A Symbolic Vision: Neoplatonism, Resonance and the Re-Enchantment of the World
In this session Dr Sebastian F. Moro Tornese explores the central role of symbolism in Neoplatonic thought, focusing on its power to reveal the intelligible reality underlying the sensible world—the presence of the Absolute within conditioned forms. Symbols—whether mythological, mathematical, geographical, or exemplary human figures, like Socrates, Parmenides, and Orpheus—are not arbitrary signs but powerful mediators of meaning, bearing anamnetic, anagogic, and transformative significance. They serve as vehicles of symbolic illumination—not in a dogmatic or onto-theological sense, but as poetic and contemplative revelations of the plenitude of Being.
In this vision, the divine is both transcendent source and immanent presence: the radiant life of Intellect (Noûs) and the World-Soul manifests the fullness of the One beyond Being, illuminating reality and projecting itself into sensible forms. These forms—symbols, places, statues, or shrines—are theophanic mediations of presence, inviting the particular soul, through the vocation of its daimon (or genius), to awaken and attune the meaning already imprinted upon the world by the Universal Soul. In such attunement, the soul does not merely perceive but actively participates in creation, generating new ripples of meaning and a deeper manifestation of the World-Soul’s ongoing unfolding.
This symbolic metaphysics resonates across cultures: the Daoist vision of Wújí, the limitless ground, unfolding into Tàijí, the dynamic unity of yin and yang; the Phoenix as a universal voice harmonizing Heaven and Earth, uniting opposites; or the cosmic breath evoked in Greek harmony of the spheres and Japanese shō music. Across these traditions, the world appears as a living tapestry of analogical resonances, where imagination and symbol mediate the soul’s ascent toward the Good—and the re-enchantment of reality through listening and attuning to the voice of the World-Soul.
Dr Sebastian F. Moro Tornese holds a Ph.D. from the University of London (Royal Holloway) in Neoplatonic philosophy of music, focusing on Proclus’ views on cosmic harmony. He pursued postdoctoral projects at Pompeu Fabra University, where he taught aesthetics, and at the University of Barcelona, he taught rhetoric. He is also a Research Associate of the Hellenic Institute.
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