Philosophy as a way of life

At the Nostos Institute, we’re committed to the practice of philosophia – literally, the love of wisdom – not as a purely intellectual pursuit, but to philosophy as a lived wisdom, as a way of life. And we’re committed to working with others to find the best ways to live in turbulent times – just as, for the ancient Greeks, philosophy was both a communal practice and a practical one. We’re interested in how philosophy can help us to approach the world today with curiosity, responsibility and a sense of purpose. We’re interested in exploring fundamental questions about the nature of reality and existence, and about the nature of our values. How should we live in such times, and where do we find meaning? How should we think? How do we become wise, and cultivate the steadiness of deep inner knowing? What are our responsibilities to the world, and to ourselves?

The teachings of Plato (as well as those of other philosophers) are fundamental to our program. Plato shows us how to think and to reason, and encourages us to search for truth, to examine and question our values, and to cultivate our inner virtues. As well as offering us ideas that we might live by, these practices lead to insight and growth, to a radical transformation of the self.

The journey towards understanding, Plato suggests, is at least as significant as the destination; it's a journey of continuous growth and alignment with higher principles. It’s about moving from the shadows of superficial existence into the light of genuine understanding and purpose.

Meaning arises from the pursuit of what Plato called ‘the Good’: that which is fundamentally and eternally true and beautiful.

• Truth isn’t about conviction: it requires us to dig down into our deepest-held assumptions about the world, opening us up to insight and growth.
• Beauty isn’t just about a pretty face or a lovely flower: it can be found in elegant solutions to problems, in the exercise of creativity and a commitment to well-crafted work, and in acts of connection and relationship.
• The Good is reflected in the way we behave to others (human as well as other-than-human) and the gifts we bring to the world.

This philosophical approach helps us to find clarity and direction in periods of uncertainty, and hope in challenging times – because Plato’s wisdom is surprisingly practical. Meaning isn’t something we find: it’s something we create, through conscious choice and commitment to the practice of introspection and contemplation, through a genuine curiosity about the nature of reality and the world we live in.

Ultimately, it’s about living a more flourishing life. The ancient Greeks had a word for this: eudaimonia. This isn’t just about our wellbeing, though: it’s about how we show up in the world. It’s a commitment to the highest human good, to following our calling, uncovering and staying true to the image of the person we were always meant to become.

On the ‘About’ page of this website, I’ve written that ‘the old mythologies and cosmologies of the West – and especially those embedded in the writings of Classical philosophers like Plato and Plotinus – are rich, complex and beautiful. They reveal to us a world in which everything is not only alive but has purpose and intentionality of its own. A world into which each soul chooses to be incarnated, for a reason, and to express a unique way of being human through relationship with and participation in that intimately entangled, animate universe.’

But what are those mythologies and cosmologies, and why do we think they’re relevant now?

In the simplest terms, Plato encourages us to look beyond the material world and delve into the layers of reality that lie beyond. He suggests that the soul chooses the shape of its life in order to learn and grow, and invites us to learn how to lean into the sacred without at the same time abandoning the faculty of reason.

Neoplatonism, a continuation of Plato’s work which has underpinned forward-looking, open-minded thought in the West (and beyond) since pre-Christian times, encourages us to understand the nature of the cosmos and our place in it, and to uncover the deeper meaning of human life. The original and most prominent of the philosophers that we now call Neoplatonists was Plotinus, who is widely regarded both as the preeminent philosopher of late antiquity and a great pagan holy man. Plotinus’ metaphysics was centred on the Good or the One:  the infinite source of all reality, which saturates the entire cosmos with its presence. To exist is always to exist in the presence of the One, and we can reach for union with the One through the practices of philosophy and through contemplation. Neoplatonism, then, is a mystical tradition above all.

Platonist and Neoplatonist philosophy, then, suggests that the practice of imagination, creativity and contemplation can connect us to all levels of reality, including the Divine – while also furnishing tools to live by, and a system of ethics that’s free of cant and dogma.

From Plato to Plotinus and beyond, Ancient Greek philosophers believed that the physical cosmos was brought into being and is animated by an omnipresent World Soul which connects all phenomena. In Plato’s Timaeus, in which the World Soul (the anima mundi) is first described, he writes that Soul is the underlying principle of physical reality; it infuses the cosmos with life and intelligence. The entire universe, then, is a living, ensouled organism and all levels of being are linked together within it. Nature is alive, and we’re an intrinsic, interconnected part of it.

Neoplatonists such as Plotinus and Proclus expanded on Plato's ideas, emphasising the role of the World Soul as an intermediary between the One and the material world. The Soul in turn generates individual souls and entities within the cosmos. The Neoplatonists believed that by aligning our individual soul with the World Soul, we can reach for a higher state of being and understanding, and participate in the divine order of the cosmos.

We welcome anyone who wants to learn about these philosophical traditions, and who is interested in practicing philosophy as a way of life. But our work and the teaching program at the Nostos Institute, although firmly grounded in the scholarly and professional expertise of our teachers and the validity of our sources, is neither overly abstract nor heavily academic. Rather, it’s focused on a search for the images, stories, ideas and practices that call us to know ourselves – and then, with joy and with commitment to those old Platonic ideals of beauty, truth and the good, to transform our lives.