Erôs, the Son, and the Gods as Metaphysical Principles in Proclus and Dionysius

Timothy Riggs received his MA in Classics at Dalhousie University in October 2009, writing a thesis on Dionysius and Proclus under the supervision of Dr. Wayne Hankey, and is now continuing his studies at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. He is currently a doctoral member of the Subjectivity and Selfhood in the Arabic and Latin Traditions (SSALT) project funded by the European Research Council. His work is also generously funded by a Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. His doctoral research focuses on the structure and role of the “authentic self” in the philosophy of al-Fčrčbč« and the extent to which the latter‘s conception of “authentic self” can be said to continue the teachings of the Late Ancient Neoplatonists. The paper presented in this volume is an excerpt from his Master‘s thesis: “Eros as Cosmic and Hierarchical Principle: Christ and the Socratic Hierarch in the Thought of Dionysius the Areopagite.” He can be reached at timothy.c.riggs@jyu.fi.