View source for Philosophy:Henosis

{{Short description|Classical Greek word for mystical oneness}}
{{for multi|the modern political movement to unify Greece and Cyprus|Enosis|the genus of orchid|Bulbophyllum}}
{{Neoplatonism}}

'''Henosis''' ({{lang-grc|ἕνωσις}}) is the classical Greek word for mystical "oneness", "union" or "unity". In [[Philosophy:Neoplatonism|Neoplatonism]], henosis is unification with what is fundamental in reality: the One (Τὸ  Ἕν), the Source, or [[Philosophy:Monism|Monad]].{{sfn|Stamatellos|2007|p=37}} The Neoplatonic concept has precedents in the Greek mystery religions{{sfn|Angus|1975|p=52}} as well as parallels in [[Philosophy:Eastern philosophy|Eastern philosophy]].{{sfn|Gregorios|2002}} It is further developed in the [[Religion:Corpus Hermeticum|Corpus Hermeticum]], in [[Religion:Christian theology|Christian theology]], Islamic Mysticism, [[Religion:Soteriology|soteriology]] and [[Philosophy:Mysticism|mysticism]], and is an important factor in the historical development of [[Philosophy:Monotheism|monotheism]] during Late Antiquity.

==Etymology==
The term is relatively common in classical texts, and has the meaning of "union" or "unity".{{refn|group=note|LSJ entry for enosis: ἕνωσις, -εως, ἡ, (from ἑνόω "Ι unite") A. combination into one, union, Philol.10, Archyt. ap.Stob.1.41.2, Arist.Ph.222a20, GC328b22, Phld.Po.2.17, Ph.1.45, al.; “τοῦ συμφραζομένου” A.D.Synt.175.16, cf. Hermog.Id.2.11: pl., Procl.Inst.63.
II. compression, Heliod. ap. Orib.46.11.20.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=e%28nwsis&la=greek#lexicon LSJ entry for enosis]</ref>}}

==Process of unification==

Henosis, or primordial unity, is rational and deterministic, emanating from [[Indeterminism|indeterminism]] an uncaused cause. Each individual as a [[Philosophy:Macrocosm and microcosm|microcosm]] reflects the gradual ordering of the universe referred to as the [[Philosophy:Macrocosm and microcosm|macrocosm]]. In mimicking the demiurge ([[Philosophy:Nous|divine mind]]), one unites with The One or Monad. Thus the process of unification, of "The Being" and "The One", is called henosis, the culmination of which is [[Religion:Apotheosis|deification]].{{cn|date=September 2017}}

==Plotinus==
{{Main|Biography:Plotinus}}

Henosis for Plotinus (204/5–270 CE) was defined in his works as a reversing of the ontological process of consciousness via [[Philosophy:Meditation|meditation]] (or [[Philosophy:Contemplation|contemplation]]) toward no thought ([[Philosophy:Nous|nous]] or [[Philosophy:Demiurge|demiurge]]) and no division (dyad) within the individual (being). As is specified in the writings of [[Biography:Plotinus|Plotinus]] on [[Philosophy:Henology|Henology]],{{refn|group=note|Plotinus:<br>* "Our thought cannot grasp the One as long as any other image remains active in the soul. To this end, you must set free your soul from all outward things and turn wholly within yourself, with no more leaning to what lies outside, and lay your mind bare of ideal forms, as before of the objects of sense, and forget even yourself, and so come within sight of that One. [6.9.7]<br>* "If he remembers who he became when he merged with the One, he will bear its image in himself. He was himself one, with no diversity in himself or his outward relations; for no movement was in him, no passion, no desire for another, once the ascent was accomplished. Nor indeed was there any reason or though, nor, if we dare say it, any trace of himself." [6.9.11.]}} one can reach a [[Philosophy:Tabula rasa|tabula rasa]], a blank state where the individual may grasp or merge with The One. This absolute simplicity means that the nous or the person is then dissolved, completely absorbed back into the Monad. 

Within the ''[[Philosophy:Enneads|Enneads]]'' of Plotinus, the [[Philosophy:Monad|Monad]] can be referred to as the Good above the demiurge.<ref>[[Philosophy:Neoplatonism and Gnosticism|Neoplatonism and Gnosticism]] By Richard T. Wallis, Jay Bregman, [[Philosophy:International Society for Neoplatonic Studies|International Society for Neoplatonic Studies]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=WSbrLPup7wYC&dq=Anti-Gnostic+Polemic+Francisco+Garcia+Bazan+translated+from+Spanish+by+Winifred+T.+Slater+Nous+as+a+%22Second+God%22+According+to+Plotinus+In+Enneads&pg=PA55]</ref><ref>John M. Dillon, "Pleroma and Noetic Cosmos: A Comparative Study" in Neoplatonism and Gnosticism (1992), R.T. Wallis, ed., State Univ. of New York Press, {{ISBN|0-7914-1337-3}}, 2006 edition: {{ISBN|0-7914-1338-1}}
[https://books.google.com/books?id=WSbrLPup7wYC&dq=John+M.+Dillon,+%22Pleroma+and+Noetic+Cosmos:+A+Comparative+Study%22+in+Neoplatonism+and+Gnosticism&pg=PA99]</ref> The Monad or dynamis (force) is of one singular expression (the will or the one is the good), all is contained in the Monad and the Monad is all and in all ([[Religion:Panentheism|panentheism]]). All division is reconciled in the one, the final stage before reaching singularity, and what is called duality (dyad) is completely reconciled in the Monad, Source or One (see [[Philosophy:Monism|monism]]). As the source or substance of all things, the Monad is all encompassing. As infinite and indeterminate, all is reconciled in the dynamis or one. It is the demiurge or second emanation that is the nous in Plotinus. It is the demiurge (creator, action, energy) or nous that "perceives," and therefore causes the force (potential or One) to manifest as energy, or the dyad called the material world. Nous as being, being and perception (intellect) manifest what is called soul ([[Philosophy:Anima mundi|World Soul]]).<ref>[[Philosophy:Neoplatonism and Gnosticism|Neoplatonism and Gnosticism]] By Richard T. Wallis, Jay Bregman, [[Philosophy:International Society for Neoplatonic Studies|International Society for Neoplatonic Studies]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=WSbrLPup7wYC&dq=Anti-Gnostic+Polemic+Francisco+Garcia+Bazan+translated+from+Spanish+by+Winifred+T.+Slater+Nous+as+a+%22Second+God%22+According+to+Plotinus+In+Enneads&pg=PA55]</ref>

Plotinus words his teachings to reconcile not only Plato with Aristotle, but also various world religions that he had personal contact with during his various travels. Plotinus' works have an ascetic character in that they reject matter as an illusion (non-existent). Matter was strictly treated as immanent, with matter as essential to its being, having no true or [[Philosophy:Transcendence|transcendental]] character or essence, substance or [[Philosophy:Ousia|ousia]]. This approach is called philosophical [[Philosophy:Idealism|Idealism]].{{refn|group=note|Schopenhauer wrote of this Neoplatonist philosopher: "With [[Biography:Plotinus|Plotinus]] there even appears, probably for the first time in [[Philosophy:Western philosophy|Western philosophy]], ''idealism'' that had long been current in the [[East]] even at that time, for it taught ([[Philosophy:Enneads|Enneads]], iii, lib. vii, c.10) that the [[Philosophy:Soul|soul]] has made the [[Philosophy:World|world]] by stepping from [[Eternity|eternity]] into [[Time|time]], with the explanation: 'For there is for this [[Astronomy:Universe|universe]] no other place than the soul or [[Philosophy:Mind|mind]]' (neque est alter hujus universi locus quam anima), indeed the ideality of time is expressed in the words: 'We should not accept time outside the soul or mind' (oportet autem nequaquam extra animam tempus accipere)."<ref>(''[[Philosophy:Parerga and Paralipomena|Parerga and Paralipomena]]'', Volume I, "Fragments for the History of Philosophy," § 7)</ref>}}

===Phases===
Plotinus' phases of "mystical union with the One" as given by [[Biography:Alexander J. Mazur|Mazur]] (2021):<ref name="Mazur">{{cite book |last=Mazur |first=Alexander J. |title=The Platonizing Sethian background of Plotinus's mysticism |publisher=Brill |publication-place=Leiden |year=2021 |isbn=978-90-04-44171-2 |oclc=1202732742}}</ref>

*Phase 1, [[Social:Catharsis|Catharsis]]: self-purification (''aphairesis'') from any contamination with multiplicity (of any thought, knowledge, or mental activity); "removing" Being itself (''Enneads'' III.8.10)
*Phase 2, Mystical self-reversion: "The intellect ... must ‘withdraw backwards’ and surrender itself to what lies behind it" (''Enneads'' III.8.9)
*Phase 3, [[Philosophy:Self-realization|Autophany]]: luminous vision of one's own self
**Phase 3.2, Self-unification: to "become one from many" (''Enneads'' VI.9.3)
*Phase 4, [[Philosophy:Ego death|Annihilation]]: discussed in the ''Enneads'' VI.9
*Phase 5, Union with the One
**Phase 5.2, Desubjectification

Passages in the ''[[Philosophy:Enneads|Enneads]]'' describing the different stages of mystical union with the One can be found in I.6, IV.8, VI.9, III.8, V.3, V.5, V.8, and VI.7-8.<ref name="Mazur"/>

==Iamblichus of Chalcis==

Within the works of Iamblichus of Chalcis (c. 245 – c. 325 AD), The One and reconciliation of division can be obtained through the process of [[Philosophy:Theurgy|theurgy]]. {{Citation needed|date=February 2021}} By mimicking the demiurge, the individual is returned to the cosmos to implement the will of the divine mind. One goes through a series of theurgy or rituals that unites the initiate to the Monad. These rituals mimic the ordering of the chaos of the Universe into the material world or [[Astronomy:Cosmos|cosmos]]. They also mimic the actions of the [[Philosophy:Demiurge|demiurge]] as the creator of the material world. Iamblichus used the rituals of the mystery religions to perform rituals on the individual to unite their outer and inner person. Thus one without conflict (whether internal or external) is united (henosis) and is The One (hen).{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

==See also==
*[[Philosophy:Absolute|Absolute]]
*[[Religion:Apotheosis|Apotheosis]]
*[[Unsolved:Fana (Sufism)|Fana (Sufism)]]
*[[Philosophy:Form of the Good|Form of the Good]]
*[[Philosophy:Hesychasm|Hesychasm]]
*[[Philosophy:Henology|Henology]]
*[[Philosophy:Henotheism|Henotheism]]
*[[Philosophy:Moksha|Moksha]]
*Monolatrism
*[[Philosophy:Neoplatonism and Gnosticism|Neoplatonism and Gnosticism]]
*Nondualism
*[[Philosophy:Rational mysticism|Rational mysticism]]
*[[Philosophy:Self-realization|Self-realization]]
*Theosis (Eastern Orthodox theology)

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Citation | last =Angus | first =Samuel |  year =1975 |orig-year =1920 | title =The Mystery religions: A Study in the Religious Background of Early Christianity | publisher =Courier Dover Publications | isbn =0-486-23124-0}}
* {{Citation | last =Gregorios | first =Paulos |  year =2002 | title =Neoplatonism and Indian Philosophy | publisher =SUNY Press}}
* {{Citation | last=Stamatellos | first=Giannis | year =2007 | title =Plotinus and the Presocratics: A Philosophical Study of Presocratic Influences in Plotinus' Enneads | publisher =SUNY Press | isbn =978-0791470626}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{cite web |url=http://www.goddess-athena.org/Encyclopedia/Friends/Iamblichus/index.htm |title=Iamblichus |website=The Encyclopedia of the Goddess Athena }}

{{Ancient Greek philosophical concepts}}
{{Meditation}}

[[Category:Magic (supernatural)]]
[[Category:Meditation]]
[[Category:Mysticism]]
[[Category:Neoplatonism]]

{{Sourceattribution|Henosis}}