kleinham, 2007) writes:
The primary classical exponent of emanationism was Plotinus, wherein his work, the Enneads, all things phenomenal and otherwise were an emanation from the One (hen). In Ennead 5.1.6, emanationism is compared to a diffusion from the One, of which there are three primary hypostases, the One (ἕν, hen), the Intellect/Will (νοῦς, nous), and the Soul (ψυχὴ τοῦ παντός, psyche tou pantos). For Plotinus, emanation, or the "soul's descent", is a result of the IndefiniteDyad, the primordial agnosis inherent to and within the Absolute, the Godhead.[2]
Another advocate of emanationism wasMichael Servetus, who was burned at the stake for his nontrinitarian cosmology.[3]
Occultism
Emanationism is a common teaching found inoccult, esoteric and metaphysical writings. According to (Owen, 2005):
Theosophy teaches that human beings and all organisms including animals and all matter "flow" from a pure spiritual formation in the absolute to a material one over time to become materialised but later will return to the absolute after the cosmic cycle of life.
As Morgan summarises: "The Secret Doctrine laid out an emanationist view of the development of the physical universe, a process of ebb and flow in which spirit gradually unfolded itself in matter, attaining consciousness, and returning to spirit in a higher and more realised form."[5] According to the emanationist cosmology of Madame Blavatsky all monads emerge from divine unity at the beginning of a cosmic cycle and return to this source at its close.[6]
Blavatsky in her book The Key to Theosophy(1889) wrote that: "We believe in a universal divine principle, the root of all, from which all proceeds, and within which all shall be at the end of the great cycle of being."[7]
Samael Aun Weor had taught emanationism from his studies with the Kabbalah andGnosticism. He mapped out a complexesoteric cosmology with matter flowing from different planes of existence all existing in theabsolute. As (Dawson, 2007) comments:
See also
References
- Robert Kleinman, Four Faces of the Universe: An Integrated View of the Cosmos, 2007, p. 186
- Michael A. Ogorzaly, Waldo Frank, prophet of Hispanic regeneration, 1994, p. 29
- Jerome Friedman, Michael Servetus: a case study in total heresy, 1978, p. 134
- Owen. A, The place of enchantment: British occultism and the culture of the modern 2005, p. 26
- Morgan. S, Women, gender and religious cultures in Britain, 1800-1940, 2010 p. 218
- John R. Shook, Richard T. Hull, The dictionary of modern American philosophers: A-C, Volume 1, 2005, p. 252
- Joy Dixon, Divine feminine: theosophy and feminism in England, 2001, p.47
- Andrew Dawson, New era, new religions: religious transformation in contemporary Brazil, 2007, p. 100
External links
- Neoplatonism and Emanationism Many articles on Emanationism
- 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
- Enneads
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