Ontological Creativity as the Foundation of Human Thinking

The overarching aim of my proposed research project is to develop a conceptual framework of human cognition that synthesizes the Neoplatonic proposition concerning the continuity between human and divine intellect - initially expounded by Plotinus in his discourse on the One`s hypostases and later elaborated upon by Meister Eckhart in his exploration of the connection between detachment and divine knowledge - with Heidegger`s perspective on the temporal dimension of the Event and the function of human creativity in shaping its historical essence. While the predominant views in philosophy and cognitive sciences regarding thinking - and specifically creative thinking - lean on a subjective representational model presented most clearly in a cybernetic paradigm of information processing, the current project aims to investigate human thinking in terms of ontological creativity, drawing upon its transcendent nature, and thus surpassing the confines of subjective, self-directed agency. The same discussion was had in the ancient Mediterranean and the Neoplatonic school, drawing on close to seven centuries of observations and debates, proposed a nuanced view of the process that is worth revisiting. This project proposes a review of the Neoplatonic point of view, through the prism of contemporary discussions, and using Meister Eckharts Neoplatonic inspired views as case study. This choice is influenced by the perceived alignment, within modern Eckhart scholarship, of his appropriation of Neoplatonism with contemporary phenomenological and hermeneutical perspectives on the transcendent aspect of human cognition, particularly those articulated by Martin Heidegger. In seeking to adapt the Neoplatonic viewpoint to contemporary needs, I will leverage Heidegger`s concepts concerning the non-representational and transcendent essence of creative thought, which do not rely on a theological assumption of the existence of a divinely intellectual being (God).