View source for Emanationism

{{short description|Mode by which all things are derived from the first reality, or principle}}
{{other uses|Emanation (disambiguation)}}
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{{Neoplatonism}}
'''Emanationism''' is a speculative [[theory]] in the [[religious cosmology|cosmology]] or [[cosmogony]] of certain [[religion|religious]] and [[philosophy|philosophical]] systems, that posits the concept of ''emanation''. According to this theory, emanation, from the Latin ''emanare'' meaning "to flow from" or "to pour forth or out of", is the mode by which all existing things are derived from a 'first reality', or [[first principle]]. In the emanationist concept all things are derived from this first reality or perfect God, by consecutive steps of degradation, to a lower degree of this first reality or God: at every consecutive step the emanating beings are less pure, less perfect, less divine. Emanationism posits a [[transcendence (philosophy)|transcendent]] principle from which everything is derived, as opposed to  [[creationism]], that considers the universe to be created by a [[sentience|sentient]] God who is separate from creation, and to [[materialism]], which posits no underlying subjective and/or [[Ontology|ontological]] nature behind phenomena, all phenomena being considered [[immanent]].

==Origins==
Emanationism is a cosmological theory which asserts that all things "flow" from an underlying principle or reality, usually called the [[Absolute (philosophy)|Absolute]] or [[Deity|Godhead]]. Any teachings which involve emanation are usually in opposition to [[creation ex nihilo]] as emanation advocates that everything has always existed and has not been "created" from nothing.

{{harvp|Kleinman|2007}} writes:

<blockquote>Underlying the worldview of traditional cosmology is the idea that the universe is an emanation of a unitary divine principle. Although this idea has been blended with the revealed creationist doctrines of the major [[monotheistic religion]]s, orthodox theologians have generally regarded it with suspicion. They have relegated it to the shadowy spheres of [[mysticism]], [[pantheism]], and the occult, which have always been at odds with orthodoxy. The traditional view is summed in the doctrine of emanation formulated by Plotinus.<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert|last=Kleinman|title=Four Faces of the Universe: An Integrated View of the Cosmos|year=2007|pages=186|publisher=Lotus Press|isbn=978-0940985919|oclc=271862709}}</ref></blockquote>

The primary classical exponent of emanationism was the [[Neoplatonism|neoplatonic]] philosopher [[Plotinus]], who in his ''[[Enneads]]'' described all things phenomenal and otherwise as an emanation ({{langx|el|ἀπορροή}} ''aporrhoe'' (Ennead ΙΙ.3.2) or ἀπόρροια ''aporrhoia'' (II.3.11)) from [[Henology|the One]] (ἕν, ''hen''). In 5.1.6, emanationism is compared to a diffusion from the One, of which there are three primary [[Hypostasis (philosophy and religion)|hypostases]], the One, the [[Nous|Intellect]] (νοῦς, ''nous''), and the [[Soul]] (ψυχή, ''psyche'').

Another advocate of emanationism was [[Michael Servetus]], who was burned at the stake for his [[nontrinitarian]] cosmology.<ref>{{cite book |first=Jerome |last=Friedman |title=Michael Servetus: A Case Study in Total Heresy |year=1978 |page=134}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2024}}</ref>

==Occultism==
Emanationism is a common teaching found in [[occult]] and [[esoteric]] writings. According to {{harvp|Owen|2005}}:

<blockquote>Theosophy draws on Neoplatonic emanationism, in particular the concept of separation from and return to the Absolute, and reworks the Eastern concepts of [[karma]] and [[reincarnation]] to provide an evolutionary theory of both humankind and the universe.<ref>{{cite book |last=Owen |first=A. |title=The Place of Enchantment: British Occultism and the Culture of the Modern |year=2005 |page=26}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2024}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]] contends that all organisms—including animals and human beings—and all matter "flow" from a pure spiritual formation in the Absolute to a material one over time to become materialised and that they will later return to the Absolute after the cosmic cycle of life.

As Morgan summarises: "''The Secret Doctrine'' laid out an emanationist view of the development of the physical universe, a process of ebb and flow in which spirit gradually unfolded itself in matter, attaining [[consciousness]], and returning to spirit in a higher and more realised form."<ref>{{cite book |last=Morgan |first=S. |title=Women, Gender and Religious Cultures in Britain, 1800–1940 |year=2010 |page=218}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2024}}</ref> According to the emanationist cosmology of [[Madame Blavatsky]] all [[Monad (philosophy)|monads]] emerge from divine unity at the beginning of a cosmic cycle and return to this source at its close.<ref>{{cite book |first1=John R. |last1=Shook |first2=Richard T. |last2=Hull |title=[[The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers]] |volume=1: A–C |year=2005 |page=252}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2024}}</ref>

Blavatsky in her book ''The Key to Theosophy'' (1889) wrote that: "We believe in a universal divine principle, the root of all, from which all proceeds, and within which all shall be at the end of the great cycle of being."<ref>{{cite book |first=Joy |last=Dixon |title=Divine Feminine: Theosophy and Feminism in England |year=2001 |page=47}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2024}}</ref>

Occultist [[Samael Aun Weor]] taught emanationism from his studies with the [[Kabbalah]] and [[Gnosticism]]. He mapped out a complex [[esoteric cosmology]] with matter flowing from different [[planes of existence]] all existing in the [[Absolute (philosophy)|absolute]]. As {{harvp|Dawson|2007}} comments:

<blockquote>As with esoteric thought in general, Weor holds that the universe originated in the ordering activity of the absolute upon chaotic [[Chronology of the universe|primordial]] matter, giving rise to (emanating) the subsequent planes of the created order ([[Pleroma]]).<ref>{{cite book |first=Andrew |last=Dawson |title=New Era, New Religions: Religious Transformation in Contemporary Brazil |year=2007 |page=100}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2024}}</ref></blockquote>

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Aeon (Gnosticism)|Aeon}}
* {{annotated link|Anathem|''Anathem''}}
* {{annotated link|Emanation in the Eastern Orthodox Church}}
* {{annotated link|Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion|''Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion''}}
* {{annotated link|Panentheism}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.digital-brilliance.com/kab/essays/Emanation%20Ascent.pdf |title=Emanation & Ascent in Hermetic Kabbalah |first=Colin |last=Low |year=2004}} Presentation and notes on emanation and the roots of Hermetic Kabbalah.
{{refend}}

{{Theology}}

[[Category:Classical theism]]
[[Category:Divinity]]
[[Category:Esoteric cosmology]]
[[Category:Kabbalah]]
[[Category:Neoplatonism]]
[[Category:Religious cosmologies]]
[[Category:Spiritual evolution]]
[[Category:Theories in ancient Greek philosophy]]