In the first section I outline the theory of abstraction, discussing first its con- ceptual basis, then its psychological-epistemological basis, and last its causal basis. My purpose throughout is to show how these bases, and thus the theory itself, were not only paramountly Aristotelian, but also eminently sensible. In the second section I draw the perspectivist account of vision within the bounds of the theory of abstraction and show stage by stage how that account unfolds coherently within those bounds. This (...) procedure should make clear that what the perspecti- vists actually offered was less a scientific theory of light or vision than a scientifi- cally justified world view. (shrink)

ONE FREQUENTLY READS CASUAL REFERENCES to Neo-Platonic metaphysics as emanationist. It is somewhat less common to find analyses of the term "emanation" so used. In this paper I shall be concerned solely with Plotinus. I hereby set aside all questions regarding any common denominator one might suppose between Plotinus and, say, Proclus.