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Chapter 7 - Immortality in Philo of Alexandria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2021

By
Sami Yli-Karjanmaa
Edited by
A. G. Long
A. G. Long
Affiliation:
University of St Andrews, Scotland
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Summary

The Jewish exegete Philo of Alexandria speaks of death and immortality in several different ways. He may refer to the higher or lower part of the soul or the body, and mean either moral or ontological death. Not all combinations are possible; e.g., Philo never says the soul’s leading part could cease to exist, and the body can neither undergo moral death nor avoid the physical one. Three types of Philonic discourse are discussed: human mortality caused by the body, the soul’s moral corruption that Philo calls its death, and the ontological immortality of the mind. Despite the last one, Philo speaks of attaining immortality. This is not an inconsistency but refers to the mind’s liberation from its mortal companions (the body and the mortal portion of the soul) so that only its congenital immortality remains. Attaining immortality also means the end of the repeated deaths in the cycle of reincarnation, and the mind’s restoration to its original state of blessedness.

Keywords

Philo of Alexandriasoulsoul-partmortality of bodymoral death of soulontological immortalityreincarnationPlato
Type
Chapter
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Immortality in Ancient Philosophy , pp. 161 - 177
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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