Critique of the consubstantiality of divine mind and human soul in the philosophical theology of Iamblichus of Chalcis

This article is devoted to establishing the relationship between the noetic and the psychic in the teachings of Iamblichus, the founder of the Syrian school of Neoplatonism. The philosopher’s doctrine of the first principles and of the universe’s structure is briefly presented. On the one hand, in his commentary on Plato’s Phaedrus, Iamblichus acknowledges the presence in human soul of the one, co-natural with gods, and of the mind. On the other hand, in his treatise On the soul, the Syrian philosopher criticizes his predecessors’ view on the consubstantiality of soul, mind and gods. Also, in his commentary on Timaeus, he refutes Plotinus’s opinion that mind is part of soul, and defends human free will. Thus, according to Iamblichus, the soul’s highest ability essentially is reason, the one and the mind being reflected in it pre-essentially. It is concluded that by denying the consubstantiality of human soul and divine mind, the Syrian thinker begins to overcome the limits of the Hellenistic paradigm and move towards patristic philosophy.